Desert Cave Hotel | Coober Pedy

Australia > South Australia > Coober Pedy

Why we like it

Most hotels give you a view, but Desert Cave Hotel Coober Pedy gives you a hillside, and you sleep inside it.

Your room is carved straight into the sandstone, so it stays cool, quiet and dark in a town where summer days can be properly fierce.

There’s no alarm-clock sunrise either, which makes this one of the best sleeps you’ll ever have in the Outback.

There’s an underground bar, a shopping arcade and an opal display, so you barely need to see daylight if you don’t want to.

Additional info

Coober Pedy is the opal capital of the world, and Desert Cave Hotel sits right in the middle of it.

The hotel opened in 1988 and is run by the Coro family, who saw that the town’s dugout lifestyle was worth sharing with visitors.

The pool, spa and sauna are there for the moment you resurface, and the desert has done its worst to you.

Free wifi and free parking keep things easy, and an airport shuttle is available on request.

Add rooms with all the creature comforts, and “living like a miner” turns out to be surprisingly civilised.

Features:

Where?

Coober Pedy

State

South Australia

Who we recommend it for

Adventurous couples, curious families and anyone who has always wanted to sleep underground.

Bedrooms

Your bedroom here is a cosy sandstone cave millions of years old with a proper bed, which is a lot more comfortable than the Stone Age!

The underground rooms are cool, quiet and naturally dark, so you can sleep in with no guilt and no sunrise sneaking through the curtains.

Despite the rock walls, you still get all the home comforts, including a TV, minibar, tea and coffee making facilities, a hair dryer and an iron.

Things to do nearby

Coober Pedy is the kind of town where even the sightseeing happens underground.

Start with the hotel’s own underground display and shopping arcade, then book the desert tours and mine tours from the hotel’s tour desk.

You can poke around a real dugout home, spot kangaroos at a local sanctuary, or head out to the Painted Desert, a 2.5-hour drive away, where the hills look as if someone’s spilled the paint box.

Come evening, find a sunset spot, then stay out for some of the clearest stargazing you’ll ever see.

And if you’re keen to go fossil hunting, you’ll have the Outback all to yourself.

Food and drink

Dinner at Desert Cave Hotel comes with a side of Italian charm at Umberto’s. The restaurant serves up modern Aussie cuisine, so you can fuel up properly after a day of desert exploring.

There’s also a café for breakfast and daytime refuelling, because nobody should dig for opal on an empty stomach.

Then it’s off to the world’s only underground bar for a cold drink in cave-cool comfort. Order a round, admire the sandstone walls, and try not to tell everyone at home about it for at least five minutes.