6 stunning undersea hotels

If you want to see engineering marvels Dubai is the place to be. And the city has added another engineering feat to its long list of achievements - an undersea hotel.

Called Water Discus, this structure looks like a cluster of UFOs. When fully constructed, it will have 21 ultra luxurious room, a lavish lobby, and a training pool for scuba diving among other amenities.

But Water Discus is not the first underwater hotel; there are five more according to a list compiled by CNN Money. Some are completely underwater while others have some portions in the sea.

Soon, we may have more such hotels as the designer of the Dubai property, Deep Ocean Technology, plans to launch similar resorts around the world.

Let’s take a look at the six hotels where marine life surrounds your abode.

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Water Discus Hotel at Dubai

Water Discus is located deep underwater, but its comfort and luxury are sky-high.

The complex is surrounded by a beautifully vibrant coral reef. This unique location will allow the guests to enjoy the tropical weather and the colourful underwater world.

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Water Discus Hotel at Dubai

The disc, located from 10 to 30 metres beneath the surface of the sea, is composed of 21 hotel rooms.

Each room is integrated with the underwater world as closely as possible, offering a surprisingly direct, yet safe contact with the local flora and fauna.

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Water Discus Hotel at Dubai

Special lighting system of the area around the room and the underwater vehicles, which can be operated from inside the rooms, will allow guest to take a closer look at even the most microscopic underwater creatures using macro photography.

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Water Discus Hotel at Dubai

For privacy, all rooms are sound-proof and have curtains of different levels of transparency.

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Water Discus Hotel at Dubai

The hotel has a multifunctional lobby built inside an enormous swimming pool.

While at the hotel, guests can have a look at the diving activities on the screens hanging on the lobby walls.

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Water Discus Hotel at Dubai

There is also an exotic garden offering a moment’s rest before going back to extreme experiences.

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Water Discus Hotel at Dubai

The elegant and spacious restaurant of the hotel is a perfect place to regenerate body and soul after a day filled with exciting diving excursions and energetic water sports.

The restaurant is located in one of the satellites of the upper discs. Like all rooms in the complex, it offers a magnificent panoramic view.

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Water Discus Hotel at Dubai

Guests can reach the hotel by using boats or can fly down. The hotel has facility for aircraft landing on water and a helipad.

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Water Discus Hotel at Dubai

All rooms of the hotel have high-speed Internet access.

To ensure that Water Discus remains in contact with the outside world at all times, the complex has been equipped with a ship radio station system and a satellite telephone.

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Water Discus Hotel at Dubai

Due to its unique design, Water Discus can be expanded into a bigger resort complex.

One of its most notable advantages is that it can be customised to suit the surroundings and the clients.

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Water Discus Hotel at Dubai

It is made up of independent structures with a usable area of approximately 1000 square metres. These structures can be transferred to a different place in case there are any adverse environmental or economic conditions.

This mobility makes changes in interior design of a hotel much easier, as any of the disc-shaped structures can be detached and replaced with a new one.

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Water Discus Hotel at Dubai

The ultimate reason for staying at the Water Discus is the marine adventure, and the hotel has facilities that can fulfil virtually every water sport you can wish for.

Guests can explore the underwater world in the hotel’s lobby using remotely operated vehicles. Other than diving, guests can also take the hotel’s 3-person underwater vehicles for deep sea exploration.

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Utter Inn in Sweden

Utter Inn is actually an art project by Mikael Genberg. The facility is entered through a small Swedish house located on the surface of the water.

The hotel is located in Lake Malaren near the town of Vasterss in Sweden.

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Utter Inn in Sweden

The structure inside the water is 10-feet deep and the lake is full of fishes. Guest can watch the marine life while relaxing in their room.

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Utter Inn in Sweden

The upper part (above the water) looks like typical Swedish cottage and has a sundeck for guests to relax. This area also house a kitchen.

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Utter Inn in Sweden

If you like the concept and wish to experience the hotel, there is bad news. The hotel is fully booked for this year. Guests from all over the world line up for bookings and lucky few get the chance to stay.

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Utter Inn in Sweden

The artist, Genberg, writes on his blog: “There is a remarkable feeling to go to bed while the fish are surrounding and watching you carefully. You are in an aquarium - for fish to be beholders of man.”

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Shimao Wonderland in China

The Shimao Wonderland Intercontinental is a unique hotel that is currently under construction in Songjiang, China, 30 miles from Shanghai.

It is being built on the site of an abandoned quarry and, features some rooms underwater.

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Shimao Wonderland in China

The project would include facilities for extreme sports, a visitor centre and a five-star hotel with some underwater rooms, according to Wikipedia.

