Istanbul’s 7-Story Underwater Hotel

Visitors to Istanbul will soon have a chance to view the most spectacular ocean views on the planet. A seven floor, seven-star hotel is being built underwater on what was formerly a tobacco factory. There will be exhibition halls, and restaurants, and all rooms will be sea facing.
This isn’t the first such underwater hotel complex in the world. That honor goes to the $500 million Poseidon Hotel which is currently being built off Fiji. The Istanbul hotel differs in that it is being built under the city center, which should make for an interesting experience.
The hotel’s inauguration is set to coincide with the city’s taking over from Linz, Austria as the Cultural Capital of Europe in 2010.

Hotel set Within a Beautiful Water-Filled Quarry

If you are looking for really something different, this might be it. Atkins has won an international competition to design a five-star resort hotel set within a beautiful 100 meter deep quarry in the Songjiang district close to Shanghai in China. I know that from these pictures the hotel looks almost unreal, but this project is expected to be completed by May, 2009. Its stunning concept designs inspired by the natural water and landscape features of the quarry captured the imagination of judges to quash competition from two other international firms. The quarry will provide protection from the weather, and reduce the energy needs of the hotel. The complex will contain restaurants, cafes, sport facilities, and will even include underwater public areas and guestrooms.

The innovative design of the 400-bed resort hotel stands two levels higher than the rock face of the 100 metre deep quarry and includes underwater public areas and guestrooms. It will incorporate conference facilities for up to 1,000 people, a banqueting centre, restaurants, cafés and sports facilities. Sustainability is integral to the design ranging from using green roofing for the structures above the ground level to geothermal energy extraction. An aquatic theme runs through the design both visually and functionally. Two underwater levels will house a restaurant and guestrooms facing a ten-metre deep aquarium. The lowest level of the hotel will contain a leisure complex with a swimming pool and water-based sports. An extreme sports centre for activities such as rock climbing and bungee jumping will be cantilevered over the quarry and accessed by special lifts from the water level of the hotel.