World's Coolest Underwater Lodgings

Where: Pemba Island, Tanzania

Pemba, a verdant Indian Ocean island in the Zanzibar archipelago, has long been enticing divers with its pristine coral reefs and clear waters. Now the chic has taken the aquatic worship one step further, last month opening Africa’s first underwater hotel room. Submerged 13 feet underwater, the room has eight large, lit windows through which guests can gawk at a Technicolor parade of fish and cephalopods. A ladder leads to a sundeck and lounge.

Insider tip: Guests can have meals sent out to them by boat, such as grilled snapper with rosemary bread, followed by chocolate mousse and spiced pineapple.

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Where: Key Largo, FL

The granddaddy of underwater hotels, –a former marine lab that opened as an inn in 1986—has an unusually high bar to entry. All guests desirous of spending the night need to know how to scuba dive. There’s no other way to enter this two-bedroom retro hideout, 30 feet below the surface in a mangrove-laden lagoon. The customary underwater dinner is pizza from Papa John’s, but guests can upgrade to local lobster or filet mignon.

Insider tip: Don’t want to commit to a whole night among the angelfish and barracudas? Jules’ also offers a three-hour lunchtime “mini-adventure” for $150 per person, pizza included.

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Where: Dubai, UAE

Where would they build the most ambitious luxury hotel under the waves? Dubai, of course. The Emirate that brought you a man-made island in the shape of a palm tree now hopes to unveil the Hydropolis Underwater Hotel, in a Hyde Park-sized complex 66 feet under the sea. Guests staying at one of the 220 suites will be greeted at the "land post" on Jumeriah beach and taken by submerged subway to the main part of the hotel. The developers say that they hope to welcome 3,500 guests a day, once they overcome "financial constrictions."

Insider tip: This hotel also plans to offer a plastic surgery clinic, and recovering patients can stay out of sight under the sea.

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Where: Västerås, Sweden

The most rustic underwater hotel of the bunch, the tiny and adorable gently bobs in Sweden’s Lake Mälaren. The visible part of the hotel is designed like a typical Swedish home, with an A-frame roof, red sides and white gables. Down a 10-foot ladder there’s a cozy room with twin beds and panoramic windows to watch pike and perch swim by. With no electricity, the tranquility here is absolute.

Insider tip: Use the on-board inflatable canoe to visit an uninhabited nearby island. Many of Lake Mälaren’s islands were once Viking settlements.

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Where: Fiji

Some 150,000 people have allegedly signed up to be notified once opens for business. The five-star underwater resort in Fiji was scheduled to launch in 2008, but a combination of the global recession and the difficulty of sub-aqua building have led to it still being incomplete five years later. Ambitious projections show an underwater library, golf course, and tennis court, while the website promises future guests the use of a personal submarine.

Insider tip: If you really want to jump the queue, contact Poseidon about booking a wedding in the undersea chapel. Just don’t set a date yet.

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