Kayakapi Premium Caves - Cappadocia

Kayakapi Premium Caves - Cappadocia

Kayakapi Premium Caves sits inside an 18th- and 19th-century hillside neighbourhood on the north-eastern slope of Esbelli Rock, a short walk from Urgup's centre and within the boundaries of Goreme National Park's UNESCO-listed rock landscape. The 36 rooms and suites are carved into restored cave houses and stone mansions, threaded past a 10th-century cave church, an Ottoman-era mosque and the House of St John the Russian, so the walk to breakfast passes through several centuries of settlement. Rooms range from a 355-square-foot Prime Double with its own fireplace to a 1,184-square-foot Prime King Room, each fitted with blackout blinds, a mini bar and central floor heating to take the edge off the cave chill. What sets this property apart from the region's other cave hotels is Revithia, the only Michelin-starred restaurant in Cappadocia, built around forgotten local dishes and Cappadocian terra noir wines. Elsewhere on the grounds there is an indoor and an outdoor pool, a spa set in the historic Davut Agha Mansion, a sauna, a steam room and a gym, plus a business center and conference hall for anyone tacking meetings onto the trip. Couples come for the hot-air-balloon and honeymoon packages; families are considered too, with a children's pool, highchairs and babysitting on offer, though cave architecture built into a sloping hillside won't suit anyone who struggles with stairs. Pets are not allowed. Airport transfers run a flat 70 lira each way, and check-in doesn't open until 2:30pm, worth knowing if you land early. This is a hotel for people who want the cave fantasy without giving up a kitchen that takes itself seriously. A restored hillside neighbourhood of caves and stone mansions above Urgup, home to Revithia, Cappadocia's only Michelin-starred restaurant, plus two pools, a spa and a sauna. Suits couples chasing balloon-flight honeymoons and travelers who want history with their comfort; less so anyone who can't manage cave stairs.