ATLANTIS: FOUND?
“Sleeping with the fishes,” is a much more inviting concept now that it can come with room service and a gorgeous view. In fact, it becomes even more exciting when you consider that you just might be waking up in Atlantis.
The stuff of the legend of Atlantis, a mythical island, sunk into the ocean around 9600 BC, is rising once again. Allegedly buried under crashing waves and overtaken by gently beckoning seaweed, it became home to scuttling crabs, their tiny feet clinking across submerged marble temples, and schools of frantic fish—darts of iridescent color under the waves.
But now, the essence of Atlantis will be reborn in the form of a very beautiful resort in Dubai. When finished, fiction will become fact as luxury is built under the sea.
Designed by Polish architectural firm, Deep Ocean Technology, The Water Discus hotel is a hugely ambitious project. Other underwater hotels exist including the first underwater hotel, Jules’ Undersea Lodge in Key Largo, Florida and the beautiful Conrad Maldives Rangali Island, but not on this scale. When completed, the Water Discus will be the world’s largest submersible hotel.
Image: Deep Ocean Technology
With its multi-platform architecture, The Water Discus’ aesthetic seems to be heavily borrowed from 1960s science fiction. It looks like a hotel that Walt Disney would have constructed in the Tomorrowland section of Disneyland. It is comprised of two main sections: one disc permanently above sea level and one disc capable of submerging to a depth of 33 feet. The discs are connected by five solid legs and a vertical shaft, which contains an elevator and staircase.
Image: Deep Ocean Technology
Above the waterline, the hotel will be outfitted with a spa, terraced gardens, a rooftop pool and lounge, and a helipad. Below, the underwater section of The Water Discus is made up of 21 hotel rooms, modestly furnished but outfitted with generous floor to ceiling windows to give guests awe-inspiring views of the underwater world and the creatures that call it home. In fact, the submerged windows will be specially equipped with lighting systems and special underwater cameras that allow the guests to practice their macro photography skills.
Image: Deep Ocean Technology
Adventurers take note: the Water Discus will be fully equipped to deliver adrenaline. The hotel will be outfitted with three passenger submersibles for deep-sea exploration, motor boats for water-skiing, jet skis, and underwater scooters. Scuba divers will be particularly well taken care of, as the submerged portion of the hotel will contain a complete diving facility, maintained by the Gdynia Dive Diving Center, including air locks and a decompression chamber.
Image: Deep Ocean Technology
Besides the ocean-front views, the evacuation mechanism is arguably the most impressive element of the Water Discus. Wired.com described it as, “Not dissimilar to that of a cafetiere plunger in reverse.” During an emergency, the submerged disc will automatically surface (see how in the video below, starting at 1:15).
UNDERWATER HOTEL from Pawel Podwojewski on Vimeo.
For now, you can dream of laying in a crisp hotel bed, gazing out into a world few are ever lucky enough to see. Your skin will glow a soft blue, in streams of dancing white filtered sunlight through the azure ocean, as rays silently glide by—their bellies white and flat. We can’t wait to book!
To read more about beautiful water, visit our posts about The World's Most Beautiful Raincoat, Gold Water Cocktails Save Lives, New Sound Art to See, Water More Beautiful to Drink, and Not Just a Box of Rain. There’s also still time to enter our latest competition—we want to see your beautiful photographs of water.
