The Muraka: How The Maldives Built A Hotel Beneath The Indian Ocean

The first thing architect Ahmed Saleem did when he returned to The Muraka after four years was look up.

He had designed the underwater residence, after all, and knew every curve of it. Yet, standing inside the submerged bedroom, his attention went to the ceiling, where coral had begun spreading across the structure. Fish moved beyond the acrylic dome. The room was no longer quite the building he had designed. The sea had started making its own additions.

That is perhaps the most interesting thing about The Muraka. When Conrad Maldives Rangali Island unveiled it in November 2018, it was billed as the world’s first underwater hotel residence. The USD 15 million project was an engineering spectacle, certainly, but its real story begins with a much simpler Maldivian obsession: what happens when you stop looking at the ocean from above and build a room inside it?

It Started With An Underwater Restaurant

Before there was The Muraka, there was Ithaa.

Opened at Conrad Maldives in 2005, Ithaa became the world’s first underwater restaurant. Five metres beneath the Indian Ocean, its curved acrylic walls gave diners an unobstructed view of the reef. It was designed by Saleem with New Zealand engineer Mike Murphy, a university friend, at a time when neither had much precedent for building habitable structures in the open sea.

The restaurant worked. Then came an inevitable question: if people could dine underwater, why couldn't they sleep there?

Saleem and Murphy went back to the drawing board. This time, the stakes were higher. A restaurant could be evacuated between services. A bedroom had to be safe through the night, with reliable ventilation, oxygen exchange, emergency systems, and an escape route.

The Muraka was designed from the underwater section upwards. The submerged part was built in Singapore, weighing around 600 tonnes, before being transported to the Maldives on a specialised ship and lowered into the ocean with a crane. Its size was partly dictated by the shallow reef: the vessel required to install it could only work within certain depths. Once positioned, the structure was secured to the seabed.

Saleem eventually did something rather useful for an architect who had designed a bedroom beneath the sea. He slept in it himself.

His reaction, recalled in the 2024 field study of The Muraka, was essentially the realisation that he was alone in the world, sitting underwater in a room. That test mattered because the concept had moved beyond a spectacular restaurant or architectural experiment. It had become somewhere a guest could actually spend the night.

A Bedroom Five Metres Below The Sea

Today, The Muraka is a 550-square-metre private residence that can accommodate up to eight guests. Its upper level contains the more familiar vocabulary of a private Maldivian villa: living and dining spaces, a fully equipped kitchen, private bar, gym, infinity pool, and decks facing sunrise and sunset. There is also a private arrival jetty, 24-hour butler service, and a dedicated snorkelling area.

Then you take the lift or descend the spiral staircase.

The underwater master bedroom is about 16 ft below sea level. A 180-degree curved acrylic dome wraps around the sleeping area, placing the coral reef and its inhabitants directly in your line of sight. There is an underwater bathroom, walk-in closet and, unusually, an underwater cinema with its own tunnel viewing theatre.

The effect is quite different from looking through an aquarium. The room has been designed so that the reef occupies the entire field of vision. Fish pass the bed. Coral grows against parts of the submerged structure. During their 2023 fieldwork, researchers Phillip and April Vannini documented Acropora digitifera coral growing around the steel and concrete supporting the dome. The architect, they found, regarded this growth as good news.

The name itself is a nod to that relationship. Muraka means coral in Dhivehi.

And the reef is not merely scenery. The researchers encountered parrotfish feeding on coral around the structure, with one of them later leaving behind the fine sediment produced by its digestion. In a place designed to give humans a close-up view of marine life, the arrangement works both ways: the fish can see the humans, too.

Life Around The Muraka

The residence is part of Conrad Maldives Rangali Island in South Ari Atoll, spread across Rangali-Finolhu and Rangali islands, which are connected by a bridge. From Malé, the resort can be reached by a seaplane journey of roughly 30 minutes or by private yacht.

The easiest mistake would be to spend the entire stay inside The Muraka.

The waters around the resort are a major part of the experience, with diving, snorkelling, and marine excursions among the activities. The resort also operates a PADI Eco Center with coral restoration initiatives, while whale shark and manta encounters are promoted as part of its marine experiences.

Then there is Ithaa, the underwater restaurant that started the entire story. Five metres beneath the surface, it seats only 14 guests per service and serves tasting menus alongside dishes featuring ingredients such as Maldivian lobster and Wagyu beef. The resort also arranges private beach dining and other destination-led meals.

That may be the most fitting fate for an underwater hotel. The original engineering may have been completed in Singapore, but the building itself is still being shaped by everything around it: currents, coral, fish, light, and the reef.

The Muraka began as a question about whether humans could live beneath the sea. Almost eight years later, its more interesting question may be what happens when the sea begins living around them.

The Information

Property: The Muraka, Conrad Maldives Rangali Island

Location: South Ari Atoll, Maldives

Size: 550 sq m

Capacity: Up to eight guests

Accommodation: Three-bedroom private residence with an underwater master bedroom

Underwater depth: Approximately 16 ft below sea level

Tariff: Rates vary by season and are available on enquiry.

Contact for reservations: +960 668 0629 | WhatsApp: +960 799 4840

Website: conradmaldives.com/villa/the-muraka

How to get there: Seaplane or speedboat transfer from Malé; transfers are mandatory and charged separately.

Things to do nearby: Snorkelling and diving, whale shark and manta excursions, coral restoration activities, spa treatments, private beach dining, and a meal at Ithaa Undersea Restaurant.

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