You Have To Scuba Dive To Reach Your Room At This Bizarre But Breathtaking Underwater Hotel

While Sebastian from "The Little Mermaid" sang about how life was better under the sea, one hotel owner took this advice to heart. Jules' Undersea Lodge located in Florida at Key Largo Undersea Park offers patrons the unique, and perhaps bizarre opportunity to enter their room through a doorway which is, well, under the sea. The first and only hotel of its kind, guests must scuba dive for a good night's rest. While most prefer the more common method of arriving at a hotel by car, this underwater lodge prides itself on gifting its patrons with this one-of-a-kind scuba diving experience.

Originating as La Chalupa research laboratory in the 1970s, it was used to explore the continental shelf off the coast of Puerto Rico. Relocated to Florida and turned hotel in the 1980s, it was named Jules's Undersea Lodge after the famous author Jules Verne, who wrote "Twenty-Thousand Leagues Under The Sea." While not so far below the sea as the book title suggests, what makes this hotel's theme even more unique is its surrounding underwater habitat. According to its website, the area surrounding the hotel is a natural nursery for a variety of reef fish. Divers have seen many interesting sea creatures around the lodge, including manatees, numerous fish species, and seahorses.

What can one expect from such a unique experience? First, visitors must be certified divers or take an on-site course to access the hotel. The Park offers a Discover Scuba Diving course for $250 with gear included. For those who don't want to spend the night, the Park offers other scuba training courses and options to dive around the lagoon on your own. The lodge also offers an option to hang out in the space for three hours rather than commit to an overnight stay, and lunch is also provided. For those spending the night, the adventure begins with a greeting from a personal mission director at the front office. Here divers will complete some paperwork and put in a dinner order.

Believe it or not, a pizza will be delivered to the lodge between 4:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. for dinner. For those looking for a more romantic meal, the lodge offers different menus upon request. Still need to finish some last-minute work for the day? Luckily for those who can't fully unplug, the lodge even provides Wi-Fi and will transport your electronics below the surface. And if you're worried about leaving the comforts of land behind, the lodge provides its guests hot showers with soap, an equipped kitchen with snacks and beverages, a dining area, and even an Amazon Fire Stick! An even cooler amenity, each room comes with a 42-inch round window, so you can watch the underwater world float by. Before settling in to sleep with the fish, guests can join a tour of the lagoon with a certified guide.

Unfortunately, a night spent below the surface doesn't come cheap. When this article was written, with the Jules' Undersea Lodge Luxury Package, an evening 30 feet below will cost visitors $1,350 for a single, $1,688 per couple, or $3,150 for a group of four. If you want to explore the lagoon and add a PADI specialty certification card to your diving credentials, the lodge offers a 24 hour Aquanaut Package. For those unfamiliar with the diving world, PADI courses are designed to teach divers new skills and introduce them to diverse diving environments. Prices for certified divers start at $1,575 for single occupancy, $2,588 per couple, and $4,275 for a group of four. 

For those who cannot afford a night under the sea but want to explore the lodge, it offers a pizza delivery lunch for day-trippers. To delight in an extra cheesy underwater treat (with or without seaweed), the Lodge requires a two-person minimum reservation at $430 per couple.  Interested in learning even more about marine creatures? Since the lodge started as an underwater research lab, marine biologists working here offer visitors a scientific look into the sea life in the lagoon. For $175 visitors can add Labs in the Lodge Excursion to any lodge visit. If you're prepped for a unique undersea excursion of a lifetime, Jules' Undersea Lodge awaits your visit with open flippers. Just make sure you don't stay this scuba diving hotel too soon  before or after a flight.