Revisiting Suzanne Somers' One-of-a-Kind Palm Springs Hideaway of 40 Years Where She Could 'Roam Free'

The late star's unique property was accessed by funicular and featured several cottages she said reminded her of a "French village" in a 2016 PEOPLE interview

Suzanne Somers knew she wanted to buy her Palm Springs home before she even saw it.

It was 1977, and Somers, who died Sunday at age 76, and her husband Alan Hamel were looking for an escape from their home in Venice, California — and the paparazzi chasing the Three’s Company star.

In a 2016 interview about the one-of-a-kind desert hideaway, she told PEOPLE, “As we rode up the romantic funicular, I said to Alan, ‘Let’s buy this’ and he said to me, ‘Could you please adopt a poker face so we don’t have to pay full price?' I was not able to contain my excitement and we paid more than full price."

After forty years of ownership, Somers finally let go of the home in May 2021 after listing it several months earlier for $8.5 million with real estate agent Josh Flagg and his now-ex-husband Bobby Boyd, stars of Bravo's Million Dollar Listing: Los Angeles.

"Not only is it one of the most special properties, we are most happy to represent it considering we adore Suzanne and Alan more than anything," Flagg told PEOPLE in an exclusive statement in January 2021. "Their relationship is magical as is the home."

Set on 65 acres, Somers expanded the property over the years — renovating and expanding the main house, and adding guest houses, an updated pool and most famously, an amphitheater.

Aside from the main house, there are individual cottages for guests. “The layout of our home is unique,” Somers told PEOPLE in the 2016 interview. “It’s a great home for having guests because they can each go off to their own cottages at the end of the day and have privacy. There are several bedroom buildings and several common buildings. It’s like a French village.”

Somers called her dining room her favorite place in the home — but not for the reason you might expect. “I sing in my dining room because it’s away from the other rooms,” she said. “It has perfect acoustics and I have a complete professional sound set up so I can put my in-ear speakers on and play tracks from my Vegas act and have the full sound experience of a Vegas stage. There are nights I spend hours in that room and it’s thrilling. It’s a great place to rehearse.”

The room wasn’t original to the house — designed by famed Santa Barbara architect Bob Easton around the chandelier, which Somers and Hamel found on the Left Bank of Paris. “We were careful to keep the room on the scale of the rest of the house so it never looked like it was an add-on,” she said.

“My furniture is mostly collected from trips I took to Europe — primarily from the South of France,” confessed Somers of her French country style. “I wanted authenticity for this very authentic house. At one point I worked with Sue Balmforth who contributed another layer of authenticity to the house. All the curtains are made from antique linen sheets I found at flea markets in the South of France. Sue took my vast collection of linens and covered chairs and sofas and kept the theme going. We had a good time together.”

An indoor wine cellar comes with a table for snacking and tasting. It could also be a cozy place to write for the prolific author. “My most recent project is writing a book about Alan and myself — a 50-year love affair,” she shared. “Our marriage is the most special part of my life. We are in business together, so we are together 24/7 and have not spent one night apart in over 35 years.”

“We have had the wonderful privilege of hosting so many fabulous parties in the outdoor amphitheater,” Somers said of her home’s perfect entertaining space — which has been filled with the likes of Barry Manilow, Keely Smith, Susan Anton and Jack Sheldon’s Big Band. With room for an outdoor stage, thousands of candles and a long dining table that’s been known to seat at least 50, the space was a favorite of Somers’.

“On one evening in particular a few months following 9/11, Merv Griffin, Robert Goulet, Michael Feinstein, and Jack Jones stood on the stage and sang a cappella ‘God bless America.’ Everyone stood and held their hands over their hearts. [It was] very moving. Tears!” she shared.

Among the many unique features of the house is one that stopped traffic: an outdoor tub! It was a birthday present from Hamel — and it was used, sometimes, on magical desert evenings. “He is such a romantic,” Somers explained. “We might go to my outdoor bathtub, share a tequila on ice and watch the moon while I soak in the bath with Epsom salts, surrounded by nature and the waterfall.”

Somers had never been to Palm Springs before she purchased the home — but she said she “wanted a place where, as a family, we could roam free with privacy.” She certainly found it. “This large piece of property was perfect,” she said. “When it was lunchtime, I would go out by the pool and yell in the direction of the mountains for both boys and they would come running down the hill like the mountain goats that so often show up there today.”

“Our organic garden is one of the thrills of my life,” Somers said, of her outdoor space. “Every October we plant organic and we are able to eat from that garden November through May. At the end of the day, I walk down the hill and pick a perfect cauliflower and baby lettuce and — depending on the season — baby potatoes or broccoli or kale or artichokes or tomatoes. I plan dinner around what’s perfect. Once you’ve tasted a cauliflower just picked from the garden and brought to the table, it’s hard to ever have it any other way.”

Somers was able to a create a serene and peaceful home where she could weave together family, friends, and work. But she was ready to let go when the right buyers came along.

“We are looking for a different lifestyle at this point,” she admitted, even five years before the eventual sale of the property. “After 40 years, I think we all get an itch to change.” Somers said she was looking to downsize from the ten-bedroom home because her children were grown. “I want to build something very modern,” she shared. “Two or three bedrooms with large entertaining areas — and of course another amphitheater.” She added, laughing: “Once you have one you can’t live without it.”

PEOPLE confirmed the star died this week a few days shy of her 77th birthday.

“Suzanne Somers passed away peacefully at home in the early morning hours of October 15th. She survived an aggressive form of breast cancer for over 23 years,” Somers’ longtime publicist R. Couri Hay wrote in a statement shared on behalf of the actress’ family.

“Suzanne was surrounded by her loving husband Alan, her son Bruce, and her immediate family,” the statement continued. “Her family was gathered to celebrate her 77th birthday on October 16th. Instead, they will celebrate her extraordinary life, and want to thank her millions of fans and followers who loved her dearly.”

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