We are big fans of Queensland's incredible Great Barrier Reef and since we keep reading that it's kinda threatened by human activity and global warming, we're not really sure that we like the idea of the floating hotel called Reefworld that the UK Times reported about on the weekend.
They're saying that Reefworld will be the world's first "fully eco-friendly floating hotel" and includes eight underwater guestrooms. The bathrooms will have glass walls so all the fish will be able to see what you're up to in there! The plan is to combine it with a research facility, and also power the whole thing using solar panels and its own turbines and "underwater trickle-charge generators".
It sounds a bit science fiction-like and reactions have been mixed. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority have apparently given it their support, but local dive operators are more skeptical. And while in theory we love the idea of an underwater bedroom, we'd rather make sure the reef was still there for future generations to enjoy. Because that's just the kind of people we are.
Planned Underwater Hotels Poseidon (Fiji) and Hydropolis (Dubai) are getting some more competition.
Istanbul has announced its own plans for an underwater hotel which will open in 2010, the same year the city will be taking over as the Capital of Culture. From TrendHunter:
The underwater hotel is being built on the ruins of a historical 1930s tobacco factory and will have restaurants, exhibition halls, and rooms all with sea view rooms.
It will be interesting to check-in and check-out the underwater hotel rooms and facilities, as local experts suggest that the underwater visibility of the Istanbul Bosphorus Strait (which is the body of water that links the Black Sea, to the north, with the Sea of Marmara, to the south) is about ten feet.
We have zero faith in these underwater hotels so we can't get really excited about all this. However, The Poseion Resort has got a fancy website that is pretty legit. With an opening date of September 2008, (reservations are to start March 17, 2008) this place should be well under construction. Although since the location is supposed to be a "secret" no one can really check on the status.
We have a feeling this is going to end up as another land-lubbing resort with overwater bungalows but prove us wrong Poseidon.
· Britney Spears: Can she just give up her parental rights now? The trainwreck claimed to be too sick for a deposition in a child custody case but went out later that night to the Four Seasons.
· Hotel WiFi Hell: Brother site Jaunted reports that the DIA airport blocks some websites and even more shockingly, HotelChatter is a blocked site at some Drury and Comfort Inns. Whatever, our Trapper Keeper is cooler than yours.
· Airport Hotels: Forbes has put together a list of the world's best. Not on the list? Yotels.
Since Macau is doing everything they possibly can to recreate the Las Vegas strip on their own Cotai Strip, it's no surprise that a Hard Rock Hotel will open there as part of the City of Dreams complex. What is surprising is this Hydropolis trend might have legs:
The City of Dreams development is planned to feature an underwater- themed casino and four luxurious hotels, including Hard Rock Hotel, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Regency and the Crown Towers, among other features. The development is planned to open in two phases, with the first phase (which is planned to include the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Macau), expected to be opened late 2008.
Ok, so it's not actually an underwater hotel but we're guessing the City of Dreams will have lots of fish tanks around.
As for the Hard Rock, plan on seeing approximately 380 rooms all designed by "Hard Rock designers", probably like Ashlee Simpson and Carmen Electra, including two "Rock Star" mega-suites. LIke the other Hard Rock properties there will be a live menu venue, a Hard Rock restaurant, a VIP nightclub, and a pool area. No word on whether or not you can have sex in the pool there.
We mentioned this hotel last week in our PM Linkage but we decided that it really deserves a closer look.
The Cool Hunter reported that the Atkin's Architecture Group was the winner of an international design competition with their resort hotel complex that is built within a natural water-filled quarry in Songjiang, China.
[T]he 400 bed resort hotel is uniquely constructed within the natural elements of the quarry. Underwater public areas and guest rooms add to the uniqueness, but the resort also boasts cafes, restaurants and sporting facilities.
The lowest level runs with the aquatic theme by housing a luxurious swimming pool and an extreme sports center for activities such as rock climbing and bungee jumping which will be cantilevered over the quarry and accessed by special lifts from the water.
We actually think this is a more plausible hotel design than some other underwater hotel designs like Hydropolis. No word on when or if this thing will actually be built.
The Poseidon Undersea Resort is not slated to open for another couple of years, but this week a virtual tour of the resort surfaced on YouTube. Furthermore, the resort website is claiming that starting January 15 2007 you can start making reservations at $30,000 per couple per week.
This all sounds suspect, since as far as we know this place isn't even built yet. Maybe they are opening a Second Life version next year--only half kidding.
Here is what we said a couple years back about this place:
In our fantasy reality program Poseidon Real World 30 is a mix of Survivor, Real World, and American Idol. Every couple of weeks the audience gets to vote one annoying cast member out of the pod and into the ocean. Then, we get to watch, on live television, as the annoying cast member is tossed through the transparent acrylic walls into the ocean and told to fend for themselves.
And here is what a YouTube commenter said about his vision for the resort:
All the bellhops should be like fish people. And when they talk, they just have bubbles come out of their mouth. And you would just tip them with coral or some fish food, and they're all happy to get it because they're fish.
The facts are getting a little more concrete on Fiji's coming underwater hotel--although to match its name, the exact location of Poseidon Resort's Mystery Island is still, well, a mystery. Press reports are pretty firm on construction beginning next month, with 24 underwater suites 40 foot down will complement beach and over water bungalows to make up the resort. Submarine engineers have been hard at work designing the suites, revolving restaurant and spa treatment rooms to give you the ultimate in live-with-the-fishes luxury--remember, they're calling it a 7-star resort.
Just when you'll be able to spend your $15,000 a week (note that only 2 of these nights will actually be spent underwater) is still a bit murky. Here at HotelChatter our last predicted completion date was mid-2008; press reports have pushed that a little to September 2008, and Poseidon's website itself mentions early 2009. We don't recommend making your reservations just yet.
We love this statistical breakdown of the proposed underwater hotels--Hydropolis and Poseidon--compiled by Waterlog. Using information gathered from hyped-up press releases, news reports, and brochures, Waterlog assembles a side by side comparison of each hotel. So far it looks like Hydropolis is winning with its earlier opening date, more number of rooms, missile-detecting radar and a cheaper room rate. (Although having in-room fish feeders would have been nice.)
But in the end, this is all the ultimate in hotel hype. Or as Waterlog puts the chances of these hotels opening:
Neither one is my bet. Most of these Jules Verne fantasies get no further than a URL.
