Luxurious peace and quiet underground
Cave hotels come in all shapes and sizes. They’re typically silent, unique, historic and unexpectedly luxurious . . . and most definitely worth exploring, writes Michael Gebicki.
Les Hautes Roches Rochecorbon, France
A cave hotel is not what you expect among the chateaus of the Loire Valley but these caves bored into the cliff face were once monks’ cells. Today, it’s a luxury 14-room hotel with Relais & Chateaux credentials. Guest suites are made less cave-like by the big windows that open to a lovely view of the Loire slinking through the countryside. See leshautesroches.com.
Iconic Santorini Greece
This luxury boutique hotel has been crafted from the traditional Santorini village house known as a skafta, a horizontal tunnel bored into the cliff wall with a door across the front. Each of the 19 suites is different, decorated in a pretty white and sea-blue colour scheme that echoes the colours of the Greek flag. More expensive suites have terraces with jetted plunge pools from which you can admire the sunset. See iconicsantorini.com.
Gamirasu Cave Hotel Ayvali, Turkey
Cappadocia is troglodyte HQ, a fairy tale region on the stark plains of Anatolia, and Gamirasu is the standout among its cave hotels. In Ayvali Village, the 35-room hotel consists of converted village houses and a Byzantine-era monastery, complete with wall frescoes, a heated outdoor pool, an organic food restaurant and wi-fi. All-white rooms are stylish, romantic and silent. See gamirasu.com.
Desert Cave Hotel Coober Pedy, Australia
In a town where most of the population lives and works below the surface, it’s no surprise that the best hotel in this opal-mining town is underground. The miracle is that life in a cave is so luxurious. Rooms are comfortably cool, dry and silent. There’s also a pool, an underground bar and Opal World – an underground shopping arcade with some of Coober Pedy’s finest gemstones. See desertcave.com.au.
Sextantio Le Grotte Della Civita Matera, Italy
In this ancient town in the Basilicata region of southern Italy, this is a sensitive transformation of a group of the town’s sassi – simple cave houses once a synonym for poverty – into a beautiful and atmospheric hotel. Rooms are powerfully evocative of their surroundings, and simply but exquisitely furnished. Breakfast is served on a communal table in a medieval church. Matera is a Unesco World Heritage Site.
See legrottedellacivita.sextantio.it.
Kokopelli’s Cave Farmington, United States
Set in cliffs 100 metres above the valley of the La Plata river valley in north-east New Mexico, this spacious, manmade cave consists of a master bedroom, kitchen, living and dining area, and a bathroom with a waterfall shower and Jacuzzi. There’s also a Native American kiva – a room used for rituals by the original Pueblo Indian people of the region. Solitude is five-star, and views from the terrace are dazzling, especially when sunset brings fire to the valley skies. Expect the local wildlife to attend. See kokoscave.us.
The Mine Suite, Sala Silvermine Sala, Sweden
In the world’s deepest hotel suite, 155m underground, you’re guaranteed silence and privacy. In what was once Sweden’s deepest silver mine, there’s a touch of fantasy about the single guest suite, with its chandelier, candles and silver armchairs. In-room heating and a cosy bed wards off the cave’s natural temperature, which never rises above 2 degrees Celsius. Guests get a snack basket with wine and breakfast, served in their private dining alcove. See salasilvergruva.se.
Mirra Mirra Crossover, Australia
The Cave House is one of three types of accommodation at this bushland retreat in Gippsland, 90 minutes from Melbourne, where fantasy takes a front seat. Pass through the mouth of Magog and you’re in a gorgeously private, naturally cooled two-bedroom hideaway with coloured uplighting accenting details in the stone walls. There’s a log fire and full-size kitchen where you can grill a chunk of prime local beef to complete the Fred Flintstone, yabba-dabba-do experience. See miramira.com.au.
Beckham Creek Cave House Parthenon, United States
On the northern side of Arkansas’ Ozark National Forest, this modern luxury lodge combines style and adventure. Set in a natural cavern, high on a bluff overlooking a green valley, there are just four suites at this high-end retreat, with four lavish bathrooms. There’s a chef’s dream kitchen, and a plush lounge area with a natural waterfall that dominates the centre of the main room, the ultimate in a self-catering, rough-edged adventure with a silk finish. See beckhamcave.com.
Kagga Kamma Nature Reserve Cederberg, South Africa
In the Cederberg Wilderness Area of Western Cape Province, Kagga Kamma offers open air rooms – literally a bed and bathroom in the great outdoors – plus 10 superbly comfortable cave suites carved from sandstone. This natural paradise includes a spa, swimming pool, restaurant, and a comprehensive activities programme that showcases the flora and fauna of the region, much of which is rarely seen in other parts of South Africa. See kaggakamma.co.za.