Argos In Cappadocia

Though not yet so common that they need a name for their particular sub-genre — speleoboutiques, anyone? — it’s safe to say that cave hotels are officially a thing. Especially in Cappadocia, which as a region has what’s probably the world’s most plentiful supply of habitable caves. And if you want to see how it’s done, you need look no further than this repurposed monastery in the village of Uçhisar, now a boutique hotel called Argos in Cappadocia.

If it feels a bit like the set of some swords-and-sorcerers epic, that’s more or less the point. It should go without saying that this is a place you go to escape from the modern world. Inside it’s all arches and vaults and massive rough-hewn stone blocks, and outside it’s a picturesque tumble of weathered stone houses, cascading down the hillside.

The rooms themselves pack in as much contemporary comfort as a cave can reasonably handle; today’s luxury guests need not fear a total return to the Stone Age. Some have terraces, others private in-cave pools, and they manage to make subterranean living feel like the most natural thing in the world. Which it sort of is, come to think of it. And not to be missed are Argos’s surprising public spaces — the owners discovered a large tunnel network during the refurbishment, and from it they’ve fashioned a restaurant, some meeting rooms, a wine cellar and even a concert hall.