Because Cappadocia is so spread out, there are several towns you can base yourself out of to explore the area. The largest concentrations of Cappadocia hotels are in Göreme, Uçhisar and Ürgüp. You will also find hotels in Avanos, Ortahisar, Mustafapaşa, and Ayvali. Göreme is the most central site and is a good base if you are traveling around without a tour company. It has a range of cave hotels and more budget accommodations. Ürgüp feels more like a Turkish city (whereas Göreme and Uçhisar are really just small towns) and has a range of hotel options.
Cave hotels
The unique thing to do in Cappadocia is to stay in a cave hotel. These hotels have been carved into the soft tufa rock and give you the authentic cave experience without skimping on modern comforts. Many have luxurious bathrooms, TVs, wi-fi, and are decorated with central Anatolian kilims. This is a really unique, fun experience that I recommend doing while in Cappadocia.
As fair warning though, sleeping in a cave does have some downsides which you should be prepared for. Cave rooms tend to be darker than traditional hotel rooms with minimal natural light flowing in. They are naturally pretty cool inside, they sometimes have a rocky smell when you first walk in, and sometimes you will find “cave dust” on you or your possessions. Just keep this in mind and think of it as part of the experience of sleeping in a cave!
Rooms in cave hotels are each unique. Most of the hotels have pictures of each individual room on their websites – do your research ahead of time to figure out what room works best for you. Rooms also tend to vary in price depending on size and amenities. Most cave hotels include delicious buffet breakfast in their room rates, stocked with local specialties (including amazing local jams, cheeses and my favorite, real honeycomb!). Below are two cave hotels I have stayed in and highly recommend:
- Gamirasu Hotel. The Gamirasu is lovely – great rooms, a fabulous breakfast and very nice common areas. The hotel is in Ayvali which is truly a small village without much in it. This is the sister hotel to Euphrates Tours and if you book a tour with them I recommend staying here. If you are renting your own car, however, the Gamirasu is a little out of the way and I would suggest staying closer to Göreme.
- Kelebek Hotel. Located right in Göreme village, Kelebek is one of the original cave hotels. The rooms are comfortable and the location is great for seeing the main sites. I was most impressed by the outstanding service at Kelebek – they will help you with recommendations, guides, planning, directions – anything you need. They also have a free farm breakfast (you actually take a tractor to the nearby family farm), which is a fun and delicious experience.
Other accommodations
There are plenty of other types of accommodation available in Cappadocia – from freestanding hotels catering to tour groups to hostels / budget hotels catering to backpackers. Göreme town is the best place to look for budget accommodations (although it has plenty of higher-end cave hotels as well).
I drove by the large, freestanding Tourist Hotel on my recent trip and thought it looked pretty nice (with a lovely pool). It’s close to the Göreme Open Air Museum and is right next to the entrance to the Love Valley which would make hiking there very easy.