He paid $18,000 to sleep under the ocean - then the sharks appeared

Today I'm staying here in the world's most expensive underwater hotel, located in the Maldives. I'll show you exactly what it's like to sleep beneath the ocean with nothing but glass separating me from the shark swimming outside. From an underwater bathroom to dining beneath the sea, this is what it's really like to live underwater. Well, hello there, and welcome back to the Channel. You join me here at Malay Seaplane Terminal, where our rather extravagant adventure begins. To reach our underwater hotel, we'll first need to transfer by seaplane. For this, I'll check in at the Transmaldivian desk. Interestingly, there's no fixed departure time. Thankfully, it's not too long before we're escorted over to a 57 year old Twin Otter seaplane, making this officially the oldest plane I've ever flown on. After a safety briefing, it's time to depart. The flight itself is short, taking us for 50 miles to Rangali Island. It's worth noting our aircraft is unpressurized, unairconditioned and incredibly noisy, but among the most raw aviation experiences of my life. Before long, Rangali Island appears below and we begin our descent to one of the world's most unique hotel stays. I'm warmly welcomed by my dedicated Butler who'll be looking after me during my stay and then beckoned over to an awaiting golf cart which will take us over to our very special accommodation. The resort is situated across 2 main islands, but for us we're heading further out to sea, to somewhere more exclusive, a private jetty of our own. Welcome to the Maraca Residence. This is, I mean, just quite frankly crazy. It's not just a hotel room. It's an entire home. But before we head underwater, I want to show you what's above the surface because the scale of this place is unlike anything I've ever seen before. And the price makes this one of the most expensive hotel stays in the world. So this is the main living area. An enormous open plan lounge designed as the social heart of the villa, which is frankly laughable given it's just me here today. Entertainment wise, there's an 80 inch television, a PlayStation 5 and an iPad which controls many of the miraculous features. What would be a private residence without your own bar? This is a great feature but also comes with a few caveats. Firstly the tea and coffee making facility and of course the all important kettle check. Thankfully, it's spotless. The same cannot be said about the coffee machine, where no beans are provided and there's a rather unpleasant stale milk smell. There's enough glassware here to last me a lifetime. And down below is the included mini bar. Though it's strictly soft drinks, anything stronger will set you back a truly staggering sum. But all is not lost because there is an included bottle of champagne here. Now on the topic of inclusions, here is a welcome gift. Now this is we've got white chocolate coral, we've got some dates which look lovely. There's also a message here from the general manager, relatively generic. Sometimes they do actually research guests, although I don't think they have today, which is great because I didn't want them to know why I was coming. If the welcome amenities are making you hungry, worry not. Here is the professional kitchen which is included in the maraca now. I say included. It's here. You actually have to pay extra for a professional chef. I did enquire. It's between 3:00 to $600.00. I don't know why that varies so much whether ingredients are extra. I'm pretty sure they're going to be. If you're going to have lobster and caviar and your chef make meals are to be served on your dining table. This is probably where I explained that this evening's dinner is going to be a little bit different. I'll go into that more when we go underwater. So in terms of outside space, Maraca has 2 outside terraces. This one is South facing with views out over the rest of the resort. Or you can go over to the pool deck. Here, you can call off in the Infinity pool or, if you're feeling adventurous, dive straight into the Indian Ocean itself. Yeah, well here we are. This is one of three bedrooms in the maraca. But knowing what lies beneath the surface, this is certainly the warm up act. Saying that, the en suite bathroom is one of the most visually stunning I've ever seen, along with a gigantic marble clad rainfall shower and I'm very happy to find a Japanese Toto toilet here, widely considered the gold standard in hotels of this calibre. A loo with a view is is definitely my cup of tea. What's not so much is the complete lack of privacy in here. So you do want to know your partner pretty well or you're going to start to. Finally we come to the double vanity, complete with burrito amenities and Conrad branded bath robes, though disappointingly they're not Frette. Just outside the bathroom is the walk