World's deepest hotel lets guests climb down 1,375 feet for a deep sleep
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While going underground might not seem like the best idea after the recent submersible mishap, there’s a town in the North-East of Wales that is boasting of a hotel 1,375 feet underground, reportedly the deepest hotel in the world.
Called ‘Deep Sleep,’ the hotel has been built in an abandoned slate mine below the mountains of Snowdonia in Gwynedd. There is no grid connection down there, so the hotel is self-powered using the force of falling water within the mine itself via micro-hydro turbines.
All electric lighting is low-voltage and powered by 12v batteries. And it can get chilly down there, with temperatures dropping to 10 degrees Celsius. Therefore, the cabins are thermally lined with thick insulation, so there’s some semblance of warmth as the outsides of the cabins get quite cold.
How do people get to the hotel?
On foot. The guests have to walk their way on the route, which is quite steep and challenging. This is an expedition definitely not for the faint-hearted. Deep Sleep’s website says that guests can easily descend to the hotel in an hour.
"I'll never forget the day when the owner asked me if I could build cabins underground," said Peredur Hughes, a former quarryman, and shipwright who helped build the hotel, in an interview with the BBC.
"But he said he wanted it in the deepest, lowest chamber. That's when my jaw dropped," added Hughes.
Watch how the hotel was built.
Although their website doesn’t mention much about the safety protocols, it says: “There is an element of risk involved in all outdoor adventure activities, but rest assured that all the mines we use are inspected for safety, our kit and equipment is regularly checked and our guides are qualified, experienced and are trained in emergency first aid. We are accredited by the Adventure Activities Licensing Authority, part of the HSE.”
Deep Sleep runs once a week and comprises four cabins and a grotto. Two people can sleep in a cabin for $445 (£350) and in a grotto the price is ($699) £550.
And obviously, there is no mobile phone reception about 420 meters deep into the Earth, there is Wi-Fi for guests, provided through a 1-kilometer-long Ethernet cable from a 4G antenna on the surface.
The refurbished hotel, which was a mine until the mid-20th century employed hundreds of people at the time. But it was eventually closed down and left to rot. Until recently, when it got a new lease on life.
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