Kentucky’s Hampton Inn Cave City offers free Wi-Fi, free hot breakfast, heated indoor pool, and more – ideally located off I-65, five minutes from Mammoth Cave National Park.
Cave City, Kentucky is Home of Mammoth Cave National Park
On our return trip home from a business conference in Canada, we decided to reduce our extra-long flying time by making a detour in Nashville, Tennessee. It allowed us to visit with my niece and nephew in Nashville before renting a car and driving 2 hours north over the Tennessee border to Cave City, Kentucky.
If you’ve never heard of Cave City, then you may not be familiar with Mammoth Cave National Park. It’s more than just another mountainous National Park. It’s 400+ miles of underground passageways. In fact, Mammoth Cave is the longest known cave system on Earth and one of America’s oldest tourist attractions, and apparently, the discovery of the caves dates back to the 1790s. I’ll tell you more about the Mammoth Cave later but let’s discuss the hotel we stayed in.
Conveniently Located Accommodations in Cave City
Since the reason for us visiting Cave City was to explore Mammoth Cave National Park, selecting a hotel for a 2 night stay was more about finding a convenient location than choosing a luxury hotel. We read some really good customer reviews about the affordable Hampton Inn Cave City hotel. It was the ideal location, right off Interstate 65, the Cave City/Glasgow exit number 53 and literally just five minutes from Mammoth Cave.
In addition to the park, the hotel is also close to other attractions such as Adventure Zoo, Hidden River Cave/American Cave Museum, Dinosaur World, and Kentucky Action Park.
Hilton Amenities At Our Hampton Inn
The Hampton Inn is part of the Hilton chain so we were looking forward to the free breakfast buffet. The choices were many, hot and cold food, from omelets and hard boiled eggs, to bacon, sausage, make-your-own waffles, biscuits, and toast. Breakfast varied each morning and I was pleased to see some healthy choices as well, like yogurt, fruit, cold cereal, oatmeal (with toppings,) and fresh juices.
The hotel offers complimentary Wi-Fi. It was nice to know there was an indoor heated pool along with a decent fitness center (open 24 hours) with weights and cardio equipment, but coming directly from my business trip in Canada, we hadn’t packed swimsuits. You might say our hiking boots and other “cave-specific” clothing took priority over swimwear.
The hotel offers self-parking. Duly note that EV charging is not available at the hotel. The hotel is pet friendly and a non-refundable pet fee is required.
Not the Best Mattress But We Slept Well
Our guest room on the second floor of the Hampton Inn Cave City had a King bed but the mattress definitely was showing its age. The room itself was spacious and seemed bigger than most traditional guest rooms that we’ve booked in fancier hotels. To make up for the not so great mattress, at least I can say that the room and bathroom were very clean and the bathroom featured plenty of counter space for our toiletries and my overflowing cosmetics bag.
Just a heads up that the room did not have a microwave but there was a mini-fridge and television. Despite that there was no coffee maker in the room, there is a 24-7 coffee bar in the lobby area that we really enjoyed.
Mammoth Cave National Park: Cave Tours
There are said to be more than 365 miles of caves within Mammoth Cave National Park, the world’s longest cave system that appears never ending. That’s why we are so happy we listened to the recommendation to book the Domes and Dripstone tour, way ahead of our trip date. While there is no entrance fee to visit the park the tour tickets cost us $30.00 each but prices will vary.
When we arrived at the park, we headed straight for the Mammoth Cave Visitor Center, conveniently located near the entrance to the caves. Although the area was crowded with visitors, we were pleased to see there that the Visitor Center store sold souvenirs, snacks, local (delicious) ice cream, and had restrooms. That was a suggestion we took serious; to use the restrooms BEFORE the cave tour started because there are obviously no restrooms inside the cave walls.
Domes and Dripstone Tour
As for the Domes and Dripstone Tour, it was a 2-hour walk and we were told that it covered a little less than a mile of the cave and entailed walking down 734 steps. That sounds challenging but it actually didn’t feel so bad during the tour. The next day we definitely had sore muscles.
I will say that there are some very narrow passage ways on a cave tour, so consider whether the tight spaces may affect you if you’re typically claustrophobic. There were a few moments that I had to stop, take a deep breath, and assure myself that once I proceeded through the narrow opening, it would lead to a larger open space. The highlights were seeing endless tunnels and dripstone formations, and it was a real treat to see the famous ‘Frozen Niagara’ formation. It was pretty dark inside and we were unable to use flash photography. It was an impressive exploration of Mammoth Cave but should we visit the park in the future, I probably wouldn’t go down inside the cave again as I’m not a fan of bats.
I’d like to share a few quick cave tour tips. Take advantage of the free Wi-Fi at the Visitor Center, because we didn’t have cell phone service anywhere else in the park. Wear waterproof, comfortable shoes and bring a light jacket like a windbreaker. Also carry insect repellent for both outdoor areas and for walking inside the moist caves. Pack your own water because plastic water bottles are not sold in the park. And as I alluded to earlier, PICK THE RIGHT CAVE TOUR! Select a tour that matches your physical activity level.
Mammoth Cave National Park: Above the Ground
In addition to the underground caves, Mammoth Cave National Park spans 52,830 acres. That means there is a huge variety of activities to enjoy and take part in above the ground. This includes endless sightseeing opportunities viewing jagged cliffs, rivers, hills, and valleys, lush green landscapes, and a huge variety of wildlife roaming free.
You can even go camping, hiking (approx. 70 miles of trails,) boating, and kayaking inside the park. When our tour was over, we enjoyed a relaxing stroll while using our binoculars to view birds, deer, coyote, bears, and turkeys up close. We also bought ice cream and other snacks at the Visitor Center and had ourselves an impromptu picnic. Luckily, we did not see any snakes as we were warned but ugh … those bats inside the cave are still vivid in my mind.
Takeaways/Final Thoughts
- Hotel staff was courteous and helpful
- Breakfast buffet had lots of hot and cold choices
- Fitness center looked clean and had treadmills and free weights
- Indoor pool was heated for year round use
- Room was clean and comfortable, more spacious than other hotels
- Convenient location to Mammoth Cave and other Cave City attractions
- Pre-book a Mammoth Cave Tour and select based on fitness level
Author Bio: Originally from Long Island, New York, Donna Wright now calls Deland, Florida her home. An avid traveler, she has journeyed by air, land, and sea, to many cities in the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean to exciting destinations like California, Arizona, Las Vegas, San Diego, Myrtle Beach, Lake Tahoe, Reno, and more.
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