Razz and Mark's 'Instant Hotel' Is Like Staying at the Flintstones'

Our favorite show from Down Under is back for Season 2 on Netflix, and Instant Hotel has shown viewers once again that they know how to cast a reality competition. 

One of our favorite teams on the show might have to be Razz and Mark from Coober Pedy, South Australia. Theirs is the first property we visit, and they give us big Mark and Jannine of Barossa (from Season 1) vibes.

For anyone unfamiliar with the premise of Instant Hotel, the reality competition has teams of Australian short-term rental owners compete to have their property crowned the best "instant hotel."

Teams are scored by the other contestants, who spend a night on each property, as well as two professional judges. Together, they rate each short-term rental on the criteria of the location/attractions, value for money, quality of a night's sleep, and the house itself.

While each instant hotel offers something new and different to their guests, the big egos, drama, and pettiness are constant no matter where in Australia they go.

Razz, 47, and Mark, 53, were the first instant hoteliers to open the doors of their unique mining dugout in the midst of a stunning desert landscape, which they've converted into a chic and unusual living space.

Both Razz and Mark seem like a couple who are fun to be around and enjoy a good laugh. Razz works as a receptionist in hospitality and Mark is a miner of opals, which are Coober Pedy's main export.

The "engaged couple," as the show dubs them, are adorable, and Mark calls Razz "the biggest gem" he's ever found.

Razz and Mark converted their dugout into a short-term rental in August 2017 so they could share their experience of living in the underground cave with other people and make a little extra money along the way. Mark has had the property for 30 years and has put a lot of thought, love, and care into making it what it is today.

And making their property doesn't just help the couple out financially. "It helps our whole town out," Razz says. "Coober Pedy needs to be put back on the map."

It is now, thanks to this adorable couple. The town is an easy two-hour flight or eight-hour drive from the southern city of Adelaide. It's remote, to say the least, but once you arrive, you will see colors and landscapes that are found only in their unique corner of Australia.

Guests are surrounded on all sides by the Outback, and just a few miles away is the breathtaking Kanku-Breakaways Conservation Park. This otherworldly environment offers majestic views of the desert rock as far as the eye can see, and has been described by guests as "like being on Mars."

This desert was also the filming site for Mad Max: Thunderdome and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, a movie that Mark actually had a little cameo in!

Razz and Mark's rock-walled property boasts three bedrooms and two bathrooms, comfortably sleeping eight guests at a time.

This instant hotel offers stunning views of the desert while also being a mere 15-minute drive from the town's center. Despite being in the middle of the scorching desert, this hotel's unique architecture makes it so that the indoor temperature is always at 24 degrees Celsius (or 75º F). 

The couple only has one rule when it comes to their instant hotel and that's NO DIGGING in their walls, ceilings, or floors. "They're our opals," Mark jokes.

To experience this spot, which is definitely unlike anything you've ever seen before, book Fire in the Stone for a mere $293 USD a night on Airbnb. Who knows, maybe during your mining excursion, you'll find an opal big enough to pay for your entire trip.

Stream Season 2 of Instant Hotel on Netflix today.