150,000 Guests Have Waited 13 Years to Stay at an Underwater Resort

A Fiji hotel beneath the sea has been in the works for 13 years, apparently with no end date in sight.

An underwater hotel can take far longer to build than one above ground. That much is understandable. That the Poseidon Undersea Resort is in its 13th year of planning, however, may leave some wondering if the complex will ever be ready. The submerged property, conceived in 2000 and originally scheduled for completion by 2008, has yet to be built. In the meantime, an estimated 150,000 potential guests have registered to stay at the Poseidon, where a weeklong room reservation is expected to cost about £9,000 ($14,744), according to Metro.

The planned resort, 40 feet beneath the sea in a lagoon in Fiji, is the vision of L. Bruce Jones, chairman of Triton Submarines, a manufacturer of underwater vessels for personal use. Jones hopes to offer 24 suites with expansive windows, a restaurant, bar, gym and wedding chapel. He also seeks to build 48 villas above ground nearby.

According to the resort’s website, the hotel intends to offer vacationers a host of activities, from scuba diving to commandeering a personal submarine through the lagoon. The ocean, claims Poseidon, is “your definitive playground.”

For guests concerned about flooding, Poseidon further states: “The resort is built to rigid safety requirements with high levels of structural integrity, large safety factors and fully redundant fail-safe systems. Each room is completely isolated from the central hall and other rooms with a double pressure proof door system and independent emergency life support systems.”

It remains unclear when, or if, the resort will be ready for business.

[Photo: Poseidon Undersea Resort/Karine Rousseau]