Coober Pedy is a small mining town in the Australian Outback. Because of the extreme temperatures (40ºC in summer), many inhabitants live in underground houses called ‘dugouts’. In fact, the name, ‘Coober Pedy’ comes from the Aboriginal name for the town, ‘kupa-piti’ which means 'white man's hole'.

The area has an enormous opal deposit underneath it and thousands of feet of mine shaft which has been built to extract the precious mineral. The Desert Hotel has been gouged out of a hillside and now you can stay in the world’s only dugout hotel. There is an above-ground building with normal rooms if you prefer a more usual hotel experience. Beneath the surface, the rooms are decorated using native rocks and colors so the outback’s unique culture is not lost.

It is eco-friendly because the underground rooms naturally regulate their temperature which reduces the need for air conditioning. There is a bar, games room and convention facilities located in big underground halls so you can enjoy yourself in a cool environment.