The hotel has 380-400 beds, as well as conference rooms for up to 1,000 people, a banquet hall and restaurants and cafes.

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Shimao Wonderland in China

There are two underwater floors (the lowest of which will have a swimming pool and other water sports facilities), which will face an aquarium with a depth of ten metres, according to the developer’s website.

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Shimao Wonderland in China

The hotel is currently in the design stage - though construction has commenced. It is expected to be ready by 2015.

The design for the hotel has already won a prestigious award at the World Architecture Festival. According to reports, the hotel will need an investment of about $555 million.

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Conrad Maldives Rangali Islands in Maldives

Conrad Maldives is set on two islands and is reached by a 30-minute seaplane flight. The islands are home to whale sharks, manta rays, dolphins and turtles.

Conde Nast Traveler has included Conrad Maldives in 2013 Gold List of the best 100 hotels in the world and The World's 10 Best Beach Hotels.

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Conrad Maldives Rangali Islands in Maldives

The hotel offers a business centre, three boutiques, two spas, a fitness centre, two infinite view swimming pools, a tennis court, dive centre, watersports centre, open-air cinema and has a three-seater submarine.

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Conrad Maldives Rangali Islands in Maldives

The hotel has 11 restaurants and bars for dining including Ithaa Undersea Restaurant, the Cheese Bar featuring 101 of the world’s best cheeses, and an underground Wine Cellar with 20,000 bottles of fine wines.

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Conrad Maldives Rangali Islands in Maldives

The hotel boasts of many unique experiences. One of them is sighting of Manta Ray fish.

During the manta season (November until April), these animals swim under the bridge that connects the two islands of the hotel. Guests can see the fish wander along the bridge any time after dark. The hotel also offers diving excursions  to watch Manta Rays.

Guests can also book diving to see the magnificent whale sharks. The fish measures up to 15 metres in length and are the largest animal in the ocean - and also among the friendliest.

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Conrad Maldives Rangali Islands in Maldives

The most talked about attraction at the hotel is Ithaa - the first undersea restaurant in the world. It is located 5 metres below sea level and covers an area of 5 X 9 metres.

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Conrad Maldives Rangali Islands in Maldives

The restaurant is made mostly made of acrylic and has a capacity of 14 people.

Ithaa was designed by M.J. Murphy Ltd, New Zealand.

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Poseidon Undersea Resort in Fiji

Poseidon Undersea Resorts will be a  five-star resort, which would be world's first permanent one-atmosphere seafloor structure.

The resort is conceived and developed by L. Bruce Jones, the president of US Submarines Inc.

The hotel is not yet operational.

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Poseidon Undersea Resort in Fiji

The facilities (on land and water combined) will include 75 rooms and suites, a restaurant/bar, a library/lounge, a spa, a wedding chapel, and a theatre.

About 70 per cent of the exterior surface of the suite will be transparent acrylic, making the undersea views panoramic.

Outside of the sitting area of each suite there will be a private artificial reef which will be the home for unique varieties of marine life.

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Poseidon Undersea Resort in Fiji

Each suite will also have its own underwater lights controllable from an inside the accommodation. Guests will also be able to feed the fish outside at the push of a button.

The level of luxury in the suites will be unsurpassed with the finest fabrics, woods and fixtures. And each suite will have a large jacuzzi tub with fabulous views of the sea floor.

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Poseidon Undersea Resort in Fiji

To get to the undersea resort, guests will need to an elevator at the end of a pier.

There will no difference between the pressure inside the resort and the atmospheric pressure at the surface. The interior will be completely air-conditioned and humidity controlled.

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Poseidon Undersea Resort in Fiji

As the hotel has not yet opened, the price of staying in the undersea facility is not disclosed. The resort websites just says: “The once in a lifetime experience will be worth every penny.”

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Jules' Undersea Lodge in Florida, US

Jules' Undersea Lodge is the only underwater hotel in the United States located 30 feet (9 metre) deep on the ocean floor. Guests have to scuba dive to get to their rooms.

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Jules' Undersea Lodge in Florida, US

The hotel is located at the bottom of the Emerald Lagoon and it opened in 1986, according to Wikipedia.

The hotel’s name comes from the novelist Jules Verne, author of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Scuba certification is required for entrance as the front door is located 21 feet (6.4 metres) under water, states the online encyclopaedia.

Jules' Undersea Lodge in Florida, US

The hotel was formerly a marine lab operated off Puerto Rico. The lodge features a 2-bedroom 1 bath retreat that can be rented for a night. The hotel also has a scuba diving school.

The mangrove lagoon in which Jules' is located is a natural nursery area for many reef fishes including tropical angelfish, parrotfish, barracuda, and snappers peek.