In the late 1870s the house of Count Vorontsov was badly damaged by the storm and he ordered to build a more comfortable building designed by French architect Etienne Bouchard.

When ordering a project Vorontsov wanted Massandra Palace as a small palace for family vacation in the hottest time of year. All should contribute to an atmosphere of coziness and comfort. These requirements are fully matched the project of Etienne Bouchard made in the romantic style.

At the heart of the architectual project was the type of the renaissance castle in France where the art of the Renaissance developed on the basis of very strong and rich local gothic tradition.

In 1879 Etienne Bouchard appeared in Yalta and began working on the project. In February 1880 all plans and drawings were prepared and sent to the customer for approval. Construction of the palace was moving rapidly. By the middle of September 1881 the palace was built and covered by the roof.

By archival sources the construction of Massandra Palace cost for Count Semen Vorontsov around 120 000 Russian Empire rubles.

Caught a bad cold architect Etienne Bouchard died without completing the project. After the death of Etienne Bouchard work in Massandra continued. It remained to perform interior design but again prevented unforeseen circumstances - in May 1882 died Semen Vorontsov. Building works was suspended. The Massandra Palace stood unfinished during 10 years.

When the Emperor of the Russian Empire Alexander III gave the order to acquire estates Massandra it is primarily aimed to develop industrial winemaking using Vorontsov vineyards and wine technologies.

Emperor of the Russian Empire Alexander III ordered the reconstruction of Massandra palace to well-known St. Petersburg architect Maximilian Messmacher. Also for consultation was involved a well-known at the time the artist Alexei Bogolyubov.

Effective area of Massandra palace was increased mainly due to the additional number of open galleries, terraces, large stairways, balconies. The biggest adjustment was subjected to the southern facade of the palace: instead of single-tiered tower was built a three-tiered tower supplemented by gilded statue of the double-headed eagle.

After the death of emperor Aleskandr III the new emperor of the Russian Empire Nicholas II was in no hurry to leave the Livadia - he was decided to build a new Livadia Palace there. But in memory of his father Nicholas II ordered to finish the construction of Massandra Palace.

Massandra Palace equipped with steam heating, electric lighting, well-functioning ventilation system. The latest in a complex of buildings was projected engine room entirely designed by Maximilian Messmacher. Building of engine room was completely built in the style of Art Nouveau. This is one of the first buildings on the southern coast of Crimea built in the new style.

In the western facade there are two big sequoias reaching 35 meters in height. They are more than one hundred years and were planted in the mid-90s of the XIX century. First sequoia has a name "Emperor" and second one - "Empress".

In March 1902 appeared very important for the history of Massandra palace construction document - the act of his acceptance. The total cost of Massandra Palace buildings was 978 443 Russian Empire Rubles.

But the Romanov family are not moved into Massandra palace. After acceptance of the palace it was rarely visited by royal family - most of the time prefered to stay in Livadia Palace.