<P> Biltmore House had electricity from the time it was built . With electricity less safe and fire more of a danger at the time, the house had six separate sections divided by brick fire walls . </P> <P> Vanderbilt paid little attention to the family business or his own investments and it is believed that the construction and upkeep of Biltmore depleted much of his inheritance . </P> <P> Biltmore has four acres of floor space and a total of 250 rooms in the house including 35 bedrooms for family and guests, 43 bathrooms, 65 fireplaces, three kitchens and 19th - century novelties such as electric elevators, forced - air heating, centrally controlled clocks, fire alarms, and a call - bell system . The principal rooms of the house are located on the ground floor . To the right of the marbled Entrance Hall, the octagonal, sunken Winter Garden is surrounded by stone archways with a ceiling of architecturally sculptured wood and multifaceted glass . The centerpiece is a marble and bronze fountain sculpture titled Boy Stealing Geese created by Karl Bitter . On the walls just outside the Winter Garden are copies of the Parthenon frieze . The Banquet Hall is the largest room in the house, measuring 42 feet wide and 72 feet long, with a 70 - foot - high barrel - vaulted ceiling . The table could seat 64 guests surrounded by rare Flemish tapestries and a triple fireplace that spans one end of the hall . On the opposite end of the hall is an organ gallery that houses a 1916 Skinner pipe organ . Left unfinished with bare brick walls, the Music Room was not completed and opened to the public until 1976 . It showcases a mantle designed by Hunt, and a large engraving by Albrecht Dürer called the Triumphal Arch commissioned by Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I . The mantle had been stored in the stable for over 80 years . To the left of the entrance hall is the 90 - foot - long Tapestry Gallery, which leads to the Library, featuring three 16th - century tapestries representing The Triumph of Virtue Over Vice . Elsewhere on the walls are family portraits by John Singer Sargent, Giovanni Boldini and James Whistler . The two - story Library contains over 10,000 volumes in eight languages, reflecting George Vanderbilt's broad interests in classic literature as well as works on art, history, architecture, and gardening . The second - floor balcony is accessed by an ornate walnut spiral staircase . The baroque detailing of the room is enhanced by the rich walnut paneling and the ceiling painting, The Chariot of Aurora, brought to Biltmore by Vanderbilt from the Palazzo Pisani Moretta in Venice, Italy . The painting by Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini is the most important work by the artist still in existence . </P> <P> The second floor is accessed by the cantilevered Grand Staircase of 107 steps spiraling around a four - story, wrought - iron chandelier holding 72 light bulbs . The Second Floor Living Hall is an extension of the grand staircase as a formal hall and portrait gallery, and was restored to its original configuration in 2013 . Several large - scale masterpieces are displayed in the hall, including two John Singer Sargent portraits of Biltmore's architect, Richard Morris Hunt, and landscaper, Frederick Law Olmsted, both commissioned for the home by Vanderbilt . Located nearby in the south tower is George Vanderbilt's gilded bedroom with furniture designed by Hunt . His bedroom connects to his wife's Louis XV - style, oval - shaped bedroom in the north tower through a Jacobean carved oak paneled sitting room with an intricate ceiling . </P>

How many rooms is in the biltmore house