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Properties / Hotels

Abandoned Boeing 737 Transformed Into Stunning Luxury Villa

A former Mandala Air Boeing 737 has now been transformed into a luxury home where two bedrooms and an infinity pool beckon guests.

Jan 17, 2023 | By Joe Lim

Situated in Bali, the former passenger airplane gets a new lease of life by becoming a luxury villa replete with an infinity pool and bathtub in the cockpit!

Image: Felix Demin

Very few tourists dislike Bali. Everyone can find something to enjoy on the island as a destination. Sure, some locations feel overdeveloped, but if that is your issue, all you need to do is travel inland and to the mountains to discover some otherwise elusive peace. Alternatively, you can rent your very own luxury villa hilltop 737 to stay in for a few nights.

Bali’s dynamism has attracted artists from near and far who want to settle there permanently or just temporarily. Among them are architects who design hotels and other structures that (often) blend in with the island’s beautiful surroundings. However, some projects stand out more than others and deserve aviation geeks’ ambitions.

Image: Felix Demin

A former Mandala Air Boeing 737 that had been abandoned and unusable was bought by Russian businessman Felix Demin in 2021. The airplane is currently being transformed into a two-bedroom home.

Of course, an infinity pool and wing-top patio are included for good measure. From March of this year, it will be accessible to travellers waiting to get back to travelling the world after the long pause from the global pandemic.

After obtaining the necessary licenses in September 2021, it took a week to move the airplane to its new hilltop site, according to Business Insider. Before being reassembled once it was perched in its new position, it was moved in two distinct portions. The cabin and flying systems have all changed, although the fuselage is still the same shape. To make room for everything one could possibly need when perched on an Indonesian hilltop, the cabin and flying systems have been completely dismantled. Aptly called, “Private Jet Villa by Hanging Gardens”, the enviable views from its high point, you enjoy commanding views of the surroundings.

Image: Felix Demin

Demin said, “Externally and structurally, this is a jet aircraft that we have turned into a luxury hotel.”

Although the property is still being built, you can see below the artist’s drawings of how it will eventually seem. It will be known as the “Private Jet Villa by Hanging Gardens” and will be located on a clifftop adjacent to the 1.5-kilometre-long Nyang Nyang beach, not far from Uluwatu, a place that is world-famous for its surfing.

The cost to stay in a bedroom with a basic design and use the toilet in the former cockpit, however, is not quite in the range of a surf hostel. The project is already available for rent, with a nightly rate of Indonesian Rupiah 113,999,999. That comes to about US$7,367.

Image: Felix Demin

If the cost of the private mountaintop 737 seems a bit prohibitive, Stockholm Arlanda Airport’s JumboStay Boeing 747 is available for those who wish to sleep in an older Boeing. Even if it isn’t an infinity pool and you can’t use the cockpit bathroom alone, the location is pretty excellent.

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