June 20, 2026 · 10:23 AM
Someone built a UFO in the woods outside Portland. You can stay in it.
A sci-fi enthusiast named Kirby Swatosh spent eight years hand-building a 726-sq-ft retro-futurist flying saucer on his forested property in Brush Prairie, WA. It's now on Airbnb with 4.97 stars across 746 reviews — and a Guest Favorite badge.
Someone built a full-scale UFO in the woods outside Portland and put it on Airbnb. 1
Not a treehouse with a rocket motif. Not a foam-insulation dome with a space-themed throw pillow. A faceted aluminum-clad flying saucer — complete with a rampway entry hatch, angled skylights, and a working flight deck inside — sitting in five acres of Pacific Northwest forest, 30 feet from the host's house, available to book tonight. It has 4.97 stars across 746 reviews and carries Airbnb's Guest Favorite badge. This is this week's pick.
Eight years of one man's obsession
The host is Kirby Swatosh, a sci-fi enthusiast and musician from Brush Prairie, Washington. He spent eight years hand-building the structure on his forested property, about an hour south of Seattle. 2
The origin story has a strange little wrinkle: a song. Kirby wrote a track called "Spaceship" and posted it on Bandcamp years before breaking ground. According to the property's Instagram account, the song came first — "The song that inspired the spaceship that inspired this video!" — and the physical structure came after. That's either a romantic origin myth or evidence that Kirby has been building toward this his entire adult life. Possibly both. 3
What he built is 726 square feet of retro-futurist obsession. From the outside it reads unmistakably as a landed flying saucer — faceted panels, a circular silhouette, the entry ramp dropping at an angle like something expecting a crew in silver jumpsuits. Fabulous Washington called it "something out of 1960s futurism brought to life." 2
What you actually step into
The main living area is called the Lunar Lounge — a wet bar with a gamma-ray microwave, air fryer, and blender; papasan chairs arranged around a globe-on-a-pedestal coffee table; red neon accent beams cutting across the ceiling. The sleeping situation is a queen bed and a full-size bed under a starfield ceiling. There's an airlock-style inner door between the entry hatch and the main cabin. Skylights let in tree-filtered daylight. 4
The cockpit is what makes this place genuinely disorienting. There's a full three-panel flight console — colored buttons, two circular screen surrounds, keyboards, instrument clusters — positioned under a panoramic skylight window with a view of the meadow outside. You're not sleeping near some decorative prop. You're sitting at the helm of something. 4
The property holds up to 6 guests. There's Wi-Fi, a TV, a private driveway about a third of a mile long, and a small stream and meadow on the grounds. The listing description commits fully to the bit: parking instructions mention keeping the "hangar bay doors unblocked" since "shuttle flights depart and arrive almost daily," and nearby civilization is described as "friendly natives." 5 The nearest food is Hockinson Market, about a mile and a half west, which serves fresh pizza and has a tap room. The nearest gas station helpfully provides "fossil fuel." 5
And then there's the costume closet — an R2-D2–wrapped cooler standing sentry outside a rack of sci-fi dress-up options that includes a Chewbacca suit and a silver astronaut ensemble. Because of course it does.
The cultural footprint
In July 2025, Ryan Trahan — a YouTuber with 23 million subscribers — checked in as part of his "50 States in 50 Days" series. The episode generated 16 million total views across the series and later appeared as a standalone 22-minute PG special on Apple TV. Trahan showed up, put on the silver spacesuit, and staged a mock mission launch. 2
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The endorsement that tells you more about what Kirby actually built, though, came from Michael Okuda — the graphic designer who created the LCARS interface for Star Trek: The Next Generation and is about as close to a Vatican authority on sci-fi production design as you can get. Okuda posted about the listing on Facebook, calling it "the Jupiter 2" — a reference to the iconic ship from the 1966 TV series Lost in Space — and noted that while the rental doesn't include a robot, it does come with a copy of the ST:TNG Technical Manual. 6 When the person who designed the Enterprise bridge says your Airbnb looks like a real starship, you've done something right.
Journey.com's editorial team, which reviewed the property in early 2026, put it plainly: "This is not a property that flirts with a theme. It inhabits one fully, from structure to spirit, and invites you to do the same." 7
What guests actually say
The 746-review average of 4.97 stars is not a sample-size illusion. The reviews read like dispatches from people who didn't expect to be this delighted.
An early guest, quoted by travel blogger Emma B. of The Travel Life: "Best AirBnB stay EVER. Seriously, so fun — can not recommend this enough. My husband and I stayed at the UFO for a couple of days to celebrate my birthday and it was perfect." 8 Another early guest in the same roundup: "This was one of the most unique stays for us, and so much fun. The set up was great — one big open space with lots of fun nooks and comfy seating." 8
A couple who stayed in early 2026 wrote on Journey.com: "Truly an out of this world experience! The hubby and I had such a fantastic time at the spaceship." 7 A family put it this way: "We really enjoyed our time at Kirby's Spaceship. Our kids really enjoyed all the cool lighting and little creatures and details of the inside." 7 A French guest weighed in in French: "Le logement de Kirby est juste incroyable!! Complètement décalé et dépaysant. Kirby est très accueillant et drôle." (Kirby's place is just incredible — completely offbeat and transporting. Kirby is very welcoming and funny.) 7
How often Kirby's name appears in the reviews tells you something about the hosting. He and Patricia (listed as co-hosts) have maintained Superhost status for five years. The spaceship sits 30 feet from their home, not in some remote self-check-in void.
Practical details
- Location: Brush Prairie, WA — about 20 miles north of Portland, OR; roughly 1 hour from downtown Seattle 4
- Capacity: 6 guests
- Rating: 4.97★ / 746 reviews / Guest Favorite 1
- Price: Check current rates on the listing — pricing varies by season 1
- Included: Lunar Lounge wet bar, full flight-deck console, costume closet (R2-D2 cooler, Chewbacca suit, silver space suit), starfield sleeping area, queen and full-size beds, Wi-Fi, TV, private 1/3-mile driveway, outdoor meadow and stream access 2 4
- Good for: Couples, families with kids, sci-fi fans, anyone who has ever wanted to know what it feels like to sleep inside a 1960s Lost in Space prop
- Hosts: Kirby and Patricia Swatosh, Superhosts (5 years) 2
Book it: Spaceship Destination! — Airbnb
The listing description ends with: "Friendly natives abound!" Eight years of building, a Superhost badge, 746 reviews, and a Star Trek designer's seal of approval. Kirby Swatosh made something that didn't exist before he decided it should. 2
Cover image: Fabulous Washington — Spaceship Destination!, Brush Prairie, WA
References
- 1Spaceship Destination! — Airbnb
- 2Ryan Trahan's Washington Airbnb: The Spaceship in Brush Prairie — Fabulous Washington
- 3Instagram @spaceship_destination_
- 4This spaceship Airbnb in Washington is outta this world — Seattle Refined
- 5Out Of This World Spaceship Airbnb In Washington Is Fascinating — 104.3 WOW Country
- 6Michael & Denise Okuda: Why, yes, you CAN rent the Jupiter 2! — Facebook
- 7Experience Retro-Futurism in a Luxury Capsule Retreat — Journey.com
- 8Stay in this Themed 1960s Spaceship in the Hills of Hockinson — The Travel Life
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