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NEWS
'World's largest' underwater restaurant set to star at luxury Maldives resort
POSTED 14 Mar 2016 . BY Kim Megson
The restaurant is currently being fixed to steel pipes 5.8 metres below the surface of a lagoon Credit: Hurawalhi Island Resort & Spa
The developers of a forthcoming luxury resort in the Maldives claim that they have finished constructing the world’s largest underwater restaurant.

The 400-ton megastructure was created over 10 months in New Zealand and Japan and has now been transported to the resort in Lhaviyani Atoll, where it is being fixed to steel piles by divers 5.8 metres below a lagoon.

Guests at the Hurawalhi Island Resort & Spa will enter the restaurant via a spiral staircase from a hut on the jetty, which will contain the kitchen. They can then dine while fish and other sealife swim around their heads and explore the coral below.



“The restaurant has taken a fair amount of ambition, optimism and dedication, and it has taken our contractor even more ingenuity to build it exactly as imagined,” said the resort's general manager Patrick de Staercke. “The result is downright sensational and will be alone worth the trip here.”

Auckland underwater specialists M.J. Murphy were commissioned to design the project following their work on the first underwater restaurant in the Maldives; a smaller structure located at the Conrad Hilton resort.

The new restaurant, which is 18m x 5m in size, was built by New Zealand firm Fitzroy Engineering and Japanese acrylic contractors Nippura, who added the 190mm thick windows. The interiors have been designed by Stuart McKechnie Architects.

The five-star Hurawalh resort – which will feature villas built on stilts over the water – is in the final stages of development and will open later this year. The project is being funded by development company Champalars Holdings Pvt.

Other underwater projects in the Maldives – which is famous for its rich and diverse underwater life – include Subsix, an underwater creative space designed by Poole Associates, and a planned multi-million dollar underwater resort called the Water Discus Hotel.
The 400-ton megastructure was created over 10 months in New Zealand and Japan and has now been transported to the resort in Lhaviyani Atoll Credit: Hurawalhi Island Resort & Spa
Auckland underwater design specialists M.J. Murphy were commissioned to design the project following their work on a smaller structure for another Maldives resort Credit: Hurawalhi Island Resort & Spa
The luxury resort will open later this year, with at least 45 Ocean Pool Villas built on stilts over the water Credit: Hurawalhi Island Resort & Spa
The resort is being funded by development company Champalars Holdings Pvt Ltd Credit: Hurawalhi Island Resort & Spa
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  Haunting and beautiful: Europe's first underwater museum set to open in Lanzarote


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A new study into how we will live, work and relax a century from now has predicted a future where underwater bubble cities, drone-delivered mobile holiday homes and super skyscrapers are the norm.
  World’s first underwater nightclub redesigned by Poole Associates as “creative playground”


It can only be reached by taking a speedboat over a coral reef and descending a dramatic three-tier staircase, and was originally opened in 2012 as the world's first underwater nightclub. Now Poole Associates has redesigned Subsix, the underwater venue located at the Per Aquum Niyama resort in the Maldives, to become a multi- functional creative space which can be “transformed into whatever guests imagine it to be”.
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A luxury, multi-million dollar underwater resort will be built off the tropical island of Kuredhivaru in the Maldives, instead of Dubai as originally planned.
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News   Products   Magazine   Subscribe
NEWS
'World's largest' underwater restaurant set to star at luxury Maldives resort
POSTED 14 Mar 2016 . BY Kim Megson
The restaurant is currently being fixed to steel pipes 5.8 metres below the surface of a lagoon Credit: Hurawalhi Island Resort & Spa
The developers of a forthcoming luxury resort in the Maldives claim that they have finished constructing the world’s largest underwater restaurant.

The 400-ton megastructure was created over 10 months in New Zealand and Japan and has now been transported to the resort in Lhaviyani Atoll, where it is being fixed to steel piles by divers 5.8 metres below a lagoon.

