A BRITISH couple who own two cave houses in Spain say they love the "quirkiness" of life as Fred and Wilma Flintstone.
Shirley and Mark, both 60, originally owned a holiday home in Murcia, but decided they wanted to try somewhere different to stay.
Mark challenged Shirley to find something close to their holiday home and that's when she stumbled upon a cave house.
She said: "I found a cave house which we could rent. Having never been in a cave, I booked it not knowing what to expect.
"We were both anxious about it at first but thought if it wasn’t for us, we could easily head back home.
"We laughed about staying in a cave house like Fred and Wilma Flintstone and were pleasantly surprised."
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Shirley soon became obsessed with the caves, visiting lots of places in the area and staying in several different caves.
Once the couple were happy that a cave house was the dream home they were looking for, they started the search for their own rocky retreat, visiting a whopping 15 caves in two days.
Shirely told the Mapping Spain website: "All were different and some were in very unexpected places.
"We soon learned that there were key factors to be considered when cave hunting. It must be dry, services like water and electricity must be available and it needs to have a good Hat.
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"This means it must have good height on top. These are only a few of the things we had to take into account.
"After viewing all the caves, we decided the first one we had seen was the one for us.
"Typically for us, this was the cave that needed the most work. It was previously an animal cave and had no water or electricity but the views and the size of the cave were outstanding.
"It was detached with land and we soon found out this was rare and difficult to find in the area."
The couple then made an offer for the cave – which is located in Cuevas de Luna – and the planning process got underway.
Within just three months they transformed what was just a hole into their home.
Shirley described this process as "very exciting".
"We more or less had free rein on the layout, although we were guided by our builders on what we could and couldn’t do structurally. This way we were able to create our own unique cave," she said.
"It was a great escape for us – we just felt so chilled and it became harder to go back home after our weekend" and added "We love cave houses as no two are the same.
"We just love the quirkiness of them, we love how cool they are in the summer (no need for air-con) and in the winter."
The pair enjoyed their new home so much they decided one wasn't enough and joked one night after a few wines: “Do you think we could do another cave on our land ???”.
They then spoke more about it and decided it wasn’t such a bad idea.
Following this exchange they embarked upon building a second cave home with the intention of renting it out to guests, this became their "dream hotel".
The hotel – which costs £184 per night- is equipped with three bedrooms, the main bedroom boasting a king-size bed, a log burner, and an en-suite wet room – there is also a swimming pool outside for guests to enjoy.
The cave has five-star reviews on Trip Advisor and Shirley said visitors report having the "best night sleep they have ever had".
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Last month we told how a teenager fed up with arguing with his parents took his frustrations to new depths by building his own cave.
And how a woman from Cornwall moved from the UK to live in a 1,000-year-old cave house.
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