There’s something deeply enchanting about the idea of retreating into the earth’s embrace, surrounded by ancient stone walls that have witnessed millennia of history. Cave hotels offer this rare experience, transforming natural grottos and hand-carved chambers into luxurious sanctuaries that blend prehistoric charm with modern comfort.
From ancient dwellings carved into volcanic cliffs to converted silver mines hundreds of feet underground, these extraordinary accommodations provide guests with a unique way to connect with both history and nature. Here is a list of 16 remarkable cave hotels that redefine what it means to get away from it all.
Sextantio Le Grotte della Civita, Matera, Italy
This remarkable UNESCO World Heritage property transforms caves inhabited since prehistoric times into luxurious modern accommodations in the ancient town of Matera. The hotel features 18 beautifully restored cave rooms that preserve original architecture while providing contemporary amenities, including a candlelit breakfast served in a former church cave.
Guests can participate in pasta-making classes and historical tours while staying in dwellings that have sheltered humans for over 9,000 years.
Deep Sleep, Snowdonia, Wales
Currently holding the title of the world’s deepest hotel, this extraordinary accommodation sits 1,375 feet below ground in a disused Victorian slate mine. The journey to reach your underground room involves an hour-long descent through tunnels and rope ladders, making it as much an adventure as a stay.
The four cabins and one double bedroom carved from cavern walls offer expedition-style dining and the deepest, most peaceful night’s rest imaginable at a constant 50°F temperature.
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Grand Canyon Caverns Suite, Arizona, USA
Known as the ‘largest, deepest, darkest, oldest, quietest motel room in the world,’ this unique suite sits 220 feet underground in caverns over 65 million years old. The completely furnished accommodation includes two double rooms, a living room, and a vintage record player with a collection dating back to 1917.
While guided tours pass by during the day, guests enjoy complete underground solitude during evening hours in America’s largest dry cavern system.
Yunak Evleri, Cappadocia, Turkey
This extraordinary hotel combines ten cave houses dating back to the 5th and 6th centuries with a 19th-century Greek mansion, creating 120 unique rooms carved into a mountain cliff. Each accommodation features traditional Turkish decor with handcrafted furnishings and private patios overlooking the Turkish Mesa and Cappadocia’s famous ‘fairy chimneys.’
The property serves as an ideal base for hot air balloon flights and exploring the region’s underground cities and cavernous churches.
Six Senses Ibiza, Spain
Carved seamlessly into the natural rock formations along Ibiza’s rugged coastline, this luxury resort offers cave accommodations that maximize the dramatic Mediterranean setting. Each suite features minimally landscaped terraces with native flora and private outdoor spaces that blend perfectly with the surrounding cliffs.
The property provides the perfect balance between secluded cave luxury and outdoor Mediterranean lifestyle.
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Sultan Cave Suites, Cappadocia, Turkey
This authentic cave hotel features over 30 rooms carved into hillside rock formations amid Cappadocia’s Instagram-famous landscape of fairy chimneys and ancient dwellings. The property’s rooftop terrace offers front-row seats for the region’s spectacular hot air balloon displays at sunrise, while the cave accommodations provide cool, quiet retreats.
The hotel serves traditional Cappadocian cuisine and local wines, with easy access to Göreme’s open-air museum and underground cities.
Beckham Creek Cave Lodge, Arkansas, USA
This luxury retreat occupies a massive natural cavern in the Buffalo River Valley, featuring 5,800 square feet of sophisticated accommodations with an indoor waterfall from a natural underground spring. Originally converted as a bomb shelter by a Celestial Seasonings co-owner, the cave now offers ultra-modern furnishings under stalactite-dotted ceilings.
The property sits on 256 acres of pristine Ozark wilderness, providing complete privacy and stunning natural beauty.
Iconic Santorini, Imerovigli, Greece
This boutique adults-only cave hotel is carved directly from Santorini’s volcanic cliffs, offering stunning caldera views from each of its uniquely designed grotto suites. The property features private plunge pools set against dramatic rocky backdrops and naturally sheltered indoor pools within the volcanic rock formations.
Located in peaceful Imerovigli, guests enjoy tranquil luxury away from the cruise ship crowds while maintaining easy access to famous Oia sunsets.
