On the Market in the Poconos: Mountaintop Mansion in Effort

Not everyone who vacations in the Poconos is the rugged, outdoorsy type. Some actually prefer the comforts of a huge, luxurious suburban estate like this one at 1435 Whispering Hills Court, Effort, PA 18330. If that describes you, well, what are you waiting for? You won’t find one priced this low close to Philadelphia. | Pocono Mountains Association of Realtors MLS images via RE/MAX Property Specialists – Pocono Lake

Want to stand out from the crowd in the Poconos? Or would you rather entertain one?

You can do both if you buy this Effort mountaintop mansion house for sale.

The people who built it in 2008 clearly put a lot of effort into designing and outfitting it to impress, and then some.

Perched just below the top of a mountain ridge on a sloping lot, it offers fabulous views in almost all directions. And its three levels contain all the room you need to host visiting friends or relatives as well as throw one helluva party.

Exterior front

In terms of appearance, this house departs radically from the Poconos standard. It wouldn’t look at all out of place in, say, Gladwyne.

And your Gladwyne friends would no doubt be impressed by all the goodies this house contains as well as how they’re all put together.

Foyer

Once past its huge wraparound front porch, one enters this house to encounter a foyer with a staircase worthy of Gone with the Wind.

Living room

To the left of the foyer is a relatively modest yet comfortable living room.

Great room

To its right is the first of this house’s many showstoppers: A two-story-high great room.

Dining room

A full-height stone gas fireplace open on both sides serves to divide this room from the equally lofty dining room.

Kitchen

Kitchen breakfast area

Behind the dining room lies a well-equipped kitchen featuring bar seating at its large island, a full complement of modern appliances, a work desk and a breakfast area that currently sits unused. You might want to put a table in it to make sure you have room for all your guests at that big dinner party you will no doubt want to throw.

Sunroom

A doorway leads from the breakfast room to one of two sunrooms on this level. This one contains an indoor koi pond with a waterfall and a bridge leading over it to the seating area.

Primary suite sunroom

The other sunroom is part of the primary bedroom suite. It lacks a koi pond but also has windows that offer a wide view.

Primary bedroom

Primary bathroom

The bedroom itself is plenty large and the bathroom is sumptuously fitted. You will also find a second en-suite bedroom, a laundry room and a bonus room on this floor.

Indoor pool

Not to mention an indoor saltwater pool and Jacuzzi.

Upper level lounge

At the top of the stairs to the upper floor you will find a balcony that wraps around the living-dining room and a lounge area at the balcony’s end.  Three more bedrooms and a hall bath also occupy this floor.

Basement kitchen

Basement living room, currently used as an exercise room

The full finished basement has a second kitchen and another full bath. The basement also has no windows, save for those in the room attached to that second kitchen. A sliding door opens onto the lower terrace.

The possibilities for the rest of this huge open space are endless: Game room, fitness room, home theater or media room, party space, storage space, you name it.

Gazebo

One other space here offers a panoramic view: The gazebo off the deck in back, beyond the pool. Next to it sits a pond and waterfall.

While this hilltop redoubt sits on a 2.1-acre lot in relative isolation, development abounds all around it: To reach it from the two main roads that flank its site, you drive through one subdivision until you reach the cul-de-sac it sits on. And subdivisions surround the base of the hill to its west and south. But there are also parks, nature preserves, camps and state game lands within a short drive from here.

There is a certain lightness to some of the materials that have gone into this house, such as the banisters. Other materials, like the wide-plank cherry floors found throughout the house, are much more substantial, though. And you can see that this house has held up well so far.

In other words, this Effort mountaintop mansion house for sale may well be perfectly matched with its surroundings. While it would be wildly out of place in the Poconos’ more woodsy, outdoorsy precincts, it fits right in with Poconos suburbia. And it comes with a Poconos price tag — one that was recently cut significantly. Imagine how much a place like this one would run in Gladwyne.

THE FINE PRINT

BEDS: 5

BATHS: 4

SQUARE FEET: 13,516

SALE PRICE: $2,450,000

OTHER STUFF: The house also has an attached two-car garage. Its sale price was reduced by $240,000 on March 24th.

1435 Whispering Hills Court, Effort, PA 18330 [Jeffrey L. Rickert | RE/MAX Property Specialists – Pocono Lake]