in wardrobe, complete with a dedicated dressing table and ample storage space. And then there's the secondary bedroom for guests. Oh, and a view outs over, Well, not very much at all, though perhaps it's done for privacy. Lastly, before we head underwater, adjacent to the guest bedroom is the private gym, which while compact, is a genuine luxury. It's a very special place, but it's only just getting started. You can just make out here the escape hatch to the underwater suite. Should we go and take a look To reach the underwater suite will descend 16 feet beneath the surface of the Indian Ocean. You're most likely wondering how I stay connected during my time away from home, and that's thanks to Aerolo, a convenient E SIM technology provider. Aerolo makes travel seamless because I no longer need to get a physical SIM when I land in a new country or buy an expensive global plan. Instead, I buy one of their affordable E Sims before my trip, and once I land, I have access to data roaming without having to do anything keeping my original home number. Aerolo is so useful when I travel to multiple countries like recently where I've travelled to the US, Switzerland and of course the Maldives. This is because they offer Sims in over 200 countries and territories. They also have E Sims that cover entire regions like Europe, the Caribbean and North America. Stay connected. Join your next trip cheaper and hassle free by downloading Air Alone Now via the link in my description or by scanning the QR code right here. Plus, use Code Trek Trendy 3 for $3 off your first purchase. I'm finding this very hard to process. We're not even at the main event, shall we? I mean, where do we start? It is just something else. I'm trying to work out how to put this properly into words. The closest comparison I can make is it feels like you're in a walkthrough aquarium and somehow there's a bed here. But this space is far more than somewhere to rest your head. The entire underwater level spans around 700 square foot. Let's start with the bedroom. The bed itself is dressed in fine marine blue linens and you'll find the usual bedside amenities here, including a telephone, USB and power outlets. But look a little closer and it's clear this suite isn't flawless, something you wouldn't necessarily expect at this price point. And yes, there are curtains which wrap around the entirety of the suite, but there's no danger of me utilising this. I don't want to miss out on these incredible scenes. This is what I like to call the natural cinema, and it's quite unlike any show on earth. One of the more bizarre things is the constant cracking that you hear and hear. It's almost like like Rice Krispies. Very strange. I can only assume it's like the acrylic maybe flexing. I mean, I don't know, probably best. I don't think too much about that in terms of facilities down here. There's an espresso machine along with two bottles of filtered water. The mini bar itself is completely empty, which seems a little strange and once again the carpet is stained. Now obviously no one wants to talk about it, but should there be an emergency, what exactly happens? Well, you might remember the escape hatch that you saw above the surface. In fact, it's the only thing you can see above the surface. So over here by the coffee machine is this stick which has got a hook on the end and basically. I hope to never have to use that, but it's nice to know there's something there. Let's pop that back up, I think. Now for the underwater bathroom. From the double vanity and views out over the reef to the shower. Now there's a certain irony to this, don't you think? I can't wait to try it in the morning. Oh, and the world's only underwater Toto toilet. Most definitely A throne in every sense of the word. Well, I was going to welcome you to the pork in wardrobe, but I seem to be in a school of fish. There's ample space for clothing, along with a kimono style robe and some of the cheapest hotel slippers I've come across in my time. You'll also find us safe and I'm pleased to see a Dyson hair dryer, very much the benchmark at this price point. Now for dinner, I've actually booked the underwater restaurant. I feel it goes hand in hand with the underwater room. For that, we need to get changed. We'll be back in a few hours to see what it's like to spend the night underwater. If you prefer, you can of course take the spiral staircase instead of the elevator, though I'd argue the elevator makes for a far more dramatic entrance. Waiting for me outside is my Butler, who'll be escorting me over to dinner. The restaurant itself is only a few minutes away. By buggy, Yeah, we pass through the Sunset Grill before arriving at ITA, which fittingly means Mother of Pearl in Mordevian. And just like my suite, you can already make out it's silhouette beneath the surface. Shoes off and it's time to head