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The Caves, Jamaica
Perched on limestone cliffs overlooking the crystalline Caribbean Sea, this intimate resort features cottages and suites that rise directly from the rocks beneath traditional thatched roofs. Narrow stairways carved into the seafront cliffs lead to idyllic private grottos, while the clifftop bar offers breathtaking sunset views.
The property perfectly combines rustic luxury with tropical paradise, providing direct access to crystal-clear swimming areas carved naturally into the coastal rocks.
Sala Silvermine Hotel, Sweden
This extreme cave experience takes guests 509 feet underground into a historic silver mine that has been operational since the 15th century. The single luxury suite accommodates only two guests, with hotel staff remaining on the surface while you explore underground tunnels and lakes via original mining tracks.
The deep underground setting provides complete silence and isolation, making it one of the most unique and peaceful accommodations in Scandinavia.
Canaves Ena Hotel, Santorini, Greece
This prestigious property earned Hotel and Resort of the Year honors from Small Luxury Hotels of the World, largely thanks to its spectacular Executive Suite featuring a private cave pool. The newly renovated large one-bedroom suite combines traditional Cycladic cave architecture with modern luxury amenities.
Guests enjoy both the seclusion of their private grotto pool and panoramic views of the Aegean Sea from their carved volcanic rock accommodation.
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Cap Rocat, Mallorca, Spain
Set within ancient limestone cliffs, this luxury resort features cave accommodations seamlessly carved into natural rock formations overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. The chicly appointed outdoor furniture on private terraces contrasts beautifully with the raw, organic cave interiors.
Each cave suite offers direct access to secluded pools and terraces, providing an intimate connection with Mallorca’s dramatic coastal landscape.
Lookout Cave Underground Motel, Coober Pedy, Australia
Located in the famous underground opal mining town where residents live below ground to escape extreme desert temperatures, this authentic cave hotel celebrates the quintessential underground lifestyle. The 25 motel rooms extend up to 164 feet deep into sandstone hillsides, showcasing the beautiful local stone formations typically hidden from view.
The property offers a genuine taste of outback Australia life, where going underground isn’t a novelty but a practical way of life.
Cuevas Pedro Antonio de Alarcón, Guadix, Spain
These famous cave accommodations in Granada province represent 200 years of local craftsmanship, hand-carved by agricultural workers from the region’s soft stone. The luxuriously appointed grottos maintain comfortable temperatures year-round and feature solid stone walls that ensure complete quiet for guests.
The property includes cave suites adapted for disabled guests, a romantic cave with a jacuzzi, swimming pool, and fragrant gardens, plus a restaurant serving traditional Spanish cuisine.
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Perivolas Hotel, Santorini, Greece
This luxury retreat features private cave suites carved from 300-year-old volcanic caves, each with private pools and stunning caldera views. The property’s infinity pool provides front-row seats for Santorini’s legendary sunsets, while the cave accommodations offer air-conditioned comfort and modern amenities.
The hotel also features a fitness center, spa services, and a restaurant offering candlelit dinners by the sea.
Kagga Kamma Nature Reserve, South Africa
This unique wilderness retreat features sandstone cave suites tucked into the pristine Cederberg Mountains, designed to recreate the traditional rock dwellings used by local inhabitants for centuries. Located three hours from Cape Town, the accommodations offer front-row seats to dramatic rock formations, exotic plant life, and rare wildlife sightings.
The cave suites provide an authentic connection to South African heritage while offering modern comfort in one of the country’s most spectacular natural settings.
From Ancient Shelters to Modern Sanctuaries
These remarkable cave hotels represent humanity’s enduring connection to the earth itself, transforming ancient refuges and natural formations into some of the world’s most unique luxury accommodations. From prehistoric dwellings in Italy that have sheltered humans for millennia to cutting-edge conversions of industrial mines in Wales and Sweden, each property offers guests the rare opportunity to sleep within the planet’s embrace.
Whether you’re drawn to the volcanic drama of Santorini, the mystical landscapes of Cappadocia, or the rugged beauty of desert canyons, these cave hotels prove that the most extraordinary travel experiences often lie beneath the surface, waiting to reconnect us with the timeless appeal of our earliest shelters.
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