Photo: Planet Ocean Underwater Hotel
For two and a half years, Tony Webb has worked to make the Planet Ocean Underwater Hotel a reality. Now he holds the patent for one of the most fascinating vacation concepts ever – an underwater hotel.
Instead of renting a “room,” visitors can book their own 18 by 12 foot pod that lies 30 feet below the ocean’s surface. At an estimated building cost of $1.7 million per room, Webb’s design would require about $20 million to create any of Planet Ocean’s international locations in the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea and Persian Gulf, Southeast Asia, the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean. While similar concepts are in the works in Dubai and Fiji, Planet Ocean’s design and newly approved patent is expected to make the resorts affordable to the average vacationer. According to Webb himself, the cost effective design will save guests somewhere in the ballpark of as much as $1,000 per night compared to the Poseidon Undersea Resort or Atlantis at the Palm Dubai.
Each pod is designed with internet (because first world problems) and giant panoramic windows and walls that will look out to the surrounding ocean. But as lavish and excessive as the whole idea sounds, Webb’s heart seems to be in the right place, as he plans for the hotels to become testing grounds for the artificial reef system BioRock.
