Fans can now stay in famous Lord of the Rings’ Hobbiton on Airbnb

For the very first time, fans are being offered the chance to book a stay in Middle-earth through Airbnb - but there’s a catch.

“In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit”.

That hole was in Hobbiton, and for the very first time ever, fans are being offered the chance to live (for two nights, at least) there, too.

It’s been more than 20 years since the Lord of the Rings made a movie star of New Zealand – specifically, the very unassuming patch of farmland on the North Island which became and will live on forever as Bilbo and Frodo Baggins’ hometown.

Hobbiton is one of New Zealand’s most popular tourist attractions. Picture: iStock

Hobbiton’s founder and CEO, Russell Alexander, is now inviting guests to stay on the property and live like hobbits (without the burden of Gandalf’s relentless world-saving assignments) in partnership with Airbnb.

Included in the package is an evening banquet at beloved hobbit watering hole, the Green Dragon Inn, with a dinner feast featuring plenty of ale, then breakfast - plus “elevenses”, of course - and a behind-the-scenes VIP tour.

It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and the closest anyone’s ever gotten to actually staying in Middle-earth.

The few lucky guests who score a booking will stay in The Millhouse. Picture: Larnie Nicolson/Supplied

For the very lucky few who score an Airbnb booking there, it’s just $NZ10 (A$9.45) a night, in honour of the 10th anniversary of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

However, there’s a catch: just three group bookings (for up to four people) are available, and it’s first in, best dressed when the listing goes live on Airbnb next Wednesday at 8am AEDT.

And it’s a safe bet that demand is going to be high.

It’s been beautifully styled in keeping with an authentic Hobbiton experience. Picture: Larnie Nicolson/Supplied

As Mr. Alexander – whose family farm became intrinsically linked to the franchise thanks to a chance knock on the door by a Lord of the Rings location scout back in 1998 – told news.com.au, the opportunity to stay in Hobbiton is the most frequent request they get from visitors.

“Accommodation is something we’ve never gone into before, and it’s our most commonly-asked question, you know, people ask, ‘well, can we stay here?’” he explained.

The Hobbiton offer comes after the iconic Brisbane house that inspired the world-famous Bluey was listed as Australia’s first “Only on Airbnb” experience earlier this year, following similar promotions involving the original Home Alone house in the US and Carrie Bradshaw’s New York City apartment in Sex and the City.

There are two bedrooms for up to four guests. Picture: Larnie Nicolson/Supplied

Since 2002 - off the back of the phenomenal success of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, the first instalment in Peter Jackson’s trilogy – fans have been able to tour the site the hobbits called home.

The experience really hit another level in 2008, when Jackson again approached the Alexander family about returning to film The Hobbit trilogy.

Mr. Alexander gave him the green light, but on one condition: they make the set permanent.

More than a decade on, the picturesque town of Hobbiton has evolved into one of the most immersive and magical film experiences the world has to offer.

Of course, that includes The Shire’s famous Green Dragon Inn, which offers Tolkien-appropriate ales, ciders and bar snacks, meaning guests can really unwind like their favourite pint-sized Middle-earthers.

The Shire's famous Green Dragon Inn is part of the Hobbiton experience.

Visitors can have a pint and a meal, just like the hobbits.

The Lord of the Rings exploded in popularity from the day The Fellowship of the Ring was released in 2001, growing exponentially from there.

And Mr. Alexander didn’t miss a beat in seizing the opportunity of a lifetime.

“The day after the (Fellowship) came out, I was sending emails and letters to New Line Cinema, trying to get the rights,” he told news.com.au.

“It took me about eight months - I think I got it in about August 2002 - and I thought, ‘right, we can do tours here’.”

He had only “two or three months” to pull it all together, and began showing fans around the rolling hills where Hobbiton had once stood ahead of the release of The Two Towers in December.

In 2008, opportunity once again came knocking.

“Peter Jackson came to me and said, ‘We want to come back and film The Hobbit’,” Mr. Alexander said.

“We had a family meeting and said we only wanted one thing - to make (the site) permanent.”

Fortunately, the famed director was enthusiastically on board with the idea, and Hobbiton Movie Set is now a 50/50 joint business venture between the Jackson and Alexander families. With more than 650,000 annual visitors pre-pandemic, it’s easily one of New Zealand’s biggest tourist attractions.

The Hobbiton Airbnb collaboration follows news that Bagshot Row - a row of Hobbit-holes which includes Samwise Gamgee’s - will soon be transformed into a series of themed rooms for the first time.

Previously, Hobbiton has been only an external experience, with Jackson relying on facades for his productions and shooting the inside of the characters’ homes at a studio.

The Bagshot Row upgrade is due to be finished in the second half of next year.

This writer travelled to Hobbiton as a guest of Airbnb.