Guests at the Hurawalhi Island Resort & Spa will enter the restaurant via a spiral staircase from a hut on the jetty, which will contain the kitchen. They can then dine while fish and other sealife swim around their heads and explore the coral below.



“The restaurant has taken a fair amount of ambition, optimism and dedication, and it has taken our contractor even more ingenuity to build it exactly as imagined,” said the resort's general manager Patrick de Staercke. “The result is downright sensational and will be alone worth the trip here.”

Auckland underwater specialists M.J. Murphy were commissioned to design the project following their work on the first underwater restaurant in the Maldives; a smaller structure located at the Conrad Hilton resort.

The new restaurant, which is 18m x 5m in size, was built by New Zealand firm Fitzroy Engineering and Japanese acrylic contractors Nippura, who added the 190mm thick windows. The interiors have been designed by Stuart McKechnie Architects.

The five-star Hurawalh resort – which will feature villas built on stilts over the water – is in the final stages of development and will open later this year. The project is being funded by development company Champalars Holdings Pvt.

Other underwater projects in the Maldives – which is famous for its rich and diverse underwater life – include Subsix, an underwater creative space designed by Poole Associates, and a planned multi-million dollar underwater resort called the Water Discus Hotel.
The 400-ton megastructure was created over 10 months in New Zealand and Japan and has now been transported to the resort in Lhaviyani Atoll Credit: Hurawalhi Island Resort & Spa
Auckland underwater design specialists M.J. Murphy were commissioned to design the project following their work on a smaller structure for another Maldives resort Credit: Hurawalhi Island Resort & Spa
The luxury resort will open later this year, with at least 45 Ocean Pool Villas built on stilts over the water Credit: Hurawalhi Island Resort & Spa
The resort is being funded by development company Champalars Holdings Pvt Ltd Credit: Hurawalhi Island Resort & Spa
RELATED STORIES
Haunting and beautiful: Europe's first underwater museum set to open in Lanzarote


Lanzarote’s Museo Atlantico, Europe’s first underwater art museum, is preparing to open 12 metres below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean.
Does the future of design lie underwater, in the clouds or even on the surface of the Moon?


A new study into how we will live, work and relax a century from now has predicted a future where underwater bubble cities, drone-delivered mobile holiday homes and super skyscrapers are the norm.
World’s first underwater nightclub redesigned by Poole Associates as “creative playground”


It can only be reached by taking a speedboat over a coral reef and descending a dramatic three-tier staircase, and was originally opened in 2012 as the world's first underwater nightclub. Now Poole Associates has redesigned Subsix, the underwater venue located at the Per Aquum Niyama resort in the Maldives, to become a multi- functional creative space which can be “transformed into whatever guests imagine it to be”.
Underwater ‘Discus Hotel’ to be built off Maldives


A luxury, multi-million dollar underwater resort will be built off the tropical island of Kuredhivaru in the Maldives, instead of Dubai as originally planned.
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The Wellness Tourism Association publishes industry framework for ethical and responsible retreats
The Wellness Tourism Association (WTA) has published a non-regulatory global industry framework designed to ensure the retreat market offers responsible experiences.
One in three spa practitioners have considered leaving the industry due to concerns about their own wellbeing
A new survey of UK and international spa practitioners shows that stress, burnout and wellbeing concerns have caused one in three respondents to consider leaving the industry.
UK updates physical activity guidelines with focus on daily movement
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COMPANY PROFILES
ESPA

Founded in 1992 by Susan Harmsworth, ESPA combines the conceptualisation, development and management [more...]
+ More profiles  
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+ More catalogues  

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+ More directory  
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23-26 Aug 2026

Elevate Spa Riviera Maya Edition

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ADVERTISE . CONTACT US

Leisure Media
Tel: +44 (0)1462 431385

©Cybertrek 2026

ABOUT LEISURE MEDIA
LEISURE MEDIA MAGAZINES
LEISURE MEDIA HANDBOOKS
LEISURE MEDIA WEBSITES
LEISURE MEDIA PRODUCT SEARCH
PRINT SUBSCRIPTIONS
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