Hezen Cave Hotel made me want to become a troglodyte if it meant that I could live in one of their cave suites (rather than the damp, dark, musty, cold algae-covered hovels I’d always associated with the word ‘cave’). With a massive lounge area, sleek glass-walled bathroom, huge airy bedroom and funky, bright modern-retro decor and furniture – think white wooden floors, splashes of bright red and circular prints, it was like a stylish hobbit’s dream dwelling.

The boutique hotel, which was renovated a few years ago from three former backpackers jointed together, has 14 cave rooms and suites spread out on small manicured lawns linked by a tunnel. There’s a cosy breakfast room, large reception with comfy couches (and a laptop which you can borrow to use the internet) a terrace with tables and chairs, and a rooftop bar area with big white couches all overlooking magnificent views of the rocky village and castle jutting out above. The best afternoons were spent sitting on the outdoor couches drinking tea, listening to the afternoon call to prayer ring out in the silence and watching dusk fall over the tiny castle and the hundreds of abandoned caves beneath it.

The managers and staff were fantastically helpful, attentive and knowledgeable (it came in TripAdvisor’s top 25 of all Turkish hotels for service) – giving us a full rundown of 2000 of Cappadocia’s history on our arrival, but what I loved about Hezen were the special touches that you don’t get at many hotels – the banana, cinnamon and cream pudding on arrival in reception with a cup of Turkish coffee (instead of the standard sugary welcome drink), the honesty bar, where you can help yourself to tea, coffee, wine, raki and other drinks, and the self-service laundry where you can wash and dry your clothes (great if you’ve been on the road for awhile and don’t want to pay the usual exorbitant hotel laundry prices).

The hotel is in Ortahisar, a quiet and untouristy tiny village in comparison with nearby busy Goreme, which is where most people stay when they visit Cappadocia. There’s just one restaurant in Ortahisar (a rustic little place with simple food and a scenic setting on the edge of a cliff looking back towards town), and a hilltop castle, which has recently been opened to tourists. If you want to be within walking distance of bars and souvenir shops, this isn’t the place for you, but if you want to relax after a busy day of sightseeing and get a feel for Cappadocian village life, then it’s perfect. Urgup, with its gourmet restaurants is a short drive away (the hotel can organise a taxi), and the Goreme Open Air Museum, usually a first stop on the tourist itinerary, is also close by.

Doubles from €140, www.hezenhotel.com