Rabat - Redouane Mabchour
Hotel is expected to open in 2017
Morocco is set to build Africa’s first underwater hotel, as part of a move to place the country among the world’s top 20 tourist attractions by 2020.
L’Atlantide Hotelia will be built 200 metres
under the sea in the Mediterranean city of Martil. Many expect the five-star establishment to play a leading role in boosting Morocco’s burgeoning tourist industry.
Construction began on the project in 2010, with developers expecting the hotel to be open by 2017. The first phase of the project—building pods underwater to test the structure’s viability —has already been completed, said the developers.
According to the hotel’s blueprint, the structure will include 15 centimetre-thick pressure resistant glass which will cover nearly 40 percent of the rooms, allowing guests a spectacular view of Morocco’s marine life.
With more the 200 rooms, the hotel will also feature a 50-yacht harbour, a seaplane service with a special runway, a large restaurant, as well as numerous artificial beaches.