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A Cold War missile silo is now a popular and well rated tool. short term vacation rental near Roswell, New Mexico.
But it’s not cheap at $600 a night — but only if you can actually score a night because it’s usually full, according to Airbnb.
“The Missile Base/Bunker property with its underground launch control center and utility tunnel that leads to the 186-foot-deep missile silo, with much of its original floors still intact. Find out what it took to operate one of these incredible sites, the listing says on Airbnb.
The silo was part of the Atlas Missile System Project in the early 1960s and the sites were active until 1965.
“Due to the emergence of space and missile technology in the mid to late 1950s, Project Atlas eventually became the number one priority nationwide as it achieved ‘National Priority’ status” , said AtlasMissileSilo.com. “This made the Atlas program the largest project in the United States at the time and no expense was spared to get the system deployed and operational.”
According to KRQE, each silo cost $22 million to build and there are 72 nationwide, including 12 in the Roswell area.
“It contained an intercontinental ballistic missile with a 4-megaton warhead on it,” silo owner Gary Baker told KRQE. “It took barely two and a half years to build them and two years to operate them.”
Baker owns two of the silos, which he bought for $55,000 25 years ago, KRQE reported.
The one that’s now a sought-after vacation rental has a 4.98 rating and a plethora of top-notch reviews from those who’ve stayed in the bunker.
“It’s unlike anything you’ll experience anywhere else,” said one review. “Gary and his wife are so accommodating and the guest rooms are so comfortable. If you can get an opening, take it!! We will come back. Just an amazing adventure and history lesson!!”
“Don’t think, just book,” said another. “Yes, Roswell is a small town; but he has some really unique experiences. The crown jewel being Gary and his missile silo. What an amazing experience. Space is indescribable; it’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen.
“The silo offered a breathtaking view of historic military engineering,” one person said. “Gary’s place gives you the opportunity to stay in a very unique setting steeped in the past, and his knowledge on the subject is second to none. I would definitely recommend.
Guests have their own private apartment “with many books and displays showing the beginnings of our missile heritage as well as a full living room,” the listing says. The owners also live on site on the lower level.
Although somewhat rare, missile silos that have become Airbnbs are not completely uncommon. A short-term vacation rental in Vilonia, Arkansas was not only used to house a nuclear missile named Titan II, but it is now also a luxury Airbnb, McClatchy News reported.
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