The “world’s deepest overnight accommodation” is a new establishment in North Wales that is housed inside an old Victorian-era slate mine.
Deep Sleep, a collection of four cabins and one double bedroom carved out of a cavern wall, offers underground slumber 1,375 feet below the earth’s surface.
To provide some context, the Shard in London is 1,016 feet tall. The Welsh mine could hold that skyscraper, Big Ben’s tower (315 feet tall), and still have room for King Charles, both of his sons, both of their wives, and Queen Camilla to stand on one another’s shoulders without the top royal’s head sticking out of the mineshaft. But wouldn’t it be lovely to see them all cooperating as a unit once more?
To get to the underground hotel, which is surrounded by the rugged peaks, woods, and waterways of the Snowdonia region in northwest Wales, you must embark on an adventure. Overnighters are guided by guides from Go Below Underground Adventures on a 45-minute hike into the mountains from the town of Blaenau Ffestiniog.
Guides help parties as they descend into the mine over a steep and difficult 1-hour ascent after equipping them with helmets, lights, and harnesses. They point out interesting sites along the route and give historical information about the miners who formerly worked here.
Once you get at the Deep Sleep location, you can choose to stay in a cabin underground (each has two single beds) or a grotto room, which is furnished with a double bed and was carved out of the mine’s slate walls.
Although there is no cell phone signal, there is battery-powered electric lighting, a dry toilet, flowing water, and even Wi-Fi down there. Even though the cabins are insulated and the deepest chamber has an average temperature of roughly 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit), you should still wear warm clothing.
You won’t have to worry about getting lost because guides also spend the night at the location. Independent mine engineers reportedly perform frequent safety assessments, according to Go Below.
The event involves several hours of “walking, scrambling, ducking, and balancing,” according to the firm, and calls for a “moderate level of fitness and agility.” Minors must be 14 years old or older and be accompanied by an adult.
