Courtesy of Conrad
Sleep under the sea at The Muraka, the world's first underwater hotel villa.
- The Muraka, the world's first underwater hotel villa, opens November 2018.
- Located more than 16 feet below sea level in the Maldives, the two-level hotel room offers panoramic views above and under the sea - for $50,000 a night.
- As part of the Hilton's Conrad Maldives Rangali Island resort, the Muraka cost a reported $15 million to build.
Why swim with sharks when you can sleep with them?
That's exactly the kind of experience offered at The Muraka, the world's first underwater hotel villa. Located more than 16 feet below sea level in the middle of the Indian Ocean with glass walls, The Muraka is a two-level aquarium where you can fall asleep to fish swimming overhead and wake up to the swaying arms of coral.
Opening in November 2018, The Muraka is connected by a long jetty to the Hilton's Conrad Maldives Rangali Island resort, which is known for its firsts.
"The resort was the first hotelier in the Maldives to perch villas on stilts above the water, the first to open an underwater restaurant, and now they are the first to sink a residence into the briny depths," wrote Melissa Locker of Architectural Digest.
But the otherworldly experience at The Muraka, which translates to "coral" in the local Dhivehi language, comes at a cost - $50,000 a night, before taxes. That's not near as much as it cost to build, which Bloomberg reported was a whopping $15 million.
According to Architectural Digest, the 600-ton lower level was built in Singapore before being transported to the Maldives on a specialized ship and submerged near a reef without damage. Ten concrete piles hold it stable so it doesn't shift during bad weather.
Below, take a glimpse under the sea.