10 great caves you can stay in

Cappadocia is a fantasy land where the soft rock has weathered into a striking landscape of arches, caverns and eye-popping protuberances. For centuries, locals have carved into the rock for homes, churches, even underground cities – and now hotels.

Argos is once such hotel, offering luxury cave rooms, and arguably the best views in Cappadocia.

This extraordinary 4-bedroom, 4-bathroom cave house has been carved into an eye-popping natural cavern in the Ozark mountains, on a private 256-acre estate.

This is the real deal, with rooms, fittings and furnishings complementing exposed, natural craggy rock and the occasional stalactite. Step outside for hiking, canoeing, fishing, and horseback riding.

This unique cave house, also set into the soft clay bedrock outside of Granada, is a private, secluded complex, hidden in the Andalusian countryside, that cleverly integrates into the topography.

It comes with three bedrooms, a fully-equipped kitchen, a living room and a pool. Perfect for families and groups.

Granada has a long history of cave communities, notably in the soft-rocked suburb of Sacromonte, formed by those expelled as undesirable by the city: gypsies, Jews and Muslims.

So it’s perhaps not surprising to find this complex of unusual, man-made 18 cave ‘houses’ in nearby Benalua. Each is uniquely designed, with a cave-like interior.

Anyone who has seen the films would have envied Bilbo, and later Frodo, their cosy underground hobbit home. The Eureka Springs Resort has thus created a series of underground suites, mirroring those famous hobbit burrows.

They come with the famous large round windows, and a jacuzzi bath (that Bilbo didn’t have).

This spectacular nature reserve, three hours from Cape Town, is home to ten unusual (man-made) ‘cave suites’. The suites are integrated into the surrounding topography with cave-like interiors.

Or you can opt for one of their two ‘open-air suites’, situated away from the main lodge for more privacy and utter tranquillity. Guests sleep out under a carpet of stars, and wake to sunrise and uninterrupted views of the bushveld.

The Loire Valley was, for centuries, famously home to ‘troglodytes’, local residents who lived in caves dug into the soft bedrock. Today, you’ll still find troglodyte homes, restaurants, zoos – and hotels.

This cosy four-star is one of the best, with calming, luxurious ‘troglodyte’ rooms carved into the neighbouring cliff.

Before it became a romance Mecca, Santorini’s residents carved homes into the rock faces, creating a unique style of traditional architecture. ‘Cave’ houses offered insulation in winter and cooling in the heat of summer.

Nowadays, luxury hotels, like Perivolas, have employed the same techniques to create uber-romantic suites, some with private jacuzzis, all with dazzling caldera views.

Set into hills in the Blue Mountains, surrounded by acres of wild bushland, you’ll find this one-bedroom, self-contained cave, cleverly carved into the natural contours of the local rock.

There’s a modern kitchenette, fireplace and views out onto a forested valley. A true wild cave sleep experience, without sacrificing on home comforts, just 45 minutes from Sydney.

This unique retreat, hidden within 3 acres of woodland near The Cotswolds, took thousands of man-hours to sculpt, and required the excavation of over seventy tonnes of rock.

A site occupied for nearly 800 years, today it’s a one-bed, self-contained accommodation and an uber-romantic, get-back-to-nature getaway for couples.