Getaways

You stare out into the blackness of the water. It is night in the ocean. Unlike on land, traffic doesn't slow down, life continues. Suddenly you're face to face with a barracuda. Only the front portion of its body is visible; the rest fades into the dark, uninviting background. It looks big. A slight motion of the fish's gills lets you know it's real. Its eyes stare unflinching into your own; it's winning the staring contest. Your pulse rushes, suddenly you're aware of the exact location of your heart, your mouth dries out. You reach down, never breaking the gaze between you and the lethal fish who seems to be auditioning his sharp teeth out the sides of its mouth. Your hand probes, it finds its target. You clutch a piece of pizza with onions and mushrooms, take a bite, wipe away a string of cheese that didn't make it into your mouth and say, "Honey, which video did you put in? "

You're 30 feet below the surface of Emerald Lagoon, inside Jules' Undersea Lodge in Key Largo, Florida. Of the world's three undersea habitats­­all in the Keys­­Jules' is the only one that is used as a hotel. It is the world's first and only undersea hotel.

Should you book a night's stay at Jules' you'll find the "driveway" to the entrance is a scuba dive through 30 feet of crystal-clear Keys water.

Certified divers can dive on down; others are required to take a three-hour familiarization course before making the descent, accompanied by a habitat instructor. Entry to the 50- by 20-foot steel-and-acrylic habitat is gained from underneath through a 5- by 7-foot "moon pool." Immediately inside is a wet room with hot showers, toilet, and dive-gear storage. Just like in the submarine Nautilus in Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, internal air pressure keeps the water from rising within the lodge. The two private bedrooms are 8- by 10-feet, with a double bed and a single pull-down.

You view the underwater world through the 42-inch round windows­­there are three within the structure­­while living as if on land inside the habitat. An 8- by 20-foot common area contains the mini-kitchen, dining and entertainment areas, and, of course, one of the windows on the water. A sofa converts into two single beds but is used only during group bookings. The structure is monitored and controlled from a command center located at the edge of the lagoon. An umbilical cable delivers fresh air, water, power, and communications.

Outside the habitat, 100-foot hookah rigs (air hoses with regulators that permit diving without tanks) await guests who want to explore. Jules' general manager Agnes Newcomer says, "Certified divers can dive from the hotel at will. Uncertified divers must be accompanied by an instructor." The hookah lines are left over from the structure's beginnings when it was the LaChulpa research laboratory used to explore the continental shelf off the Puerto Rican coast.

A stay in the five-fathom-deep lodge possesses all the attributes of a dive, and qualifies as such for a diver's log book. There is no need for decompression, no matter how long a guest stays at the shallow depth. "One of our regular guests books 10 days every year," says Newcomer. "He loves diving and doing those long dives. He stays underwater for 10 days."

Everything about the lodge, from the entry to the view, is unconventional. To make sure you don't lose touch with your land roots, you can order pizza, or a "mer-chef" will swim down with all the makings for a gourmet meal, warm it in the microwave, and serve it up.

Like any good hotel, you can book for the night, or select one of Jules' packages. The Luxury Aquanaut package­­for $325 per person per night (or $275 with groups of four to six)­­includes the mer-chef- prepared meal and a gourmet breakfast. The European-Style package provides a light dinner and breakfast for $225 per person.

There's also the Ultimate Romantic Getaway for two. It has all the amenities of the Aquanaut package, but with the exclusive use of the hotel, caviar appetizer, mood music, fresh flowers, and a mer-chef breakfast for $1,000 per night.

The word has spread, and the occupancy rate is impressive. If your schedule is flexible, however, you can book a room on short notice. "We usually have a couple of openings on any given week," Newcomer says. "It's already booked for New Year's Eve of the year 2000 into 2001. I'm referring to it as the 'inner space odyssey.' "

Luminaries who have enjoyed the depths inside Jules' include Aerosmith's Steve Tyler, television personality Robin Leach, ocean pioneer Jean Michel Cousteau, and Russian cosmonaut Vladimir Titon.

The experience has inspired people in ways never expected. Carl and Vanessa Sumner named their son Jules after discovering Vanessa was two weeks pregnant with their child during their stay at the lodge. Another couple went home, changed careers, and opened a Dive Shop in Ohio.

The lodge was codeveloped by Ian Koblick and Dr. Neil Money, who also run the Key Largo Undersea Park, which shares the lagoon. Marine Lab, a working undersea habitat, is also in the lagoon. The entire operation provides a wide range of underwater experiences. Some are for the recreational diver, while others are strictly for professionals engaged in marine research.

Future expansion plans include more underwater lodges. "They will be substantially larger and provide even more gracious comfort with spectacular views through six-foot-diameter windows," notes Money.

Jules' also offers dive-certification packages and accommodates all levels of aquatic interest and ability. Newcomer says their latest program is Leagues Beyond Scuba, where certified divers learn to operate a one-person Sea Urchin submarine or a diving bell. -Bill Ando