Undersea Hotel: Luxury 66 Feet Down

For a mere US $5500 per night, you and your significant other can escape the hectic surface world of Dubai for the privacy of your own Neptunian paradise.

At a rough cost of UK£300 million, this jaw-dropping engineering challenge will allow guests to get a true taste for the peace and beauty of underwater life – and at a projected pricetag of up to USD$5500 per night for a room, you'd certainly be hoping that life is much better down where it's wetter....While all 220 of the hotel's bubble-shaped suites lie on the floor of the Persian Gulf, 66 feet (20 metres) under the surface of the water, the twin domes of the hotel's concert auditorium and ballroom will break through the surface. The ballroom's retractable roof will allow guests to enjoy open-air events, with panoramic views of the coastline and the Dubai skyline when the weather's fine – which, being Dubai, will be almost all of the time.

The Hydropolis will be well-looked after in emergencies – a series of watertight doors will allow management to completely seal off entire sections of the complex in the case of a rupture (here's hoping there's nobody in the sealed bits!) – and in anticipation that such an extravagant project might be a terrorist target, the complex will have its own missile defense system.

Gizmag

Of course, another undersea hotel in Fiji will probably start receiving guests sooner. While the Fijian undersea hotel will be smaller than the one in Dubai, its relative remoteness from the troubled Persian Gulf region may make it more attractive for those who truly want to "get away."

Bruce Jones has spent much of his career designing underwater toys for the rich and famous. The 50-year-old president of U.S. Submarines is best known for building ultraluxe custom subs, $80-million vessels that feature private staterooms, paneled interiors made from exotic hardwoods, plush carpeting, and enough onboard oxygen to keep you and 10 friends breathing easy for three weeks of cruising at depths of nearly 1,000 feet. Now Jones is redirecting his expertise in undersea opulence toward the hotel industry. His plan: to open the Poseidon Mystery Island, the world’s first major resort at the bottom of the ocean, by September 2008.

PopsciCheck out the YouTube video below for an enticing video tour of the Poseidon undersea resort now under construction:

It will not be long before persons with access to large sums of money have a choice of luxury accommodation on the sea, under the sea, in the sky on a luxury dirigible, in earth orbit, or perhaps even on the moon.

Personally, I like the idea of my own submarine that can also fly, drive on the highway, or power across the surface like a boat. Perhaps molecular assembler fabs can help with that?