Plans for a hotel under the sea

By Humphrey Carter THE company building the world's first underwater luxury hotel in Dubai is apparently also considering building one in the Bay of Palma. Crescent Hydropolis Resorts Plc, which is due to open its £300 million, 220-suite hotel which is 20 metres below the Arabian Gulf just off Jumeirah Beach in Dubai, plans to build a series of underwater casino resorts and is shortly expected to unveil its future projects. The company is understood to want to add “deep and shallow water” resorts in North America, the Indian Ocean, the Far East and the Mediterranean to its portfolio and according to press reports in London over the weekend, the Bay of Palma is the preferred site in the Mediterranean. Palma's underwater complex would be very similar to the Dubai prototype and will cost a similar amount of money to build. The luxury suites will cost around £2'000 per night and the resort complex will be accessed from both land and sea with docking facilities for luxury yachts and even cruise ships. The Dubai resort is going to be connected to a “land station” connected to the underwater resort by a noiseless train and a similar connection service is expected to be included in any project drawn up for Palma. There will also be helicopter transfer facilities. The resort will be of the very highest quality with restaurants, bars, fitness facilities, spa, ballroom, cinema, casino, shops and a children's seaworld education centre. Apparently, nine countries have shown interests in Crescent-Hydropolis's expansion plans. What is more, Hydropolis is far more than just a luxury hotel. Hotel developer and designer Joachin Hauser has said that he wants the resorts to be education and marine preservation centres. Once open, the Dubai complex is expecting some 3'000 visitors per day, in addition to hotel guests. Whether the project will come off in the Bay of Palma remains to be seen, but it would be the only one of its kind in Europe and give the region's tourist industry a whole new dimension.