The travel section of your bucket list might be full of unreachable destinations already, but for those of you who are convinced you will one day get to visit every single one, here’s another.

Off the shores of Rangali, the Maldives island that has been made famous by the Hilton-operated Conrad Hotel Group because of that luxurious hotel above, the world’s first undersea villa is set to open.

You’re probably wondering why Dubai hasn’t yet done this. Well, they have, except the difference is that their hotels only have sleeping quarters that look out onto man-made aquariums. Boring.

This one, also owned by the Conrad Hotel Group, will have one half that sits well below the surface on the ocean floor, reports Architectural Digest:

The residence is appropriately named The Muraka, or “coral” in Dhivehi, the local language in the Maldives, in reference to the abundance of the sea invertebrates and the natural marine environment that surround the suite.

The villa was dreamt up and created by the same team responsible for Ithaa, The Conrad’s underwater restaurant that pioneered the concept 13 years ago.

With enough rooms for nine guests between two levels (one above sea, the other below), it was designed by Crown Company director Ahmed Saleem and realised by engineer Mike Murphy.

Below, the plans of the upper and lower decks respectively:

And real life, below:

The Muraka’s upper level includes two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a powder room, gym, butler’s quarters, private security quarters, living room, kitchen, bar, and dining area. The team thought of everything when designing the residence, creating decks on the western and eastern sides of the space to take in the perfect sunset and sunrise, respectively, and the bathtub in the master suite faces the ocean, which makes for a breathtaking soak.

A spiral staircase gives way to the level below deck, which is complete with a curved acrylic dome that offers a 180 degree view of the Indian Ocean.

If you have decided it’s a worthy bucket list addition, you will have to wait until November this year for it to open. At least that gives you some time to save the $50 000 (R600 000) needed per night to stay in it.

But with the possibility of sharks swimming over you as you open your eyes for a new day, it’s so totally worth it.

[source:architecturaldigest]