Underwater Hotels You Have to See to Believe

Now that vacation season has officially arrived, many of us are planning the exciting and exotic destinations to which we will be traveling in the coming months. While there are certainly plenty of possible destinations to consider around the planet, perhaps some of the most interesting resorts are located beneath the depths of the ocean.

This fabulous underwater dwelling takes its name from the author of the classic 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. The site was originally constructed during the early 1970s to serve as a research lab near Puerto Rico.

In 1986, the dwelling was relocated to Key Largo, Florida and opened as the first underwater hotel in the world. A number of celebrities have spent time at the innovative hotel, including Aerosmith's Steve Taylor and the former prime minister of Canada, Pierre Trudeau.

If you are not a certified diver, you will need to attend a three hour course on scuba diving before traveling beneath the depths to your room. The training is necessary because the hotel entrance is located some 21 feet beneath the water, right on the floor of the ocean.

After arriving at the hotel, guests are able to enjoy all of the modern amenities one would expect at a luxury hotel, including air-conditioning, a DVD player and hot showers. That is all in addition to the fabulous sea life views that are completely unobstructed. Both breakfast and dinner are delivered to guests.

The inn offers two guest rooms along with a common room in which guests are invited to lounge and enjoy television or simply gaze out the portholes at all of the interesting sea life as it glides by.

In 2000, Utter Inn opened in Vasteras, Sweden. The inn was conceived of by an artist and sculptor, Mikael Genberg and is located 3km below the waters of Lake Malaren. Above water, the inn resembles a traditional Swedish home, complete with white gables.

Guests travel below the water to stay in the one room inn and have the option of having dinner delivered by their host for an additional charge. Be aware, reservations should be made well in advance for this tremendously popular inn.

While the Utter Inn and Jules' Undersea Lodge both offer limited lodging space, there are two undersea lodges currently under construction that will provide far more space. One of those is the Poseidon, which is being constructed in Fiji, and is expected to open in 2009.

Guests will be able to take advantage of a number of opportunities to explore during their stay as they will have their very own Triton submarine made available to them for exploration of the lagoon during their stay. In addition, a 16-passenger luxury submarine is also provided, which will allow guests to take excursions throughout the depths.

A number of additional activities will also be available to guests on Poseidon Mystery Island. Standard suites offer 550 square feet of lodging space and will go for $1,500 per night once the resort opens.

Find other places to stay in Fiji

Another underwater hotel that is currently under construction is the Crescent Hydropolis in Dubai. In recent years, Dubai has become quite well known for its ultra modern and luxurious architecture. The Hydropolis pushes even those ideas a bit further, as this fabulous luxury resort is being constructed more than 60 feet underwater.

When it is completed, the $550 million dollar resort will cover some 27 acres and include an above water land station that will connect to a train tunnel to take guests below the surface to the hotel. Guests are welcomed into 220 bubble-shaped suites, all of which are comprised of clear glass.

Prospective guests who are interested in making reservations can begin doing so in 2009. In addition, the company that is constructing the Hydropolis in Dubai is planning additional underwater resorts in China, Munich, New York, Monaco, London and the Isle of Man.

Plans have also been recently announced to construct an underwater hotel in Istanbul, scheduled to open in 2010. This luxury resort is will be constructed an astounded seven floors beneath sea level.

Given the amount of interest that has been expressed in the underwater hotels already in existence, as well as those that are nearing completion, it is safe to assume that there will be many more to come in the future. It might not be long before the idea of diving or taking a submarine to the ocean floor for your vacation is just as commonplace as boarding a plane for your next trip.