Conrad Maldives Rangali Island is to open the world’s first underwater villa this year.

The USD 15 million two-storey villa sits 16.4 feet below the surface, and is Conrad’s second such venture; an underwater restaurant was launched in Rangali 13 years ago. Both the underwater restaurant and villa were created by New Zealand’s MJ Murphy Ltd.

The underwater villa- named ‘Muraka’ (coral in English)- will be launched in November.

It has a gym, bar, infinity pool, butler’s quarters, an ocean-facing bathtub and a king-sized bedroom.

Interior designer Yuji Yamazaki said that they chose to keep the interior design ‘minimal’, in order to ‘avoid a design that takes away from the view outside’.

The villa is designed by architect and director of Crown Company, Ahmed Saleem; who said that the success of Conrad’s underwater villa will not just put the resort on the map, but the ‘whole of Maldives’.