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Would First Underwater Hotel

Calling all adventure enthusiasts: There’s a new one-of-a-kind travel experience you’re going to want to add to your bucket list. The Conrad Maldives Rangali Island has just announced the construction of an undersea villa, the first of its kind in existence. While other hotels offer underwater sleeping quarters, they all look out onto man-made aquariums; The Conrad’s villa sits 16’4″ below the surface on the ocean floor. The residence is appropriately named The Muraka, or “coral” in Dhivehi, the local language in the Maldives, in reference to the abundance of the sea invertebrates and the natural marine environment that surround the suite.

The underwater bathroom looks out onto the floor of the Indian Ocean

The villa was dreamt up and created by the same team responsible for Ithaa, The Conrad’s underwater restaurant that pioneered the concept 13 years ago. Designed by Crown Company director Ahmed Saleem and realized by engineer Mike Murphy, the residence offers enough room for nine guests between its two levels—one above sea level, and the other below. The Muraka’s upper level includes two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a powder room, gym, butler’s quarters, private security quarters, living room, kitchen, bar, and dining area. The team thought of everything when designing the residence, creating decks on the western and eastern sides of the space to take in the perfect sunset and sunrise, respectively, and the bathtub in the master suite faces the ocean, which makes for a breathtaking soak. A spiral staircase gives way to the level below deck, which is complete with a curved acrylic dome that offers a 180 degree view of the Indian Ocean.