So It's Underwater, But The Manta Resort's Submerged Room Is Not What I'd Hoped For.

Everyone is buzzing about Africa's first underwater hotel room. Opened as the Manta Resort's newest attraction on November 1, 2013, the sub-aquatic accommodation floats in a circular blue hole in the coral reef near Pemba Island, off the East Coast of Tanzania.




I was very excited when I heard that an actual underwater hotel room could be booked, but I was expecting one of these:


Instead, the Manta Resort's Underwater Room is really more of a submerged observation cubicle.




The top floor, which sits above sea-level, is basically an open-air deck like a floating raft with a bed upon it. Here guests can relax, take in the idyllic Indian Ocean surroundings and soak up some sun or gaze at the stars.



Beneath the top deck is a level with a lounge, a shower, a bar and a cozy sofa/ built in bench and table.



The bottom floor is a small square, claustrophobic-inducing box submerged to the depth of four meters. A bedroom with inset windows, hardly "walled entirely in glass" as it has been described.





It most certainly does offer surreal views of passing sea-life and at night, the nocturnal sea life illuminated by spotlights is breathtaking. And yes, it's true, most of the occupants will be spending time above on the deck or looking out the windows below.





But given the glut of underwater hotel designs and proposals, this is where we can stay?

Where are the rooms that look like those proposed in The Poseidon Resort, and The Discus Hotel? Even the actual Underwater Spa treatment rooms at the LIME, Hufaven Fushi are prettier.


above: The proposed underwater bedrooms at the Water Discus Hotel


above: the underwater treatment rooms at the LIME spa in the Maldives

The gorgeous photos of the Manta Resort's underwater room from the exterior by Jesper Anhede are lovely. And, to be fair, the Manta Resort in Pemba, Tanzania has lots to offer in terms of activities: scuba diving, sailing, gorgeous white sand beaches, massage, spa treatments and exotic underwater life to observe. But come on, couldn't they have decorated that room a little better?

An overhead view of the Manta Resort on Pemba Island, Zanzibar, Tanzania, Africa:


The vacation innovation was designed by Swedish installation artist and sculptor Mikael Genberg. He's the brains behind the Utter Inn, an underwater room built in a lake near Stockholm, and is currently contemplating putting a Swedish-style cottage on the moon.

Funding was achieved via a newly formed company registered in Zanzibar, Genberg Art UW Limited, which represents a collaboration between several Swedish and Tanzanian investors, including Genberg Underwater Hotels, Christer and Jacky Abrahamsson, Hans Elis Johansson and Michael Wild.

The underwater room can be 'added' to your bookings for a night or two at the Manta Resort for $1500 ($750 per person) as opposed to being booked as your sole room. They do offer special prices for divers.

prices and packages
The Manta Resort
images courtesy of Photographer Jesper Anhede


What about those cool looking underwater bedrooms shown in this post? Check those out at the links below:

• The Poseidon Resort and the H2Ome
• The Water Discus Hotel
• The Underwater Spa, LIME at Huvafen Fushi

Underwater Dwellings: H2Ome and The Poseidon Resort

U.S. Submarine Structures LLC is the company that is responsible for the design and construction of both the Poseidon Undersea Resort and now, the world's first one-atmosphere sea-floor residence, the H2OME.

The Poseidon Resort:
The Poseidon Resort, which is nestled in a 500 acre Fijian lagoon, is the world's first one-atmosphere sea floor resort. It's cantilevered over the sea floor in 40 feet of water. The resort has twenty-four 550 square foot luxury suites. The Poseidon features a 100 seat bar and restaurant (350 m2) and another 350 m2 unit with an undersea library, a Presidential Suite, two spa treatment rooms and a wedding chapel/conference room combination.





The undersea restaurant seats 100 and has panoramic viewing of the sea floor:

Lounge and common areas:


Bedroom suites:


A central shaft provides elevator and staircase access to the surface:

How it was assembled (details are proprietary)



Poseidon Undersea Resorts has been featured in over 500 magazines world-wide to date and over 50,000 people (25,000 couples) have signed up to be informed when they start taking reservations. There are only 8,000 guest spots available in the first year. To learn much more about this underwater resort visit the site here.

Copyright 2008-2009, U.S. Submarine Structures LLC. All rights reserved. Subject to the conditions of Poseidon’s secrecy agreement.

Now, the H2Ome.








The world’s first undersea residence has 3600 square feet of uncompromising elegance situated in 40 feet of crystal clear water surrounded by a magnificent coral reef, where the ever changing view is fascinating and absolutely unique.



Your H2OME is in Belize, in a protected private lagoon connected to land by your private pier. Floating above and accessed by elevator is a cluster of floating buildings, including a warm water outdoor spa, the central entrance lounge, docking space for a yacht and an enclosed building for your Triton submarine as well as space for a wide array of water toys.

Access to the underwater home is simplest from a pier that connects the shore to the residence’s access trunk by a ramp. The interior of the H2OME is then available by elevator, or by a circular stairway. Umbilicals for water, sewage, communications and electricity are connected to the pier and run to shore.

And, let’s not forget the floating helicopter landing pad:



This 3600 square foot, two-story structure takes incredible luxury and fabulous viewing to the sea-floor. The top floor layout is comprised of two bedrooms with baths and open lounge areas. The main floor consists of a master bedroom with integrated seating and a master bath. Also included is a gourmet kitchen with adjacent wine cellar, a formal dining area, a library lounge, a bar, private office space, a living room with flat screen television, a half bathroom and several discrete seating areas where one can enjoy the different views of the undersea world. The layout can be structured to the client’s requirements and the details here are only proposed for illustrative purposes.

Your H2OME even comes complete with push-button fish feeders so that you and your guests can feed the fish as well as underwater lights to light up the sea floor for a limited period of time each evening.

Bedroom:

Dining room:


The layout:
The H2OME is installed cantilevered on piling just above the sea floor. The structure has two floors that are linked to each other and the surface by an elevator and a circular staircase.


aerial view of upper level:

detailed overhead of lower level:


Construction & Installation
Your H2OME is built by U.S. Submarine Structures in components at their yard. They also produce the acrylic panels to our specifications by post-processing thermoforming and annealing. They then transport all components to a floating drydock for assembly and testing. The interior is ordered from a supplier specializing in 5-star hotel interiors and superyacht interiors. This firm fits and assembles the interior components and then packs them in containers and ships the components to us where they do the installation.

The completed structure is floated off the drydock and is then picked up by a semi-submersible heavy lift ship which transports the H2OME to the site. Previously, piles have been driven into the sea floor and the H2OME is floated into place, keyed to the piles and then ballasted for a slow descent toward the sea floor where it is then bolted to the piling several inches above the sea bottom. The piling tops are cut off and the umbilical cables run to the access pier and connected. In this way, your undersea residence is available for your use only 48 hours after delivery.

Most of the engineering detail on the Poseidon Undersea Resort and the H2OME is proprietary to the company. The images used in this post are protected by copyright and cannot be used without written permission.

© copyright 2007-2009, by U.S. Submarine Structures L.L.C. All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced in any form or by any means (including electronic storage and retrieval or translation into a foreign language) without prior agreement and express written consent from the author as governed by United States and international copyright laws.

More floating and water related architecture for you!

•The Discus Underwater Hotel 

• The Poseidon Resort and H2Ome

•Floating Hotels and Offices

•Bouroullec Brothers Floating House

• the SilverFish Floating Home