No doubt you’ve heard about the latest ostentatious hotel planned for Dubai. Water Discus, the brainchild of Polish firm Deep Ocean Technology, and bank-rolled by Swiss investors, will house 21 suites, a bar and dive centre.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWpmkjnl9P4
Worlds Best Underwater Hotels
It may seem like something plucked from the pages of a science fiction novel, but this isn’t a new concept. First Choice Holidays have provided a quick round-up of the best underwater hotels already in existence, if your bank balance will allow!
Utter Inn, Lake Mälaren in Västerås, Sweden
Not quite on the same scale as the Water Discus, this charming, floating equivalent to a garden-shed was lovingly created by local artist and sculptor, Mikel Genberg and contains a single room submerged 3m below the surface of Lake Mälaren.
Guests are driven out to the Utter Inn via inflatable dingy, before being left completely to their own devices. Unless they opted for the delux package, in which case a currier will deliver their supper later. They also have the opportunity to visit the closest uninhabited island.
If a restful, secluded stay on a small, red Swedish house on your own island, in the middle of a gorgeous Scandinavian lake sounds like your dream vacation, then this may be the one for you.
Price: £200 – £275
Open Period: April/May – Early September
Jules Undersea Lodge, Key Largo, Florida
You’re going to need your sea legs if you want to stay here, because this quaint 3-room lodge is only accessible by scuba diving 21 feet beneath the surface of the Emerald Lagoon in Key Largo, Florida.
This tiny hotel actually started life as La Chalupa research laboratory, an underwater habitat used to explore the continental shelf off the coast of Puerto Rico, but today it’s a fully functioning hotel complete with hot showers, fully stocked kitchens, books, music and 42 inch round windows to peer out at the Florida marine life.
Price: $800 for the’ JUL for Two’ package which includes world famous Pizza delivery, breakfast and dive gear.
Poseidon Undersea Resort, Fiji
The Poseidon Mystery Island, Fiji is over a mile long and is surrounded by a 7.8 square-mile lagoon.
Facilities include: two restaurants (one on land, one underwater), a spa, fitness centre, library, theatre area and an undersea wedding chapel –for anyone that wants to tie the knot overlooking an enchanting coral garden.
Better still, Poseidon recently announced plans to replace their windows with a new acrylic material that is near optically perfect, with bonding joints of less 1mm thick and is pretty much invisible to the human eye, just to make the experience even more immersive!
However, at $30,000 per couple for a week’s stay, it might be a little out of some people’s price range.
Price: $1,500 per person, per night, $30,000 per couple, per week; $3 million to reserve island
The Manta Resort, Tanzania
For something even more exotic, The Manta Resort in Zanzibar has a private Underwater Suite that casts you adrift in middle of the Indian Ocean; an area renowned for its stunning aquatic life.
This Swedish-engineered floating dwelling is comprised of three levels; upper and lower decking ideal for sunbathing, and a single bedroom which is completely submerged. With enormous windows and panoramic views, guests can sleep completely engulfed by shoals of silver bait, shark and sting-ray.
The ocean surrounding Pemba Island is a well-known diving spot, with plenty of steep drop-offs and untouched coral to explore, so you can always throw on a wet-suit and scuba gear and get even closer to the action.
Price: $1,500 per night all inclusive (10% discount during low season, from 01 March – 30th June)
Conrad Maldives Rangali, Maldives
Luxury doesn’t get much better than this; the truly indulgent Conrad Maldives Rangali resort is set across two islands and is only accessible via a 30 minute seaplane flight. It boasts 11 restaurants and bars, including the Ithaa Undersea Restaurant, 2 spas and a number of excursions including a submarine.
There aren’t any undersea bedrooms here, but it does offer a range of exotic beach villas that look out across the ocean.
Price: from $1300 per night
Have you every slept in an underwater hotel? What was your experience like?