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New York is far from the verdant, rolling hills of Hobbiton—the fictional village author J.R.R. Tolkien created for his fantasy novels The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. But not too far outside of New York City, fans can get a taste of the cozy, hillside home by staying at one particular Airbnb.
If you’re a fan of Tolkien’s rich universe like me and wish to live like a hobbit—the fictional race of food-loving, meade-drinking and pipe-smoking people that are only about half of the average height of humans—then you’re in luck because there’s a getaway less than two hours from NYC that will let you do just that. You don’t need to travel to New Zealand’s Hobbiton movie set!
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If you live under a rock, Hobbits essentially live in underground “holes,” or homes underneath hills. As The Hobbit says, “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.”
An Airbnb in Pawling, New York offers a private getaway—a whole house built under the earth with a domed ceiling—for wannabe hobbits. For $500 a night, you can stay with five other guests in this two-bedroom home that has “Ring Quests upon request at time of booking.”
Pawling is actually located in the foothills of the Berkshires, so it’s not so far off from the rolling landscape of Middle Earth.
It’s not just aesthetically hobbit-y. It’s cozy with king-size beds, walk-in showers, three patios, an outdoor grill, a hot tub, two hammocks, two fire pits and an indoor fireplace to read (or write) your novel by. It’s also a passive house, which means it uses very little energy.
Those who have stayed at the hobbit hole say it’s peaceful with the sound of running water and birdsong. The details are impressive and full of film props to pose with.
Up for the journey? Check it out here.