downstairs to the world's first underwater restaurant. Remarkably, ETA wasn't built here at all. It was actually constructed in Singapore before being shipped over 2500 miles and submerged into the seabed at a cost of over $5,000,000. To kick things off, I'm offered a glass of champagne, which I'm glad I kept a close eye on as the pricing here is again truly eye watering. Thankfully this first glass is included. Shall we take a look at the menu then? Tonight it's a set tasting menu with the choice of either Wagyu beef or sea bass for the main. Fresh bread arrives at the table and above me the sharks begin circling in even greater numbers. To start, I'm served hand selected caviar with fresh crabmeat. It's delicate, refined and absolutely delicious. Next is the cured blue tailed jackfish, beautifully fresh, light and citrusy. As the sun begins to set above, it's time for the next course. Poach Maldivian lobster with chilled asparagus. Prior to the main course, I'm presented with a palate cleanser of lemongrass and basil sorbet. And now for the main event, Australian Wagyu Beef Tenderloin, cooked medium rare as per the chef's recommendation. To close, I couldn't resist the chocolate parfait, consisting of a white chocolate mousse and fresh berries. What an experience, though unsurprisingly it comes at a price which I'll share in just a moment. Well, welcome back to my underwater layer. Or what? It feels like it's been transformed and it's not just like been turned down. The lighting out here is something on another level. Yeah, this iPad basically allows you to change the colour outside to a variety of Blues, purples, sky blue, deep purple and soft blue. That's quite cool, though unfortunately it doesn't seem to be changing colour tonight. Nevertheless, I find myself sitting here for quite some time, simply taking it all in. I could honestly do this all night, but I think it's time to get some sleep. Obviously, tomorrow we're going to discuss cast. We've got all kinds of different things we're going to see in this resort, but for now, goodnight. Well, good morning. I suppose you're probably wondering how I slept. I slept well, all things considered. Just a lot of strange noises throughout the night, and I think your body's aware that you're under the water somehow. Now for my morning routine. Underwater edition, Yeah. Much better. I've just had a call from my Butler. Breakfast has arrived. Breakfast, rather astonishingly, isn't included by default. Oh, and you can even opt for a floating breakfast in the pool, though this will set you back around $200 per person. I think I'll be giving that a miss. Instead I've gone for the granola, fresh berries and the all important avocado on toast with poached eggs. Yeah, but before I reveal the outrageous cost of this experience, I want to take a brief look around the resort. And what better way to do so than by bicycle? While the maraca itself feels like a world of its own, it's very much part of the wider Conrad Resort. We'll start at the main hotel building where check in would ordinarily happen. This is also where the main breakfast buffet takes place. Walk a little further and you'll reach the resort's main Infinity pool. Though my preference is the beach. It's honestly like a postcard, though incredibly warm. Remember, we're currently in the dry season now to journey over the bridge to the second island. This is where a lot of the overwater villas are located. I had a bit of an idea when I booked this and I thought, well why not? Let's see what one of the other rooms is a sort of more, I'm not going to say down to earth because it's still amazing, but a a usual room at this resort. This is the deluxe overwater villa with pool. The bathroom is beautiful, though notably no Toto toilet despite the recent renovation. It does feel slightly dated, but I guess it would do after our time in the maraca. It goes about saying this has been the most expensive per night in a hotel I've ever had. It is a crazy price point only to be matched I think by the Orient Express, but that's a train and quite a different experience. You can watch that video after this. But the price just for this room, $18,000, though that is not where the cost ends. Of course, there's a mandatory $700.00 seaplane to get here, and dinner last night was $450, bringing the grand total for this to just under $20,000 as teased, a totally outrageous price point. But is it worth it? Well, the truth is, there's simply nothing else like it anywhere in the world. Yes, there are flaws. Some areas could certainly benefit from a refresh, most notably the carpet, and the additional charges quickly add up. But as an experience, it's something truly extraordinary. And for that reason, I have to say it has been worth it. Do you? Let me know what you think down in the comments below and I'll catch you all again next time.