The most popular Airbnb in the world, out of 6 million listings, is a tiny cabin in a redwood forest in California.
Potential guests need to book at least 9 months in advance if they want to stay in this off-the-grid ‘unique listing’ that has had over 1,300 reviews since it joined the site 10 years ago.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BrrO7smAi04/
It has become such a popular listing that apparently even the owners’ children have to make a reservation to stay a night in the cabin or else they’ll never get a chance.
The little house is 10 minutes away from the village of Aptos and 20 minutes away from Santa Cruz. It is just over an hour away from San Francisco and Big Sur.
It has been dubbed the ‘Mushroom Dome Cabin’ because of its geodesic dome- triangles tesselate to form a half-sphere making the ‘mushroom cap’.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BlT3jZYgZcs/
The roof features skylights that let sun and starlight into the loft bedroom. The bedroom has a queen-size bed and a HD flat screen TV with a DVD player so that guests can enjoy the DVD library of over 80 movies. There is also free WiFi.
The bathroom features a travertine stone shower and self-contained composting toilet.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BQWAp3Vg7Gg/
The main floor is in the shape of a pentagon and has a couch and pull-out table. The kitchen has a small fridge, blender, popcorn machine, French coffee press, toaster oven, kettle, hot plate, salad spinner, and crockery. Water is drawn from the well and filtered.
The cabin was built on a slope looking out and into a redwood forest in a 4-hectare plot. The deck has a table and a barbeque.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bl8qgKoB_zw/
An especially unique feature is the ‘Hummingbird Airport’. The garden sees between 300 and 700 hummingbirds a year. It’s no wonder; the ‘airport’ can feed them up to 4l of syrup a day.
‘Some of our guests, especially the ones from Europe, have never seen a hummingbird before, and here they get to see them up close – just a few feet from them as the birds hum around the feeders,’ says owner Kitty Mrache.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BVtQy9ZjKQj/
If you are a true Hummingbird enthusiast, book into their Hummingbird Haven apartment.
What else is there to do? Enjoy the rustic, cosy cabin and its deck, hike in the forest, watch the hummingbirds, pet the goats, head to the beach or gaze at the stars.
‘You are invited, if you feel you would be harmonious here. Pet the goats, check out our chickens, cats, miniature dog and enjoy the very fresh air. I might even teach you how to milk a goat. If you come here when there is no moonlight and the sky is clear, you will see lots of stars,’ says Kitty.
Feature image: AirBnB
