Ithaa Undersea Restaurant, Conrad Hotel Rangali Island, Maldives
Set
on a private island in the middle of the Indian Ocean, this resort
offers a choice of 12 restaurants and bars to guests, including water
villas on stilts and a fromage bar with 101 of the world’s best
cheeses. But the resort is most famous for the Ithaa Undersea
Restaurant, the world’s first and only undersea, all-glass restaurant.
Ithaa sits five metres below the surface, offering 180-degree
panoramic views of the vibrant coral gardens surrounding it. The restaurant, meaning ‘mother of pearl’ in the Maldivian language of
Dihevi, serves contemporary European cuisine. For lunch, enjoy light
dishes such as fresh green pea soup, green mango and papaya salad and dark chocolate mousse. A six-course set dinner menu featuring caviar, lobster and champagne risotto is on offer in the evening. With over
20,000 bottles of wine to choose from in their cellar, you’ll won’t go
thirsty either.
[Credits: conradhotels3.hilton.com - Picture: Ithaa Undersea Restaurant, Conrad Hotel]
The Al Mahara, Jumeirah Burj Al Arab Hotel, Dubai
The
floor-to-ceiling aquarium at this restaurant gives the impression of
being underwater, even though you’re moments from the outside world.
The Al Mahara - meaning ‘The Oyster Shell’ in Arabic - is considered
the best seafood restaurant in Dubai, with specialities including
poached Tsarkaya oysters, Wagyu Beef seared on the “plancha” and short
rib in orange syrup and angostura. Finish with shortbread and lemon
curd, and take in the amazing view.
[Credits: jumeirah.com - Picture: The Al Mahara, Jumeirah Burj Al Arab Hotel]
Subsix, Niyama, Per Aquum, Maldives
Another
gem in the Maldives, Subsix at the Per Aquum Resort is an underwater playground for party goers. The club and restaurant is 500 metres out in
the ocean and six metres below the waterline. It offers everything
from private champagne breakfasts to intimate subaquatic lunches,
wedding blessings, wine tastings, themed evenings and club nights. The
subaquatic lunch focuses on light, fresh dishes likes like crab, cous
сous and pomelo garden, lobster medallion and Wagyu beef tenderloin,
and all the free-flowing fresh juices your heart desires (£105 per
person for three courses).
[Credits: niyama.peraquum.com - Picture: Copyright: www.aboutfoto.com]
Jules’ Undersea Lodge, Key Largo Undersea Park, Florida
You’ll
have to work for your lunch at Jules’ in Florida: the only way to access the hotel is by scuba diving. Located in the Key Largo Lagoon,
this is world’s only underwater hotel. It’s somewhere between a hotel
and a research lab - they’ve got a special overnight package (£512 for
two people) which includes all scuba gear, snacks, breakfast and
their (supposedly) world-famous pizza delivery service. If you want
something finer, you can enjoy a meal cooked by a chef who dives down
just to you. For those who don’t find the idea of sleeping in a
research lab and watching the fishes enticing, you can choose to visit
the underwater hotel for pizza lunch only (£96).
[Credits: jul.com - Picture: Jules’ Undersea Lodge, Key Largo Undersea Park, Florida]
Cargo Hold, uShaka Marine World, Durban, South Africa
Okay, so the restaurant isn’t actually underwater, but you will be
nestled in the stern of the South Africa’s legendary ghost ship ‘The
Phantom’, with superb views of the ocean and a shark tank. Make sure
you request a table close to the glass to get up close and personal
with the sharks, as you dine on freshly shucked oysters (£1 each),
white wine mussels (£3) and seared salmon served with a sticky
teriyaki sauce and pesto mashed potato (£7). If you fancy, go all out
and get a sharing platter of crayfish, prawns, mussels, calamari, line
fish and langoustines (£33).
[Credits: ushakamarineworld.co.za - Picture: Cargo Hold, uShaka Marine World]
Utter Inn, Lake Mälaren, Västeras, Sweden
For
something more low key (and less sharks), try this quaint, quirky underwater hotel in Sweden. Located on Lake Mälaren in Västeras, the
Utter Inn was conceived as an art project by artist Mikael Genberg.
The adventure starts with a boat ride from the port of Västera, then
you enter through small, typical-looking Swedish house on the surface
of the water and travel to a completely glass-walled bedroom below.
This hotel is about simple pleasures - you can spend the days lazing
in the sunshine, swimming and going for canoe rides. In the evening,
for the ultimate privacy and seclusion, dinner is delivered by boat.
Sounds pretty heavenly to us.
[Credits: mikaelgenberg.com - Picture: Utter Inn, Lake Mälaren]
Poseidon Undersea Resort, Fiji Restaurant, Fiji
Still
very much in construction, Poseidon plans to be the only fully underwater resort in the world. If (when) it opens, the island will
comprise of 225 acres and is surrounded by a 5,000-acre lagoon for
snorkelling, diving and exploring. The resort will include two fine
dining options; one on land and one below the sea, offering gourmet
fare. There are also plans to be an undersea chapel, so you can say
your vows amongst the fishes. Register to be notified when the resort
opens, and fingers crossed it’s in this lifetime.
[Credits: poseidonresorts.com - Picture: Poseidon Undersea Resort]
SEA Restaurant, Anantara Kihavah Villas, Maldives
Experience the world’s first underwater wine cellar at this incredible resort in the Maldives. The adults-only restaurant has a choice of wines spanning nine decades, designed to match the gourmet cuisine. Three metres below the surface, with only glass walls for maximum spectacle, there will be an array of sea life swimming, darting and dancing before your eyes. Go for the Lobster Treasures lunch (£144), featuring four courses of lobster, wagyu beef and champagne.
[Credits: kihavah-maldives.anantara.com - Picture: Subsix, Niyama, Per Aquum, Maldives]
This selection was published by The Telegraph, under the title “The world’s most incredible underwater restaurants”
