6 underwater hotels that get you up close to marine life

A pretty view from a hotel room is always appreciated, but occasionally a one-of-a-kind vista is what makes your entire vacation memorable. And what could be more remarkable than slumbering in the sea? At underwater hotels, guests come face-to-face with marine life in some of the world’s most coveted suites, allowing them to completely immerse themselves in a mysterious aquatic world. From an ultra-luxurious marine dome with a 24-hour butler service to a former research lab you have to scuba dive into, you’ll never forget a submerged stay at one of these hotels.

Situated on Pemba Island, part of Tanzania's Zanzibar Archipelago, The Manta Resort is known for its white-sand swimming beaches and pristine diving locations (the resort has a ​​five-star PADI dive center). For those who want to connect even more deeply with Pemba Island’s aquatic surroundings, there’s the Underwater Room, a unique hotel suite tethered two minutes off-shore, like a mini private island. The Underwater Room is composed of three levels including an elevated roof deck that’s made for stargazing and a submerged bedroom where you can watch wild and wonderful sea creatures gliding by.

The Muraka at The Conrad Maldives Rangali Island initially looks like the luxury overwater bungalow the destination is known for—infinity pool, sun deck, spacious bedrooms looking out over the water—but take the spiral staircase or elevator down a level and you’ll discover a primary suite inside a curved acrylic dome, submerged 16 feet beneath the ocean’s surface. Where you might expect to find a TV in most hotel rooms you get a view into the turquoise depths of the Indian Ocean instead. FYI: There’s an underwater restaurant here, too.

Once a research lab dedicated to exploring the continental shelf off the coast of Puerto Rico, Jules’ Undersea Lodge now functions as the United States’ only underwater hotel. The lodge, which is located on a mangrove lagoon in Key Largo, FL, has two bedrooms, fast Wi-Fi, and provides pizza delivery for dinner. There’s one important thing to note: The lodge can only be accessed by scuba diving to the entrance—a five-by-seven foot opening into a wet room, where you can discard your scuba gear, shower, and towel off before enjoying your overnight stay.

The defining feature of Dubai’s Atlantis, The Palm, is its Ambassador Lagoon: A huge 11-million-liter aquarium that’s one of the 10 biggest aquariums in the world. It’s also the site of the resort’s luxurious Underwater Suite, which spans three floors and comes complete with 24-hour butler service. Floor-to-ceiling windows in the bedroom and bathroom put you face-to-face with some of the Ambassador Lagoon’s 65,000 marine animals (imagine soaking in the freestanding bath tub while rays and sharks pass by).

If seeing Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is on your travel hit list, book the underwater experience at Reefsuites, a pontoon boat moored off the coast of the Whitsunday Islands. The experience begins with a cruise and ample snorkeling time, followed by a family-style starlit dinner on the upper deck. Then retire to your private underwater suite where floor-to-ceiling windows offer an unbelievable up-close view of Earth’s largest reef.

In Lake Mälaren, just off the coast of the Swedish city of Västerås, floats The Utter Inn, a micro hotel/art installation conceived by the artist Mikael Genberg. Viewed from a distance it’s designed to look like a miniature version of the classic Swedish red house but inside guests can descend through a floor hatch into a tiny bedroom three feet under the water. The Utter Inn isn’t a luxury hotel but it more than makes up for that by offering a singular experience where you can spend your days swimming in the lake and then see the environment from a whole new perspective come evening.