The World’s First Underwater Luxury Vessel Resort Is Coming to Dubai
Dubai has never met a big idea it didn't want to tackle. Just a few months after announcing the $1.7 billion construction of two artificial islands, it's poised to build The Floating Venice, the world's first underwater luxury vessel resort.
The brainchild of the Kleindienst Group, a Dubai-based real estate and property developer, The Floating Venice could very well be the most over-the-top accommodation in a city that's known for its wildly ambitious and very, very tall hotels.
Like something out of a sci-fi movie, the $680 million development — which will be built about 2.5 miles offshore — will offer a totally modern take on Italy's own Floating City, with room for up to 3,000 guests per day, who will arrive via boat, seaplane or helicopter and will check into their rooms in an underwater lobby. Once they've registered, visitors will be brought to their rooms via gondola, which will traverse the resort's many winding, man-made canals.
With the goal of becoming a modern hospitality marvel, there's nothing subtle about what the resort has planned. Over the span of four decks — one of which will be underwater and offer views of both the spectacular coral reefs and the gondolas passing overhead — visitors will find 414 cabins; 12 floating beaches; several boutique shops; a dozen restaurants and bars, three of which will be underwater; the world's first underwater spa; and 24 pools, some of which will be acrylic-bottomed, giving guests yet another chance to marvel at what's happening in the 400,000 square feet of coral reef below them.
But don't try booking your visit just yet. Construction on The Floating Venice will begin in early 2018 — it will be built on a dry-dock facility in Dubai — with an anticipated completion date of 2020. In the meantime, you can get an early sneak peek of what it should look like in the video below.
All images courtesy of the Kleindienst Group.
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