Skybarrels: Stay the night on the edge of a volcano

Most luxury getaways aim to help you relax.

Regional Victorian tourism veteran David Perman is hoping his latest project, dubbed the Skybarrels, will “scare the pants off people”.

Determined to do things differently, he’s planning to balance the unique oval-shaped holiday villas up to 16m above ground on the edge of an extinct volcano, Mount Buninyong, just outside of Ballarat.

Designed by TreeARC principal architect Robyn Larsen, the development’s five double-storey barrels will measure 8m tall, about 5m wide and 8.5m long.

All will capture sprawling vistas, but the main villa, called “Vertigo”, will be perched at the top of a 16m-tall open-tread staircase.

“You enter it from underneath, like a UFO,” Perman says.

The four remaining skybarrels will be perched at a less fear-evoking level above the ground.

“It’s going to be an act of bravery just walking up. And the second you open the front door the view over the volcano drop comes in.”

Inside, the villas will have a minimalist, industrial vibe — decked out with luxury including 75-inch TV screens connected to American Netflix accounts, Nick Scalli furniture and Loui Jover original artworks.

“They are a bit crazy,” Perman says.

“But our philosophy is there’s no point building what someone else already built, or doing something that people have got at home.”

Unique on the outside, luxury on the inside.

Step inside and the view over the extinct volcano’s rim unfolds before you.

Plans for the 4a site include engaging with its Indigenous cultural heritage and potentially having a chef tend to guests.

Hockingstuart Belle Property Daylesford’s Nathan Skewes is currently selling the properties at 67 Yendon Road No. 2, Buninyong, as a luxury investment. Each one-bedroom residence is expected to cost $1 million with a leaseback agreement guaranteeing an 8% return.

The Daylesford region is “inundated” with inquiry from Melbourne-based buyers at the moment, and he says it is likely all of the Skybarrels will be sold within a few months.

The accommodation’s major drawcards will include the stunning views on offer.

Perman says he is confident that the properties will be popular. Another high-end operation he has set up at Clifftop at Hepburn has won multiple awards and maintained 85% occupancy throughout the COVID-19 turmoil.

The Skybarrels will be built in nearby Ballarat, creating about 54 jobs over their seven months construction, before being transported to the site.

This article from the Herald Sun originally appeared as “Skybarrels: Buninyong villas to thrill on extinct volcano’s edge”.