Sleeping in a Cave in Cappadocia

Would you believe me if I told you this wasn’t my first time? 

There have been caves before, Coober Pedy in Australia, and caves since, last week in Tennessee, but none quite measured up to where I stayed in Cappadocia. In the land of fairy chimneys and Mars-esque landscapes, I found myself staying at Taskonaklar, one of Europe’s top boutique hotels. But how I got here is another story entirely.

As I told you when I announced my Turkey Adventure, this trip was almost a year in the making. The destination had been in the back of my mind for years, but I just needed the pieces of the puzzle to fall into place. One of these pieces fell into my lap in November 2012, almost one year ago, when I went to London for World Travel Market.

I had scheduled a few appointments with destinations but was generally intimidated by the whole process. I got an email from a guy named Tolga who was interested in meeting with me to discuss his hotel in Cappadocia, Turkey. I didn’t think I would be able to make time, but one night at a TBU sponsored event, he came and introduced himself. Once I saw his business card, which had images of the hotel on it, I made up my mind: I was going to Turkey.

Tolga arranged my stay, so now all I had to do was get there. But it was easier said than done. After my week of sailing around the Mediterranean with BusAbout, I had a day to kill in Fethiye before my night bus to Gorëme. The 12-hour bus was brutal, to put it lightly, particularly as no one spoke English and I had no way of knowing if the bus would leave without me at one of the rest stops.

But the woman next to me was constantly offering me snacks and the drivers kept an eye on me. When we finally arrived in the mountain town at 4:00 am, it was dead. All I found open was a cafe, which thankfully called me cab to get to Taskonaklar. One confusing cab ride later, I was greeted by a member of the staff who had waited up to take me to my room. He helped me carry my bags and let me pass out.

The next morning I became giddy all over again as I checked out the amenities, which were all the more impressive after a week on a cramped ship. My room had its own living room, complete with a television, coffee maker, and a real working fireplace.

The view from the windows overlooked the Pigeon Valley. And my room had a heated mattress pad, perfect for the unexpected cold front, while the bathroom had heated towel racks, slippers and a rainforest shower head. I literally started laughing out loud from being so happy to shower off the last twelve-plus hours of travel.

The next morning, I was served a full breakfast, despite being only one of three guests in the hotel. The staff lent me a fleece jacket, as I had only packed a thin hoodie. They arranged my airport transfer and even set wake up calls for my early morning tours. They even let me hang out for the afternoon before my flight, where I sat soaking up sun with the cats, reading in the lobby, and chatting with one of the employees who was around my age.

Set on the hill in Uchisar, one of the towns of Cappadocia, the hotel was within walking distance of restaurants, ATMs and all the essentials. If you have any preconceived ideas about how the staff of hotels should be on hand at all times to wait on you, you have another thing coming.

I read reviews about how the staff was slow, but I like to think of it as “Turkey time.” There are less than ten employees, but they all remember you within a few hours. Staying at Taskonaklar was much more like staying at a family’s house than staying in a traditional hotel.

While I am a budget traveler to the core, I firmly believe that some experiences are worth splurging on. Cappadocia is one of those places. You can budget your whole trip in Turkey and hardly spend any money, especially on food and hostels, but when it comes to the things you’ll really remember, like hot air ballooning and staying in a nice hotel, you won’t regret it. And in my opinion, you won’t regret staying at Taskonaklar.

Taskonaklar Hotel hosted me during my two night stay in Cappadocia, but all rave reviews are my own. Rooms start at around €85 per night.