Jules' Undersea Lodge Adventure Getaway

In order to reach the Jules' Undersea Lodge, visitors must dive 21 feet down below the surface and swim through the tropical mangrove habitat of the Emerald Lagoon going up underneath the structure to enter a space through the floor in the hotels 'wet' room. "Entering through an opening in the bottom of the habitat, the feeling is much like discovering a secret underwater clubhouse," according to the lodge's Web site.

Jules' offers a package of different dive classes which you can take if you are not certified and would like to stay in the hotel. You have the option of learning just enough to get you safely into the hotel, or you can become fully open water certified or even get an advanced certification

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The hotel is small, feeling more like a bed and breakfast than a regular hotel. Normally it hosts only two couples in two 8-by-10 bedrooms. Each bedroom equipt with a double bed. A single group of up to six can fit, using the two double beds and the converted sofa in the multipurpose common room.

The entire building is only 600-square-feet and includes air conditioning, hot showers, and a well-stocked kitchen. The multipurpose common room has a microwave, refrigerator, sink, dining area, telephone, intercom, television, VCR, DVD player, and stereo sound system.

There are 42-inch round windows in the bedrooms and the common room which provide a good view of the surrounding sea life.

Air is piped in in limitless supply from 100-foot-long "hookah" lines. The air pressure keeps the water from rising and flooding the rooms. Habitat operations are monitored by the Mission Director from the land-based "Command Center", located at the edge of the Emerald Lagoon. The entire facility is monitored 24 hours a day.

Some available packages at the Jules' Undersea Hotel include a "mer-chef" who dives down to the hotel and prepares a gourmet dinner; some also include breakfast.

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As one would expect, the hotel provides for excellent viewing of marine life. The structure of the hotel actually provides a sort of artificial reef which gives animals shelter. The hotel itself is covered with sea anemones, sponges, oysters and feather duster worms.

Among the marine creatures guests are likely to see during a stay at Jules' Undersea Lodge are angelfish, parrotfish, barracuda and snappers.

Divers in and around the area also see some amazing technology in the lagoon, including Marine Lab, an underwater laboratory devoted exclusively to research and education. A recreation of a Spanish galleon wreck provides a wonderful opportunity to study the techniques of marine archaeology.

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