Underground accommodation; staying the night 21 stories under the earth

In most hotels, you take an elevator to go up to your room, but in this one you go down 210 feet, or 21 stories to your room.

"It took them 90 cases of dynamite, and two years to blast out this elevator shaft," said Ruben Galados.

This is just the beginning of this experience in staying in one of the most unusual hotel rooms in the country.

This is the "Cavern Room" at the Grand Canyon Caverns, about 3 1/2 hours northwest of Phoenix. It's a full hotel room but right in the middle of the largest dry cave complex in the United States.

"We've got two queen beds up top, the couch folds out to a king sized bed, we can sleep up to six people here per night, you have hot and cold water for your shower," said Galados.

The room has just about everything you need. There is a TV with plenty of DVD's, a little kitchenette, even a throwback turntable and 8-track tape player. When you rent the room for the night, you also rent the caverns.

"Just look at the cathedral ceilings, and if you rent the suite, you also get full use of the caverns. We give you flashlights and encourage you to walk around the canyons on your own," he said.

That means you can check out the mummified bobcat that somehow got stuck down here in the 1800's. You can walk past the rations sent here by President Kennedy after the Cuban Missile Crisis. The caverns were set up to be a fallout shelter for 2,000 people.

And if all that exploring makes you hungry, you can even get room service all the way down here. A little dining area is set up, and the staff will send a nice meal in.

"You can pick garlic herb chicken, or steak, we also have a vegetarian option," said Jenna Jones.

And when it comes to sleeping, this room has advantages you just can't get up on the earth's surface.

If you are one of those people who has trouble sleeping because of light or sound, the cavern has total silence, and the darkest dark you're ever going to get.

The room is also available for rent for a wedding or mini concert, there's a huge stage with seating that came from a now closed Los Angeles theater. But you might want your guests to make a bathroom break before they head down.

"The restroom is only good for 7-8 flushes, and at that point the tank is full," said Galados.

It's a small price to pay for a big underground adventure.

Online: http://gccaverns.com/rooms-packages/the-grand-canyon-caverns-cavern-motel-room/