People say that there are two things that you must do in Cappadocia: go up in a hot air balloon at sunrise, and sleep in a cave. I wanted to do both. And so, I am writing to you from inside a cave: a King Suite at Kelebek Special Cave Hotel to be exact. Cappadocia, and the site of the hotel, was formed over 30 million years ago when Mt. Erciyes erupted; compressed volcanic ash, known as tuff, paired with erosion over the years, created the fantasy-looking landscapes, valleys, and fairy chimneys that you can see both around Kelebek and throughout Cappadocia.

Set in the heart of Göreme, it is the place to stay amongst the slew of hotels in the area. Cappadocia is largely based on tourism, and so the amount of cave hotels, ranging in quality, are a bit overwhelming. Walking around through the town though, we were able to view many of the cave hotels and, from what we could see, Kelebek definitely stands out. From the moment we walked up to Kelebek, we immediately understood why people have rated it 5 stars based on over 2,000 reviews on Trip Advisor: the hotel is exquisite, to say the least.

Once inside the hotel complex the reviews and positive ratings were brought to life. Immediately, we were greeted by friendly staff that showed us to our suite and told us to relax before checking in. There are 47 cave and stone-arched rooms at Kelebek, and our room was remarkable. It consisted of a cozy little living room with functional fire place, couches, and satellite TV; the bedroom was tucked away inside another compartment of the room adding to the cave-like feeling; the bathroom was marbled with standing shower, bath-tub for two, and a hamam basin. The room was also stocked with towels, complementary slippers, water bottles, and Turkish Delight (yum!).

        A room bigger than my apartments in NYC, it exudes relaxation. When the time came that we wanted to venture out of the room, we stepped outside to come face-to-face with Kelebek’s two fairy chimneys on property and a patio that directly overlooked the beautiful Pigeon Valley.

Once we checked in they gave us a tour of the hotel. The dining area offers plenty of inside tabling options, a nice nook with comfortable couches, and a balcony with spectacular views of the surrounding areas looking toward Uchisar and Cavusin. Turkish tea, apple tea, and coffee are available at no charge all day and everyday. Let me just say, I definitely took advantage of the Turkish Tea paired with the stunning landscape…

Not only does Kelebek have a pool overlooking the iconic terrain of Cappadocia, but their own Turkish bath and massage sanctuary too, where you can book a vast number of different types of massages for a very reasonable price. How cool?!

Breakfast at Kelebek is another treat in of itself. Buffet style, it consisted of real, restaurant quality french toast, various different cheeses, numerous dried fruits, succulent and fresh fruit, a bowl of almonds, bananas covered in chocolate wrapped in a light bread, organic honey dripping off a real honey comb (I kid you not), omelets, fried eggs, and more. Breakfast also included fresh orange juice and lemonade. Simply put, this was the best breakfast spread I have ever seen.

If staying in Cappadocia, I highly recommend staying at Kelebek Special Cave Hotel – I promise that you will not be disappointed! In fact, you may want to extend your stay just because of the comfort and relaxation this hotel offers. We definitely want to!

*While we were guests of Kelebek Special Cave Hotel, all opinions are my own.