A shark circled outside the bedroom window sometime after midnight, and the traveler from Trek Trendy was still awake to watch it. Sixteen feet beneath the Indian Ocean, sealed inside a glass-paneled suite on Rangali Island, the only barrier between a human in marine blue linens and the open reef was a curved wall of acrylic. That particular detail is why people click on a room like this, and it is also why the grand total for a single night runs to just under $20,000.
The 57-year-old seaplane and the private jetty at the end of the ocean
The journey begins at Male’s seaplane terminal, where there is no fixed departure time, just a check-in desk and an escort to a 57-year-old Twin Otter aircraft operated by Trans Maldivian. The plane is unpressurized, unairconditioned, and loud enough to make conversation difficult, but the 50-mile flight to Rangali Island delivers what Trek Trendy described as ‘one of the most raw aviation experiences of my life.’ A dedicated butler meets guests on arrival and a golf cart handles the last stretch, ending at a private jetty reserved exclusively for the Muraka residence.
Above the waterline, the Muraka is less a hotel room than a standalone home. The main living area holds an 80-inch television, a PlayStation 5, and an iPad that controls the villa’s features. Three bedrooms sit on the upper level, the primary suite containing a marble-clad rainfall shower and a Japanese Toto toilet, which Trek Trendy called ‘the gold standard at this caliber.’ A compact private gym sits adjacent to the guest bedroom, and two outdoor terraces bracket the structure, one facing the resort and one opening onto an infinity pool with direct access to the Indian Ocean.
Descending into the world’s only underwater bedroom
An escape hatch in the floor connects to a spiral staircase, or a small elevator, that drops guests 16 feet to the 700-square-foot underwater suite. The bedroom sits entirely inside curved glass. Fish school through the walk-in wardrobe. The bathroom offers what is billed as the world’s only underwater toilet. At night, the iPad allows the exterior lighting to shift through shades of blue and purple, turning the reef into something between a screensaver and a slow-motion nature broadcast. The suite is not flawless at this price: the carpet carries visible stains, the minibar arrives empty, and the only emergency tool in evidence is a hooked stick mounted near the espresso machine.
Dinner means a short buggy ride to Ithaa, which translates to ‘Mother of Pearl’ in Dhivehi and holds the distinction of being the world’s first underwater restaurant. The structure was built in Singapore, shipped roughly 2,500 miles, and lowered into the seabed at a reported cost of over $5 million. The evening’s set tasting menu moves through hand-selected caviar with fresh crab meat, cured blue-tail jackfish, poached Maldivian lobster with chilled asparagus, a lemongrass and basil sorbet, Australian Wagyu beef tenderloin, and a white chocolate mousse parfait. Sharks circle overhead throughout. The bill for dinner alone comes to $450.
Breakfast is not included by default. The mandatory seaplane transfer adds $700. The room itself is $18,000 per night, bringing the full stay to just under $20,000.
The hooked stick by the coffee machine
Near the espresso machine in the underwater suite, mounted within arm’s reach of the bed, sits a long stick with a hook on the end. It is the mechanism for opening the escape hatch back to the surface, and it is the only one.
The shark was still there when the lights came up in the morning, the reef carrying on exactly as it had before anyone arrived to watch it through the glass.
