Despite being well into the depths of Turkish winter, we decided an en-route ‘stop’ in the legendary Cappadocia for two nights would be the perfect end to a marathon voyage to Malaysia.
There’s an almost alarming wealth of accommodation options of varying features and novelty available, but we settled on the Kelebek Special Cave Hotel, located to one end of the town. Thanks, in no small part, to an amazing price available on Rocketmiles – we also managed to snag the presidential suite for the rapid, 2-night stay.
Reception at the Kelebek Special Cave Hotel (bear in mind the sheer volume of snow, ice and subsequent slippery footpaths' present during the stay) is about halfway up one of Cappadocia’s trademark ultra-steep hills tucked into a nice cave-like living area. Reception is quaint, with a few resting dogs providing the in-house security.
Check-in took moments and despite the early arrival time, we were told our room was already waiting for us – great start! We were given an exhaustive tour of the property, which surprisingly is nestled within a very compact layout, but winds back and forth across multiple little nooks, staircases and slopes.
Rooms, amazingly, seem to be tucked in where you’d least expect them; while a plaza square area provides an immense viewing point for the morning sunrise – all while the main restaurant for the property is positioned neatly on top of everything, with views in multiple directions. Speaking of which, aside from breakfast, the restaurant provides coffee throughout the day – including, as I discovered, espresso-based beverages – as well as refreshments and snacks in the late afternoon.
Overall, the property exudes comfy, warm, family-owned vibes – and benefits greatly from a reasonably quiet, well-placed location to one end of the town, along with having a neat shortcut path from the back of the property down a very steep (and, at this time of year, slippery) set of steps straight into town.
The room was absolutely gargantuan – glass double doors landed us close to the foot of the bed, which itself sat right in the centre of the room. I’ve actually been in smaller airport terminals, such is the size of the room.
To one side of the room was a very cozy living space, complete with sofa, chairs, TV and a fireplace that could be lit on demand. Beyond that, a writing desk and chair sat ready in case one fancied tackling some prose while on holiday.
On the other side of the room, a large dressing area and mirror was set up against the room back wall, along with a coat hook, heater, fridge and safe. Once stood at this end of the room, there was nearly enough space to practice running to the far end of the room!
For such a palatial room, the heating was more than sufficient and we were kept suitably warm at all times within the room despite the occasional -5 degree chill outdoors, and the floor to double-height ceiling windows fronting the length of the entire room.
Outdoors meanwhile was a balcony suitable for commanding the attention of the whole town should the wish take you – I didn’t, given my propensity to slip on the ice. Suffice to say this would be a perfect spot in summer for chilling out and possibly (definitely) consuming an evening beverage. Or several. Also worth a mention was the hot tub placed out there – again, not something to be sampled in the extreme cold, but I’ve no doubt very enjoyable in sunnier times.
Lastly on our lengthy tour of the accommodations was of course the bathroom. Large enough to probably house two full-size normal rooms, the bathroom came with double showers, a soaking tub, artwork, and all the space you could ever need. If there was any drawbacks to speak of at all, it would only be that the heater next door struggled to permeate its heat output through the stone walls into the bathroom and it was a frequent dive into the shower from the bedroom next door. The pressure however was good, and the water was always warm.
Overall, despite the below-freezing temperatures outdoors and that the balloons didn’t run while we were there; the room (and the property in general) was splendid and undoubtedly one of the most stunning accommodations I’ve stayed at. Breakfast was also a delight, with plenty of (mostly Turkish) buffet choices, as well as an egg menu and all the coffee you could drink!
The whole property, as I mentioned, had very easy-going, family-run vibes – right down to our highly informal check-out process which involved being asked for the key as we got into our taxi back to the airport. So, if you’re considering a stay at Kelebek Special Cave Hotel, I’d say go for it – and splurge for the outrageously-sized presidential suite (no. 22 if I recall correctly) if possible!
