Travel,Curiosities,Home & DesignMAY 14, 2020

This 100% Solar-Powered Floating Villa Offers A Luxurious Escape For Couples

COVID-19 is still at large, but a number of countries are easing up on the rules of lockdown, allowing for increasingly more freedom in how we live our lives. With the first airlines also coming back to business, some have begun wondering if now is a good time to start organizing their holidays again.

A more COVID-19 friendly (as well as a more unique) option is available for those who will want to continue keeping their distance from people beyond the official lockdown, all the while not compromising their travel and holiday plans and desires.

So, apparently, houses can float on water, and this one is available for people to stay at

Image credits: Ian Davidson, Lilypad Palm Beach

Introducing the Lilypad Palm Beach Villa, a luxury solar-powered floating villa in Palm Beach, New South Wales, Australia. This bit of accommodation offers a super-isolated retreat for two in Pittwater Bay near Palm Beach. Bored Panda reached out to Chuck Anderson, Founder and Owner of the Lilypad Palm Beach luxury floating villa for an interview.

Designed by Chuck Anderson himself, the incredible Lilypad is a two-story 100% solar-powered house with a wrap-around porch. The house is said to be built using sustainable materials with full respect to the marine environment.

“I've spent most of my life on the water, both recreationally and professionally (with a background in marine engineering), and I felt as though the traditional boating experience closed itself off to a wider audience. I came to identify that we could design and create a space that would take away the intimidation of boating, whilst allowing the everyday person to experience the beauty and magic of being on the water, without requiring the skillset or experience to operate a vessel,” explained Anderson.

He continued: “In addition, I wanted to create a space that was special and more engaging than every other boat out there by creating an iconic pitch roof with exposed rafters and a bathroom with more luxury refinement than most apartments. I really wanted every inch of the space to make you feel something, and I think we've done that.”

Image credits: Ian Davidson, Lilypad Palm Beach

The Lilypad Palm Beach Villa is a luxury-class hotel for 2 floating in the middle of Pittwater Bay, Australia

Image credits: Ian Davidson, Lilypad Palm Beach

The villa comes with a furnished living room with a fireplace, a fully-equipped kitchen, and even a wine cellar. Upstairs is a twin bedroom with a king-sized bed and a spa-like bathroom. Outside, the porch area serves as an open terrace fit for sunbathing, dining, or just chilling with a glass of wine during sunset.

And besides staying indoors, the proprietor also offers outdoor activities like paddle boards, fishing gear, snorkeling, a self-drive boat, and other active travel stuff. Heck, there are even hiking trails around.

Oh, and there’s also the possibility to have a picnic set up on a nearby beach and a massage therapist can even come over to the Lilypad to make you feel even more relaxed.

So, despite the accommodations being designed for a two-person stay, it is possible to host up to 16 people for a party or other event: “Lilypad was created for couples to relax, and overnight stays are our most common booking. However, we have hosted several intimate events for milestone celebrations, long lunches hosting friends, family or clients for an afternoon on the water. We have also hosted several weddings and have had an overwhelming request for more boutique weddings in the future,” said Anderson.

It comes with a fully equipped livingroom, bedroom, kitchen, wine cellar, and a wrap-around porch area

Image credits: Ian Davidson, Lilypad Palm Beach

The house is 100% solar powered and is built from eco-friendly materials

Image credits: Ian Davidson, Lilypad Palm Beach

The Lilypad is open all year round, with summer being the best time to enjoy your stay, but winter in Palm Beach averages at around 10 to 17 degrees Celsius, which is quite warm by Nordic standards. Or by people-who-love-the-cold standards:

“We have a beautiful open fireplace, Netflix, Wi-Fi, a private tender to explore the area, stand up paddle boards (perfect if you don’t fall in, the water will be a tad chilly this time of year), fishing rods, and the Palm Beach area offers beautiful walks, restaurants, cafes and whale watching opportunities from the headland;” these are just some of the many things that Anderson said people can do during their stay in the wintertime.

Apparently, the villa used to be a members-only venue, costing around $3,600 a month (or $43,200 per year, if you’re really dedicated), but it has since then been opened to the public and is said to cost around $1,300 for a couple per night. Besides the accommodations, this includes everything from private self-drive tender, champagne and tasting plate, dinner, breakfast, and full access to the on-board wine cellar, among other things already mentioned above.

Besides chilling, people can also go fishing, snorkeling, paddle boarding, or cruise in the self-drive boat

Image credits: Ian Davidson, Lilypad Palm Beach

A night for two people in the villa will net you upwards of $1,000, including dinner, breakfast, wine and more

Image credits: Lilypad Palm Beach

This is by no means the only house that’s decided to learn to swim, as the Netherlands has seen a spike in interest in water-based housing due to much of the country living below the rising sea level. There was also the dRMM Waterhood proposal, a concept for London’s Royal Victoria Docks that would serve as a community of floating homes and office spaces.

Some people online were joking that since there are water-based accommodations available now, the next logical thing is to create flying accommodations. That is, unfortunately, not in Lilypad’s plans, but expansion of floating accommodations is within the horizon:

“Launching more venues is a definite yes, but in terms of the size of the venue, for me, it is very important to keep a level of intimacy with the space, it's crucial to create a connection between the guest, the space and the outside environment. If the design of the space is too big, that level of intimacy and fluid connection is lost. It's a fine line to create high end luxury but not wasteful space,” said Anderson.

Image credits: Ian Davidson, Lilypad Palm Beach

Check out Lilypad's video advert below

Video credit: Lilypad Palm Beach

What are your thoughts on this? Would you want a house that floats on water, or do you get seasick easily and can’t risk it? Let us know in the comments below!