Sala Silver Mine Hotel Suite

Apart from the intercom on the wall, staying in this cavernous hotel suite is a bit like spending a night in the Mines of Moria (minus the Balrog). The relatively small room, situated 155 meters (508 feet) underground, took miners a painstaking ten years to carve out, given the time-consuming mining method called fire-setting that they used. Little did they know that people would one day pay to go down the mine shaft and sleep there for the night.

The world's deepest hotel suite is found in the Swedish town of Sala, which for centuries was home to the largest and most important silver mine in the country. By the twentieth century, however, the precious ore had run out, leaving behind a honeycomb of empty tunnels and excavated chambers. Now, you can spend the night in one of those chambers—in considerably more comfortable conditions than the miners had experienced when they hollowed it out.

The bedrock around Sala has long been known to be rich in silver, and organized mining began as early as the 16th century. Productive over the course of four centuries, the mine grew to eventually a depth of 300 meters (984 feet) with over 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) of tunnels. The mining ended in 1908 and today the mine serves as a tourist attraction with guided tours, concerts, and an unlikely subterranean luxury hotel room.

For the rest of 2020 the mine and hotel are closed for renovations. 

The suite is furnished with a luxurious double bed, champagne and, of course, silver furnishings. While the temperature of the surrounding tunnels sits at a constant, chilly 2°C (35°F), the hotel room sits in a warm pocket of air that keeps it at a comfortable 18°C (64°F). Naturally, there is no cell phone service that far underground. The only means of communication with the outside world is an intercom that can be used to contact a staff member that stands on call and at the ready throughout the stay. 

Update as of July 2020: The mine and hotel are closed for the rest of 2020 for renovations.