Sleeping in a Cave in Cappadocia

Alex's (and my) favorite place we've stayed so far.  Best night's sleep of my life.  Seriously.  Can't wait to get back!

The Divan Cave House

“You go to dinner, and then you come back here.  I will cook potatoes in the fire, and we sit and have wine.  Together.”  Meet Ali, the face of the Divan Cave House in Goreme, Turkey, and probably the most hospitable hotel proprietor I have ever met.  That night, after Casey and I spent a long day exploring the cave city on ATVs, we did just that.  

We pushed the small wooden tables together, and the hotel guests, Casey and I along with four guys from New York, sat together with Ali and shared a few bottles of red and white Cappadocian wines along with salted baked potatoes, fresh out of the wood-burning stove that keeps the kitchen warm and cozy even when snow is falling outside, which it did that night.

 The town of Goreme in the Cappadocia region is filled to the rafters with cave hotels at various price points and degrees of luxury.  Booking online from thousands of miles away, Divan seemed like the best combination of price, novelty, and cushiness, and I think we hit it just about right.  The front of the hotel is light colored sandstone that matches the landscape, and each of the individual suites is carved back into the rock, just as the people carved their homes into the huge protruding rocks over a thousand years ago.  

These are modern rooms built into the rock.  The suite’s living room is simple but perfect for what it is – oriental rug, fridge, TV (useless if you don’t speak Turkish) and bench seating around the walls.  

More importantly once you get past the fact that even the caves with radiators installed are cold in the winter, you will never sleep better than you do in a cave room.  The bedroom is silent and dark, and if you are jet lagged…. See you in 12 hours.  

 On top of all that, Divan is in a perfect location, perched near the top of a side-hill and overlooks the village.  The view from above of the still sleeping town at 5:30 am is one of those things that just make you thankful for where you are.  The whole point of visiting Cappadocia is the crazy landscape, so obviously you want to make sure you have a good view.

 I can’t tell you how Divan stacks up to other hotels in the area, having only visited one.  I do know this though, I have stayed in plenty of more expensive and corporate hotels, and I think I prefer this.  Note to Hilton – warm up the potatoes!