Space-age underwater hotel to be built in Maldives

A luxury underwater hotel is set to be built on the remote and postcard perfect tropical island of Kuredhivaru in the Maldive Islands, with the National Ministry of Tourism giving the green signal to the ambitious plan last week.

The United Arab Emirates may soon be the next home of the high-tech hotel, with a Dubai construction company also in negotiations to build the surreal structure.

Designer, Pawel Podwojewski, told CNN that there are many people who will never have the courage to dive to these beautiful reefs, but there one will have the chance to explore an underwater world from the comfort of the bedroom.

Described as 'Star Trek meets the undersea world of Jacques Cousteau,' the remarkable building - valued at up to 50 million dollars - is the brainchild of Polish company Deep Ocean Technology, backed by Swiss investors.

The luminous hotel features two large disc-shaped lounges seven-meters above the water, housing a luxury restaurant and spa.

The lounges are connected to a glass tunnel sinking 30-meters below the water, leading to 21 opulent bedrooms.

The cutting-edge hotel's facilities include a helicopter landing pad and rooftop swimming pool.

Those wanting to explore the spectacular underwater world, can also dive straight in from the hotel's airlock compartment, including its own decompression chamber.

The more adventurous can even take a ride in a three-passenger deep-sea submarine.

Not only does the hotel look like a spaceship-it actually moves like one, with the largest underwater saucer-shaped room able to slide to the surface in emergencies.