The core of the eight-bedroom house is a compact L-shape, elevated on a bluestone plinth.

They paid "under a million" in the late 1990's for the eight-bedroom house, which has a grand staircase, 11-foot ceilings and rich moldings.

The eight-bedroom house was purchased in September for a reported sum of more than $2.8 million and is privately owned.

The original eight-bedroom house has expanded to 58, plus a lavish spa, indoor and outdoor pools, tennis centre and nine-hole golf course.

The eight-bedroom house, off the Sunrise Highway, costs summer renters $50,000 to $70,000 for the summer, said one of the home's owners, Jason Vishnick.

Columbia would not allow access to the building, but period plans and photographs show an eight-bedroom house with seven servants' rooms, served by a total of six bathrooms.

Mr. Forrest began renting his eight-bedroom house in 1998.

Today, seasonal rentals range from one-bedroom bungalows to eight-bedroom Victorian houses, with season prices going from $3,500 to $15,000.

Now, the eight-bedroom house is in a shambles, its hardwood floors and four fireplaces unused since the Red Cross moved out in 1985.

Incidentally, as the net closed in on the Gaddafis, squatters spotting an opportunity took control of the eight-bedroom house in the spring.