Originally Posted by
Jermyn
Looks like a wooden floor, the same as Ithaa. Only this resort has added a "water effect" carpet.
When I read
the dome-shaped seafood restaurant has a curved glass roof, glass sides and a glass floor
in the article I intially thought 'photoshopped' (thought it was a promotional picture and didn't realize that the restaurant had opened already and was a real picture). TBH, and considering there are glass floors everywhere in the Maldives thesedays, it still looks fake and a bit tacky / pretentious. Why not just have a real glass floor? Design constraints I imagine. A least don't
pretend there is one. Each to his own I suppose. Most guests wouldn't pay too much attention to it as the 'wow factor' is just too high in a place like that. Good thing is they can just remove it if they start getting too much negative feedback. Smart.
Originally Posted by
Jermyn
I certainly imagine that it will be a lot cooler in there given that there is a lot more room for air to circulate.
There is no fan blowing air in Ithaa and I assume not here either (you don't want noisy fans and them trying to circulate and blow air at speed over the heads of guests). From a physics POV more glass = more surface area for the magnification of the sun's rays = more heat which would necessitate the installation of much bigger A/C units (than Ithaa) to compensate.
From an enginering POV, and as far as dimensions go, no different base calculations from any other room for cubic capacity to find out what strength A/C you'd need: higher volume of air = higher cold air requirement to cool it down. Additionally there are 30+ people in there at any one time; 14 tables with a maximum of 28 guests and 2-4 staff, who would generate twice the body heat than the 7 tables with 1 or 2 staff do at Ithaa. Problem is the table spacing is not as open as Ithaa which means more heat generated per cubic metre than Ithaa.
They may have improved on the technology used in Ithaa (and perhaps design as well, maybe slightly different curvature to mitigate light refraction and reduce heat) but basically you're going to need a much bigger A/C to cool all that still, warm air.
Positives are the end which is mostly glass, far better in appearance than Ithaa. And you've got to admire the choice of colours of the tables and chairs too. Excellent match to the colour of the seawater and they don't distract from what is the primary attraction outside. Better colour co-ordination than Ithaa IMO.