Cave Hotels: outside stone age, interior luxury

Vacation in a cave? Who is there to smoky campfire and bear skins as a place to sleep thinking that is on the wrong track. Former captain quarters, tufa caves and converted opal mines turn out today as a modern hotel with marble bathrooms, comfortable beds and elaborate murals. We present five hostels for the different holiday, some of which you see in our slide show.

Turkey: Ancient cave monastery into a hotel

Tradition have holes as living quarters in Cappadocia in Turkey. There, the residents hollowed out the soft tufa rock of the walls and created their accommodation. In the area around Urgup some of these caves have been refurbished to modern hotel rooms. One of the most interesting and most comfortable facilities, the Gamirasu Cave Hotel in the village Ayvali. Inside the maze hostel, located in a restored houses ensemble with a total of 25 rooms, welcomes guests oriental living room atmosphere. The rooms in the former, a thousand year old Byzantine monastery are cool in summer, in winter, cozy and warm. The volcanic rock perfectly insulated and offers year-round temperatures from 17 to 20 degrees. Double room with breakfast costs from 115 $ per night. The family suite is booked for 170 $ per night.

Santorini luxury in the old captains' houses

Also on the island of Santorini in Greece, the inhabitants dug their homes earlier in the soft tufa rock of the crater rim. Some of the old captain's houses are rented to tourists. How about the hotel "Canaves Oia" that gives it the same in duplicate. The cave houses are partly already in the 18th Century and are now equipped with the times. Antiques in the rooms are also standard, including satellite TV, music system, swimming pool and sun terrace. Both houses are common to the magnificent view across the caldera and the sparkling sea far below and romantic sunsets. The Hotel Canaves Oia is available at some German tour operators. So taste a one-week air-inclusive trip to Attica travel according to season between 1329 $ and 1542 $ in October during the high season in early August.

Italy: caves with luxury factor

feared for its cave houses for a long time was the site of Matera in the Basilicata region in southern Italy. Only 70 years ago the place was so remote and poor, that at the time of fascism regime opponents such as the writer Carlo Levi was sent there in exile. His experiences there, he worked in the novel "Christ Stopped at Eboli." Meanwhile, the southern Italian cave city was incorporated as a world cultural heritage list of UNESCO. Tourism brought new life into the city, and some caves now offer comfortable accommodation for visitors. A jewel is the elegant residence "La Casa di Lucio". The double rooms in the old town of Matera are stylishly furnished with designer furniture and can be booked from 87 $ per person per night.

France: caves overlooking the Loire Valley

In a former monastery, the Hotel Les Hautes Roches, nestled in the vineyards of the Loire Vouvray ashore in France. The special thing about it: Twelve of the 15 rooms have been dug in tufa caves in the rock - lovely views into the Loire Valley are included. However, the cave rooms not very cheap pleasure, after all, that adorns the Relais & Chateau Chain the house with four stars. One night in a double room costs from 170 $ (including Loire view), breakfast there for 20 $ per person, half board for 85 $.

Australia: Cave Hotel in the opal-mining area

A taste of adventure promises a stay in the broad opal-mining area of ​​Coober Pedy in South Australia. That the people there often live in tunnels under the earth, has a simple reason: While it can be outside in summer reaches up to 50 degrees and icy cold in winter, it is tempered in the so-called "dugouts" year-round pleasant. Some of the old mines now offer tourists an unusual quarter. One of the most exclusive is the Coober Pedy Experience Motel. It is home to twelve people in brightly painted caves. The equipment is quite appealing for the conditions - microwave, toaster, TV and telephone are standard. One night in a double room is available from 185 AUS dollars (about 124 $) for two persons.