You can call this “castle” your home — and for a bargain, to boot.
Perched above the river that divides Virginia and Maryland, a 16,800-square-foot mansion dubbed the Castle on the Potomac boasts eight bedrooms, 12 bathrooms — even a concrete-encased safe room underneath the indoor swimming pool. Located in affluent McLean, Virginia, it’s also heading to auction since it failed to sell after listing for sky-high prices.
Bidding begins on May 15 and closes May 27 with starting bids expected between $5 and 9.9 million, according to Concierge Auctions, which is conducting the sale.
Its owner, Hazem Elariny, a bariatric surgeon who performed the Washington area’s first laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery, constructed the limestone residence in 2008 in a mélange of styles ranging from Romanesque to Tuscan. He first tried to sell the home for $23 million in 2023 and then $16 million the next year.
The Potomac river views and access are the top selling points of the house, which sits on 1.2 acres of lawn and trees, said Tahira Talout, marketing director for Talout International with Long & Foster, which is taking the house to auction.
“With 4-inch-thick stones, ultra-high ceilings, an indoor pool and amazing water views from each of the four levels connected by a glass-walled elevator, it’s extremely well-built,” she told The Post by email, calling Elariny a “very motivated seller.”
That means it could go for far less at auction. That might make it a steal compared to some other McLean homes on the Potomac now on the market, including a similar-sized one for $14.9 million and one half the size but on a 3.6-acre lot listed at $25 million. Fairfax County, Virginia, lists the current assessed value of the property at $5.19 million, while Concierge Auctions puts its value at $17.2 million.
Elariny is delinquent on paying property taxes and currently owes more than $62,000, according to county records. A lien has been placed on the property, records also show.
The Castle on the Potomac is located in the Washington-area’s priciest ZIP code, with a median sales price of $1.65 million in 2025, according to the Intercontinental Exchange Home Price Index. The house is located about 12 miles from the White House.
“It’s a luxury auction for the purpose of securing market value in a short period of time. The auction will be held in London and exposes the property to international potential buyers,” according to Talout.
The property may also be auctioned because the listed asking prices have been too high, said Robert Hryniewicki with HRLS Partners at TTR Sotheby’s International Realty, who focuses on luxury homes in the Washington area. He noted that the house had been listed for sale in 2020 for $12.8 million and then for $22.2 million four years later.
“Our values locally have gone up significantly since COVID, but prices did not almost double in that time,” he said, pointing to another McLean house closer to the city with a Potomac River view that recently sold for $12.82 million after being listed for more than $17 million. While the house is somewhat smaller than the Castle on the Potomac it sits on 2.3 acres.
“It’s a strong market, especially in northern Virginia, which is leading the ultra-luxury submarket for the whole region. So it’s definitely not that. The fingers point more toward more price and property condition,” he said as a reason the mansion has not sold.
The house has 85 feet of Potomac River frontage with views of American Legion Memorial Bridge, which traverses Washington’s infamous Beltway. It has a Vermont red slate roof with copper accents, a rounded turret and large arched windows. Eight types of wood, from mahogany to Brazilian cherry, were sourced from around the world for flooring, doors and beams. The foyer soars to 40 feet high.
The gourmet kitchen faces the water and is anchored by a 6-by-9-foot granite island. Upstairs, the primary suite includes one of the home’s five fireplaces, two walk-in closets and bathroom with a Jacuzzi tub. Four upper-level bedrooms each have ensuite baths.
Downstairs, there’s a ballroom, a game room and, not one, but two home cinemas — including one in which a projector descends over the 1,000-square-foot indoor pool. Nearby are a spa, a sauna, a steam room, a fitness center and direct access to the lawn overlooking the river.
To keep all that space comfy year-round, the owner recently spent $600,000 to update all the HVAC systems.
For the highest bidder, Talout said, “The property has been extremely well-maintained and is in excellent move-in condition.”
