BAINBRIDGE ISLAND, Wash. — Bainbridge Island's Hobbit House is the winner of Best Quirky Vacation Rental in 2022's Best Northwest Escapes viewer poll.
When Rose Linford-Combs was 11, she wanted her own Hobbit house.
"I told her, 'You dig the hole. I’ll build it,'" said her grandfather, Jas Linford, a musical instrument repairman and community band leader.
Rose and her friends dug that hole. Jas set about bringing the fantasy to life.
"I had to go back and watch a lot of Hobbit movies and stills and stuff," he said. "Ninety percent of the material was scrounged. We had to buy one sheet of plywood and a couple other pieces."
The structure is nestled into a hillside, which provides natural insulation.
"In the summertime, it’s cool, in the wintertime it’s warm," Linford said.
Now that Rose is off to college, her Hobbit House-turned vacation rental helps pay tuition by hosting visitors to Middle Earth.
"Actual Hobbits, no," Linford said. "But people come in costume all the time."
The guests are smitten.
"99.99 percent positive," Linford said.
What’s not to love? This cozy glamping experience comfortably sleeps two. Many visitors leave original artwork, which now lines the back wall.
"Some of it, pretty nice," Linford said. "Some of it, meh."
Congratulations to Bainbridge Island’s Hobbit House, your choice for Best Quirky Vacation Rental.
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