When news of one of the biggest mansion listings in London this year hit our inboxes, we knew that it was destined to be our Property of the Month. Fonteyn House not only has an illustrious history as the home of prima ballerina Dame Margot Fonteyn, but it is also newly refurbished and dressed, with a whopping £65 million price tag to match.

Fonteyn was born in 1919, and spent her entire career as a dancer with the Royal Ballet, eventually being appointed prima ballerina by Queen Elizabeth II. It was in this Art Deco Knightsbridge property, originally built in 1928, that Fonteyn entertained Princess Margaret, Yves Saint Laurent, John Wayne and Peter Sellers. The ballerina’s dance partner, Rudolf Nureyev, also lived here for a time after defecting from the USSR, and the pair practiced in the second-floor dance studio. 

In 1955, Fonteyn married Dr Roberto Emilio Arias, who was later appointed as the Panamanian ambassador. In 1964, however, he was shot in Panama City by a political rival, ending his diplomatic career. The couple moved out of Fonteyn House in 1966, but it remained the official residence of the Panamanian ambassador until 1999, at which point the three-storey property was sold and plans for its restoration drawn up. 

Usually, grand period properties are inherited in need of some TLC. But Fonteyn House is in turnkey condition, having undergone a full refurbishment between 2017 and 2023. The property has 15,980 square feet of interior space, which includes six bedrooms, three reception/family rooms, a cinema/club room, a health spa with a gym and 15 metre swimming pool, a garden gallery and a passenger lift. Outdoor spaces comprise a walled garden, a dining terrace and a rooftop terrace with a kitchen/bar and views of the V&A.

The period façade, with its French and sash windows and ornamental balconies, has been retained. Behind it lies a residence finished with Arabescato Calacatta and Saint Laurent marble, Portland stone and handcrafted oak joinery. Let’s take a look inside…

The portico entrance gives way to a mirrored foyer, which opens to a garden gallery with five sets of French windows. The cantilevered staircase boasts a central atrium that rises through the house.

The reception room, meanwhile, boasts parquet herringbone floors and a Regency fireplace, as well as French windows and doors running along two sides which can be opened to create an inside-outside entertaining area able to accommodate more than 100. The reception also comprises a 12-seat dining area, with a built-in cocktail bar clad in Persian Palissandro Bluette marble.

The main living space has a cinema-style flat screen set in bespoke cabinetry; the club room also makes for a spacious cinema, accompanied by a cocktail bar, temperature-controlled wine cellar and emerald green joinery. The kitchen, meanwhile, is home to a central island and breakfast bar and glass doors which run the length of the space.

The principal bedroom suite, formerly Fonteyn’s, has its own floor, and actually comprises two bedrooms. The main one has a bay window, Juliet balconies and twin walk-in dressing rooms; the second features a skylight, a separate study and a dressing room with a glass roof. The principal guest suite, originally Fonteyn’s studio, is on the second floor and, at the top of the mansion, there is a penthouse suite which opens onto a rooftop garden.

The spa floor houses a swimming pool complete with a waterfall feature, while to each side are the glass-walled gym and sauna and steam room. The outdoor spaces are just as special: a walled garden comes complete with terraces, a barbeque area and a raised lawn with a built-in cinema screen.

This property is on the market with luxury developer Caudwell, the developer behind the Mayfair property rumoured to be listed for £500 million, featured in Netflix’s Buying London. While Fonteyn House isn’t quite there, this is still a calibre of property rarely seen on the open market, and certainly something to get excited about.

Listed for £65,000,000, caudwell.com

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