MyWestworld

Sleep Deep

Posted on 24. Jun, 2008 by Kerry Banks in Travel Blog

Have you ever wanted to sleep with the fishes? Well amigos, you soon will be able to, providing you have the bucks to afford it. Within a year, Dubai will open a truly remarkable underwater luxury hotel. The project, called Hydropolis, will cover an area of 260 hectares, about the size of London’s Hyde Park, and will cost an estimated $550 million. Resembling something out of a James Bond film, the project includes three futuristic design elements: a wave-shaped 30,000-square metre above-ground “land station” and a jellyfish-shaped 75,000-square metre underwater hotel, linked by a submerged, transparent train tunnel. Other stunning architectural details include two translucent domes, which will house a concert auditorium and a ballroom that break the water’s surface, with the ballroom featuring a retractable roof. And that’s not to mention the hotel’s 220 submerged bubble-shaped suites, with clear glass comprising both the sleeping areas’ walls and each room’s bathtub. Every room in the hotel will have an adjustable control panel for changing settings for lighting, patterns, sounds and even smells.

Other innovations include a “water screen” that will be positioned between the hotel and the shore, with coloured lights and images projected on its surface at night. Guests will be protected from the Mid-East’s broiling sun with artificial clouds, produced by a giant fog machine above the surface. The mega-complex will also house three bars, a cosmetic surgery clinic, a marine biology research institute, a library, a museum, prayer rooms, a private cinema, retail shopping and three 150-seat restaurants. The security features include a missile-detecting radar system and watertight doors that can seal off entire sections of the facility. Projected price for a room is up to $5,000 a night.

Hydropolis’s German architect, Joachim Hauser, has stated, “My general plan was to create a living space in the sea. We want to create the first ever faculty for marine architecture because I believe that the future lies in the sea, including the future of city planning. I am certain that one day a whole city will be built in the sea. Our aim is to lay the first mosaic by colonising the sea. We are sure that this hotel will set a precedent.” In fact, Crescent-Hydropolis is now planning a chain of underwater hotels, and nine countries have shown interest. One sister project is slated to open in 2009 in Qingdao, China. The 200-room HydroPalace will be anchored in the Yellow Sea in water that is 16 to 20 metres deep at low tide. Guests will arrive at the hotel by yacht, which will also transport them a land-based hydrotower.

Another aquatic resort due to open near Shanghai in 2009 is the Shimao Wonderland Hotel. Built inside a beautiful water-filled former quarry, the 400-bed, five-star hotel will reach from the bottom of the lake to the surface of the 100-metre deep quarry. Two stories of the hotel will be under water, 17 will be within the cave and two will be above ground. It will incorporate conference facilities for up to 1,000 people, a banqueting centre, restaurants, cafés and sports facilities. An aquatic theme runs through the design both visually and functionally. Curved wings of the main body of the guestrooms enclose a naturally lit internal atrium, which uses the existing rock face with its waterfalls and green vegetation. This will be overlooked by guestroom balconies and contain restaurants and cafés at the base. The underwater levels will house a restaurant and guestrooms facing a 10-metre deep aquarium. The lowest level will contain a leisure complex with a swimming pool and water-based sports. An extreme sports centre for activities such as rock climbing and bungee jumping will be cantilevered over the quarry and accessed by special lifts, while the 16th floor will contain hot springs. 

Meanwhile, Poseidon Resorts will soon open a smaller, luxury underwater hotel off the coast of Fiji. Situated 12 metres below the ocean’s surface, all of its 24 suites will feature Jacuzzis, flat-screen televisions and fortified, transparent acrylic walls that look out onto coral gardens. Push-button controls will allow guests to adjust the lighting of the marine worlds outside their windows and to release food for fish swimming just outside. The Poseidon Undersea Resort also has 48 beach bungalows in case you feel like being closer to sea level. Apart from relaxing in their suites, guests can spend their days exploring the sea in a personal, 1,000-foot Triton submarine, scuba diving or indulging in spa treatments. There will also be an underwater library, a wedding chapel and several restaurants. The cost? $15,000 per person per week, based on double-occupancy. The hotel is now taking bookings and according to the Poseidon Resorts website, “the first 1,000 guests will have their names permanently inscribed on two monuments one on the island, and one on the floor of the lagoon.”

These fantasy playlands for the wealthy are at the cutting edge of an emerging trend: hotels that promise not just a getaway but a major experience. “People are looking for the wow factor, the bragging rights,” said Rick Swig, a hotel consultant and president of RSBA & Associates in San Francisco. “They want to come back from these places saying, ‘You won’t believe what I did this weekend.’”

In the next instalment we’ll take a look at some unique land-based theme hotels that are bona fide destinations in themselves.

(To be continued …)