Futuristic Luxury Hotels: 8 That Actually Exist in 2026
The most futuristic luxury hotel you can book in 2026 is the InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland, an 18-storey hotel built into an abandoned quarry with two floors below the waterline. Our earlier list had ten, but five of them were never built or have stalled, so this version ranks eight hotels you can actually stay in and then lists the dream projects that did not happen.
| Rank | Hotel | Where | What makes it futuristic |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland | Songjiang, China | Built into a quarry, 2 underwater floors |
| 2 | Muraka, Conrad Maldives | Rangali Island, Maldives | Underwater bedroom 5 m below sea level |
| 3 | Marina Bay Sands | Singapore | 340 m SkyPark with a 150 m infinity pool |
| 4 | Atlantis The Royal | Dubai | 760 rooms, 16 restaurants, jellyfish aquarium |
| 5 | Poseidon and Neptune Suites, Atlantis The Palm | Dubai | Bedrooms looking into a lagoon |
| 6 | Burj Al Arab | Dubai | Closed until about October 2027 |
| 7 | Icehotel | Jukkasjärvi, Sweden | Hotel sculpted from ice and snow |
| 8 | Tubohotel | Tepoztlán, Mexico | Rooms inside recycled concrete tubes |
How we ranked: engineering ambition first, then whether the idea is delivered at luxury level, then how easy it is to stay today.
1. InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland: Hotel in a Quarry
This hotel in Songjiang, about 50 km from central Shanghai, opened on 20 November 2018 on the site of an abandoned quarry. It has 18 stories, 16 of them below ground level, and 337 rooms. Two floors sit below the waterline of the artificial lake in the pit, and the upper underwater floor holds guest rooms. Rooms were first expected to start at $500 per night, but were priced around $360 in 2020.
How we valued it: the original project investment was reported at $555 million, and nothing else on this list is built this deep.
2. Muraka: The Underwater Villa
The Muraka at Conrad Maldives Rangali Island opened in 2018 and was the first underwater hotel suite of its kind. Its lower bedroom sits 5 m below sea level behind curved acrylic walls and ceiling. The 540-tonne lower section was built in Singapore and shipped to the Maldives, and the total construction cost was $15 million. Guests arrive by seaplane or speedboat.
How we valued it: a single villa that cost $15 million to build.
3. Marina Bay Sands: A Ship on Three Towers
Marina Bay Sands has a 1,850-room hotel topped by the Sands SkyPark, a 340 m skyway across three towers with a 150 m infinity pool. The resort opened in June 2010 at a reported cost of S$8 billion, the world’s most expensive standalone casino property at the time.
How we valued it: Singapore’s best-known piece of hotel engineering, with the pool as the headline feature.
4. Atlantis The Royal: The New Dubai Flagship
Atlantis The Royal on the Palm Jumeirah opened to the public on 10 February 2023. It has 760 rooms, 16 restaurants and the world’s largest jellyfish aquarium, and it holds Three MICHELIN Keys, the only UAE hotel at that level. The Royal Mansion suite is reported to cost more than $100,000 per night.
How we valued it: scale and the Three Key rating put it ahead of older Dubai landmarks.
5. Poseidon and Neptune Suites at Atlantis The Palm
Atlantis The Palm opened on 24 September 2008, and its Poseidon and Neptune Underwater Suites are among only a handful of underwater hotel rooms in the world. This is the nearest thing to the underwater Dubai hotel we described in our old list, and it is real and bookable.
How we valued it: proven concept, with rooms that have been open for years.
6. Burj Al Arab: Temporarily Closed
The Burj Al Arab opened on 1 December 1999 and stands 321 m tall on an island 280 m offshore. Jumeirah closed the hotel in April 2026 for a restoration of about 18 months led by French interior architect Tristan Auer. Visit Dubai lists October 2027 as the expected reopening month.
How we valued it: still an icon, but it drops down the list until you can book a room.
7. Icehotel: Rebuilt Every Winter
Icehotel in Jukkasjärvi, about 200 km north of the Arctic Circle, rebuilds its ice rooms every winter with artists carving the suites. Its official site lists ten room types, from December to April Ice Rooms and Art Suites to year-round Art Suite 365, Deluxe Suites and warm Kaamos rooms, but no public prices. Third-party guides put cold rooms in the range of a few hundred euros a night, and day visitors paid 325 SEK per adult in the 2026 listing, so confirm before booking. The older price of 280 to 600 euros for a room is a dated figure.
How we valued it: a one-of-a-kind rebuild every year, but the cold rooms are a stunt more than a luxury stay.
8. Tubohotel: Concrete Pipes as Rooms
Designed by T3arc, Tubohotel in Tepoztlán turns 27 concrete cylinders, the type used in pipelines, into 27 rooms. Toilets and showers are in a separate building. A listing from the hotel’s own site showed about $53 per night, with older articles quoting about 500 pesos.
How we valued it: the cheapest stay here by far, so it is futuristic design, not luxury.
Which futuristic hotels were never built?
- Poseidon Undersea Resort, Fiji: a proposed chain of underwater resorts first slated to open by September 2008, planned for Katafanga Island with a quoted price of $30,000 per couple per week. It never opened.
- Hydropolis, Dubai: an underwater hotel announced in 2005. It was put on hold by 2014 and is unlikely to restart.
- Dawang Mountain Resort, China: Coop Himmelb(l)au won the 2013 competition with a quarry plan including a 100 m hotel tower, but we could not confirm it was built.
- Manned Cloud, Hotel Helix and the Baku Full Moon hotel: we found no confirmation of any of them operating as described, so we removed them.
Keep reading
- Most unusual hotels in the world: more strange places to sleep
- 10 clifftop hotels that will blow you away: for hotels built on the edge
- Most expensive floating hotels in the world: hotels on the water
FAQ
What is the most futuristic hotel in the world?
In our ranking it is the InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland, which is built into a quarry and has two underwater floors.
Can you stay in an underwater hotel room?
Yes. The Muraka in the Maldives and the Poseidon and Neptune suites at Atlantis The Palm in Dubai are open. A full underwater hotel like the planned Hydropolis was never built.
Is the Burj Al Arab open in 2026?
No. It closed in April 2026 for about 18 months, and October 2027 is the expected reopening month.
Does the Icehotel melt?
The ice rooms are rebuilt each winter. The hotel also has year-round suites that do not melt.
How much does the InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland cost?
Rooms were priced around $360 per night in 2020. Check the current rate, since prices change by date.
Last updated: October 2026.
