This Ohio cave Airbnb books a year out

A sandstone cave in Ohio has been turned into a luxury Airbnb, and somehow the hot tub is not the strangest part.

Dunlap Hollow Cave is a 1,500-square-foot vacation rental built into a natural sandstone recess cave in Rockbridge, Ohio, in the Hocking Hills region. It sleeps 6, has 2 king bedrooms, 2 Murphy twin beds, 2 full bathrooms, a full kitchen, a pool table, a 6-person hot tub, an outdoor fireplace, Wi-Fi, and private trails on 35 acres. 1 2

This week's pick is not a themed cabin with cave wallpaper. The front wall is glass; the roof is sandstone; the ceiling still looks like the underside of a cliff. Bryant and Amy Gingerich designed and built the cave house after buying the 35-acre Dunlap Road property in 2019, and Bryant brought a mechanical engineer's brain to a problem most hosts never face: making a wet rock hollow feel like a place you would willingly book for an anniversary. 3

The Airbnb listing shows a 4.95-star rating from 21 reviews, while Google Travel shows a 4.8-star rating from 42 reviews for Dunlap Hollow properties. 1 4 The small Airbnb review count matters, but the outside reporting helps. Outside Online reported that the cave had only one vacant night in its first two years, and that it books roughly a year in advance. 3

The best guest quote comes from Alison Payden of Columbus, who told Outside Online: "It feels like you're staying in a medieval castle. The interiors are like a work of art filled with beautiful tile work, arched doorways, royal color schemes, and locally sourced antiques." 3 That tracks with the photos: Gothic arches, walnut built-ins, chandeliers, leather seating, and a rock ceiling that refuses to let the room become too normal. 3

Airbnb reviewer Gary, who stayed for an anniversary in April 2026, called it "100% worth the price to experience something so unique" and noted that the cave is a 5- to 10-minute drive from four major Hocking Hills attractions. 1 Google reviewer Dave Mathis wrote, "Incredible experience, cave adopted into a private 2 room cabin," while Google reviewer Deanna Kyer wrote that "The kitchen was stocked with everything you need to prepare and serve meals." 4

The useful part of those reviews is not that everyone sounds dazzled. It is that guests keep mentioning normal-stay details: kitchen readiness, proximity to trails, privacy, and the sense of being on private land near Hocking Hills rather than fighting for space at a crowded overlook. Matt Martin of Columbus told Outside Online, "Dunlap Hollow feels like a state park but you're on private land. To have these caves and trails all to yourself is something you just don't get from other cabin rentals in the region." 3

A cave is romantic until it starts behaving like a cave. Dunlap Hollow Cave has no air conditioning, and the property relies on the rock mass to keep the interior from exceeding 76°F in summer. 5 Radiant floor heating and passive solar gain through the glass front wall help with winter warmth. 5

Moisture is the bigger story. Outside Online reported that four commercial dehumidifiers remove up to 40 gallons of water per day, and the YouTube tour transcript has Bryant Gingerich saying, "We have four dehumidifiers that we have placed in different locations throughout the cave...I would say we probably remove about 20 gallons a day." 3 5 In the follow-up interview, Bryant sums up the problem more bluntly: "There's no roof here. It's just a cave. So, do you have any water issues? Yes, we do." 6

The build itself was not a simple renovation. Bryant said the original cave ceiling was about 6 feet tall, so the crew jackhammered and excavated roughly 1 million pounds of rock over about 2 weeks to lower the floor and create a 12-foot ceiling height. 6 The Gingerichs also needed a structural engineer's stamp and a geologist's assessment before the county approved the project, and Bryant said they spent $60,000 on groundwork before approval. 6

That is why this one works as a weird stay. The cave is not a prop layered over ordinary construction. The whole place is an engineering negotiation with the rock: no roof, one glass exterior wall, dehumidifiers doing daily work, and a living room that still has sandstone overhead.

The official Dunlap Hollow site lists the cave as starting at $820 per night, while Outside Online reported peak summer rates of $1,200 per night. 2 3 The official site says direct booking can save about 15% compared with Airbnb service fees, and it also offers a mailing list for cancellation notifications. 2

The booking rules are fairly standard for a high-demand stay: check-in is 3:00 PM, check-out is 11:00 AM, self check-in uses a lockbox, the maximum occupancy is 6 guests, and all Dunlap Hollow properties are pet-free. 2 The cancellation policy gives a 100% refund, including the cleaning fee, within 48 hours of booking; a 50% refund at 14 or more days before check-in; and a 10% refund inside 14 days. 2

The location is practical if Hocking Hills is the point. The official site puts the cave 7 minutes from Hocking Hills State Park, 10 minutes from Cantwell Cliffs, 20 minutes from Old Man's Cave, about 20 minutes from Logan, about 25 minutes from Lancaster, and about 1 hour from Columbus and John Glenn Columbus International Airport. 2

Book it if you want the story as much as the stay. Dunlap Hollow Cave is built for a couple's trip, a milestone birthday, a Hocking Hills hiking weekend, or a content-heavy getaway where the lodging is the main event. The price makes more sense when 4 to 6 people split it, but the atmosphere reads most naturally as a romantic or small-group special occasion.

Skip it if you want easy availability, a cheap cabin, or a pet-friendly escape. The official starting rate is already high, the peak summer rate crosses into luxury-hotel territory, and the year-ahead booking pattern means this is not an impulse Friday-night plan. 2 3

My read: this is one of the better weird-stay finds because the premise and the comfort appear to reinforce each other. You get the cave ceiling, the sandstone facade, and the story of a million pounds of rock coming out of the floor. 6 You also get king beds, a real kitchen, hot water, Wi-Fi, and enough guest praise to suggest the fantasy survives contact with check-in. 1

Book it: Dunlap Hollow Cave on Airbnb or direct through Dunlap Hollow.