What makes a hotel truly unforgettable? Is it the comfort of a luxurious room, the stunning views, or an incredible location?
Recently, we decided to push the boundaries of what a hotel stay can look like by booking nights at two of Europe’s most extreme accommodations: Europe’s lowest hotel, buried 1,300 feet underground, and Europe’s highest hotel, perched 10,000 feet above sea level.
From navigating pitch-black tunnels and zip lines to skiing above clouds and relaxing in saunas, these two stays offered experiences we will never forget. Here’s what it’s like to sleep at both ends of Europe’s extremes.
Europe’s Deepest Hotel: Deep Sleep, Snowdonia, UK
Located 1,300 feet below the peak of a mountain in Snowdonia, UK, the Deep Sleep Hotel is not only the deepest hotel in Europe but also the deepest hotel in the entire world. And let me tell you, it’s one of the most insane hotel stays we’ve ever stayed at.
The Journey Down
The journey down to the Deep Sleep Hotel is a massive part of what makes this hotel so unique because the hotel is located deep in an abandoned mine shaft. You can’t simply take an elevator down to the hotel – you have to embark on a wild adventure to get there.
You’ll start by suiting up with the proper gear – helmets, headlamps, rubber boots, and climbing gear – before saying goodbye to the sun for the next 24 hours and squeezing into a deep, dark tunnel.
Expect to clip onto zip lines and fly over caverns you cannot see, tiptoe across planks of wood nailed to the side of a cliff, scramble over swinging suspension bridges, and abseil down rock walls. By the time you reach the hotel, it’ll seem like you’ve been crawling through tiny mine shafts for an eternity, but in reality, you’ll have only explored a fraction of the mine’s 62 miles of tunnels.
The adventure back to the surface after your stay is just as exciting. The bravest guest will take part in the ultimate challenge – a free-fall bungee jump into the deep, dark abyss that will leave your heart racing for hours afterward.
The Hotel
When you consider that everything used to build and run this hotel had to be carried down into this cavern 1,300 feet below the surface of the earth, it’s hard to imagine how that feat was even possible.
Deep Sleep Hotel features four cozy wood cabins, just big enough to fit two twin beds. The cabins’ decor pays homage to the 1800s mining history, with old-timey mining lamp lighting, patterned quilts, and coat racks made with carabiner hooks.
Past the kitchen, bathrooms, and duck pond, there is a bridge that leads to the hotel’s 5th room – The Grotto. This room is built directly inside one of the mine’s tunnels, giving the impression that the room is inside a cave. There’s a queen bed with heated blankets, nightstands with charging outlets, and a sink – all things you wouldn’t expect to find down here.
Dinner and breakfast are included with your stay, as well as hot coffee and tea on tap at all times. For dinner, you can choose between gourmet freeze-dried meals like mac ‘n greens or porcini mushroom risotto, served with warm rolls, salad, and fruit. Breakfast is a selection of pancakes, muffins, and croissants to fuel your journey back to the surface.
The Experience
Probably the coolest part of the Deep Sleep experience was being completely immersed in history. The mine shafts feel like a piece of history frozen in time, with evidence of the miners left behind at every corner.
There are soot marks on the walls left behind by burning candles, pickaxes leaning against the walls, and rusted mining carts that used to haul rocks up to the surface. It’s almost like you can feel the presence of the miners still here.
The hotel also isn’t called Deep Sleep for nothing – cozied up in a warm, pitch-black cave, you can expect to get some of the best sleep of your entire life.
Europe’s Highest Hotel: Glacier Hotel Grawand, Maso Corto, Italy
Glacier Hotel Grawand is perched at 10,000 feet elevation, high above the clouds in the Italian Alps. We’ve stayed in some pretty incredible mountain accommodations, but this hotel had some of the best views we’ve ever seen.
The Journey Up
The journey to Europe’s highest hotel started with a flight to Verona, Italy, and then a 3-hour drive through the Tyrolean Alps. At 4,000 feet of elevation, you’ll leave behind your rental car and head to the cable car that will take you up another 6,000 feet.
No matter how green, warm, and sunny the weather is at the bottom of the cable car, as soon as you exit the cable car at the top, you’ll be greeted with plenty of snow – the hotel is on a glacier, after all.
The Hotel
The entire hotel gives off cozy mountain hut vibes with warm wood-paneled walls, a restaurant serving piping hot bowls of fresh pasta and Europe’s highest sauna.
Each room is pretty basic, with a desk, bed, couch, and plenty of storage space for luggage. The crowning jewel of the room we stayed in was the giant window offering expansive views of the mountain scenery – or just a bunch of clouds, depending on the weather.
Every stay at the Glacier Hotel includes breakfast and dinner, which feature traditional dishes like Tyrolean cheese dumplings, gelato, and locally made wine—all of which taste incredible.
An unexpected part of the Glacier Hotel is a small museum dedicated to Otzi The Iceman. This 5,000-year-old mummy had been discovered not far from the hotel. It’s a fascinating little exhibit to check out while warming up between ski runs.
The Experience
When staying at the Glacier Hotel Grawand, you are practically required to bring ski gear to experience what it is like to ski through some of the world’s most beautiful mountains. There’s simply no better way to spend a day than skiing down the slopes, enjoying a bowl of fresh pasta for lunch, unwinding in the sauna, and then cooling off by jumping into a giant pile of snow!
A thick covering of clouds over the mountain peak kept us from seeing a clear view of our surroundings for most of our stay, but we waited and hoped that we would be able to catch just a glimpse of the hotel’s famed views. On our last morning, our wish was finally granted and it was well worth the hype. The views are absolutely insane – the hundreds of snowy mountain peaks poking up above the clouds look like islands floating in the sea.
Final Thoughts
Europe’s highest and lowest hotels couldn’t be more different, yet they were both experiences that we will never forget.
To learn more about our stays at Europe’s highest and lowest hotels, check out the video below and let us know which one you’d like to stay in.
