It seems like every other week we’re hearing of how oil rich countries in the Middle East are building mega resorts to encourage tourists to visit their countries.
And well, it would probably work in getting me to jet over there if I had the money, but unfortunately I don’t.
Qatar is the latest Arabian country to do so as it released its plans to build a ginormous 8.6 acre floating luxury resort, located in Doha on the Persian Gulf.
Named The Eco-Floating Hotel, it has been created with the intention of using the minimum amount of energy loss with zero waste.
According to the Hayri Atak Architectural Design Studio (HAADS), the company who designed the project, it will be a five-star hotel with 152 rooms and was ‘inspired by the sea’.
It said: “Due to its characteristic moving feature it generates electrical energy by rotating around its position according to the water current and provides users with different perspective experiences.”
The Eco-Floating Hotel is set to boast a whole host of amenities (Hayri Atak Architectural Design Studio)
The resort will slowly rotate 24 hours a day and in the process it will generate electricity while maintaining its position through the use of a ‘dynamic positioning system’.
There will be three ways in which guests will be able to visit the hotel, either through the pier which is connected to the shore, by boat or even helicopter – because a luxurious hotel like this is designed for the mega-rich among us.
Inside the hotel the 7,500-square-foot reception and lobby will have glass flooring so that guests can see the aquatic life below, and will lead to each of its grand rooms.
Each room is set to have a spacious balcony, and with the hotel gently rotating, guests will have a 360-degree view of the resort’s surroundings – but not at the same time of course.
The huge lobby will have glass flooring so guests can view the aquatic life beneath their feet (Hayri Atak Architectural Design Studio)
A mini golf course will be located inside the resort, along with an indoor pool, gym, spa and sauna, while outside guests will be able to find a basketball court and an outdoor pool.
Designers behind The Eco-Floating Hotel hope it can be opened as early as next year.
It comes as Saudi Arabia plans to construct a futuristic megacity without the need of cars – which has already cost the Kingdom $1.3 trillion.
Seven years ago the country released plans to create megacity NEOM, which will run solely on renewable energy with no need of roads, and building has already started on The Line – which will sit on the coast of the Red Sea and be a single 170km-long and 200m wide city, without cars.
Access will primarily be through a train running back and forth down its center, carrying residents from one end to the other.
A description of The Line on NEOM’s website reads: “No roads, cars or emissions, it will run on 100% renewable energy and 95 percent of land will be preserved for nature.”
The Line is expected to be completed by 2030, while completion of the full project has reportedly been pushed back to 2045.
