Over the past holiday season, one of our company's test engineers vacationed in Key Largo, Florida with his family to ring in the new year. One of his most entertaining discoveries was learning that he and his family were staying less than a mile from the world's first underwater lodge.
Now I have always heard of potential hotels being built underwater and have kind of shied away from the thought of the experience; however I was delighted to learn about Jules' Undersea Lodge.
Jules’ Undersea Lodge, named after the author of the famed maritime tale 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, is the world’s first underwater hotel. Originally built in the early 1970s as a groundbreaking research lab off the coast of Puerto Rico, the Lodge has been in business in Key Largo, Florida since relocating there and opening its hatch to the public in 1986.
Truly an innovative concept, Jules’ Undersea Lodge claimed status as the world’s only underwater lodging available to the public until recent years when ecotourism has become all the rage. Many celebrities have enjoyed a stay including Steve Tyler of Aerosmith, John Fishman of Phish (of course) and former Canadian Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau.
Visitors to Jules who are not certified divers will go through a 3-hour crash course in scuba diving before shacking up in their room for the night. After all, the entrance to the hotel is 21 feet underwater on the sea floor. If you are a diving enthusiast, the Undersea Park is your Mecca. In addition to the scuba crash course, the staff of Jules’ Undersea Lodge offers extensive scuba certification courses and diving excursions.
After learning more about this underwater getaway, I've suddenly taken a big interest in considering a future weekend getaway.
For more information about Jules Undersea Lodge visit http://www.jul.com
