'Fifty Shades of Grey' on Airbnb? Live It Up Like Christian Grey

A scene from Fifty Shades of Grey

Want to live like Christian Grey for one weekend (minus the Red Room of Pain)? Now you can. A one-bedroom apartment at the Escala, the Seattle luxury building featured in the novel and film Fifty Shades of Grey, is now available for short-term rental via Airbnb UK. At 170 British pounds a night plus fees, with a 3-night minimum stay, your Fifty Shades fantasy accommodations will set you back around a thousand dollars. (Jamie Dornan definitely not included.)

A view of the Escala from the outside

Inside the Airbnb apartment

Fifty Shades of Grey author E. J. James had never actually seen the Escala when she wrote it into her best-selling erotic novel, about the romance between naive college graduate Anastasia Steele (played by Dakota Johnson in the film) and the emotionally tortured, sexually adventurous billionaire Christian Grey (played by Dornan). Knowing she wanted Grey to live in an opulent penthouse, the British writer did an internet search for “the most important apartment” in Seattle. “The Escala came up and I said, ‘OK, I’ll go for that,’” she told The Seattle Times. James finally paid a personal visit to the luxury condominium building on her 2012 United States book tour, during which she tweeted photos of the Escala’s balconies and wine cellar.

The Airbnb apartment’s all-important bedroom

And the even-more-important tub

Ironically, when James was writing her book in 2010, the Escala was slashing prices in order to fill its many unsold units. But the building’s unexpected literary fame soon remedied any sales problems. In 2013, a penthouse at the Escala sold for $6.2 million, the highest price paid for a condo in Seattle in three years. The building is now mostly full, with remaining units selling for between $1.25 and $6.6 million dollars. That’s why the Airbnb deal — which appears to include access to the building’s spa, workout area, lobbies, movie room, wine tasting room, and outdoor fireplace — might be too good for Fifty Shades obsessives to ignore. Just be aware: They don’t actually let you land a helicopter on the roof.

Watch a scene from Fifty Shades of Grey:

Image credit: Airbnb