Story highlights
Travel company offers a submarine for couples to the bottom of the ocean
The experience will cost you ￡175,000 per night
For that, you get your own bespoke submarine with captain, chef and butler
Artist's impression makes it look akin to the underwater lair of a James Bond villain
“A service allowing travelers who like to get their thrills between the sheets to get them beneath the waves at the same time.”
The description provided by luxury travel company Oliver’s Travels of its latest offering couldn’t be more frank.
The new service, called the Mile Low Club, targets couples who seek physical excitement underwater in a private submarine nicknamed Lovers Deep (in case the rest of the clues aren’t obvious enough).
The innovative holiday destination – the submarine in question is moored in the Caribbean – was launched by the British travel company to mark its 10th anniversary.
“We started in business 10 years ago focusing on French chateaus initially, but launched Oliver’s Travels in November, the focus being on more quirky and unique properties,” says Oliver’s Travels co-founder Oliver Bell. “In order to get life to the new brand, we needed to get some exceptional property ideas.
“We had a meeting where we asked, ‘where’s the coolest place to stay?’ We started with the moon and obviously realized that wouldn’t be possible so a submarine was the next realistic target, and we found a submarine company with the capability to make it bespoke.”
Architect Zaha Hadid's space-age superyacht designs
Ocean deep. Pockets, too
The only catch is you’ll need pockets as deep as the ocean – the special voyage costs an eye-watering ￡175,000 ($292,000) a night.
Sailing in the extreme
The venture was launched, appropriately, for Valentine’s Day, but to date no one has paid up the six-figure sum for a night’s stay.
Bell is confident the first booking is on the cards.
“We’ve obviously had some joke inquiries but I’d say we have about five realistic inquiries so I expect one to be booked in very soon,” he says. “Obviously if that happens, it’ll be high fives all around the office.”
So what exactly do you get for your ￡175,000 a night?
Exactly what you want.
As part of the service, you choose how to deck out the submarine – which is currently hired by a variety of different businesses for quirky brand launches – exactly as you like from bedroom to bathroom, and bar to ballroom.
You have to pay for your own flights, but a speedboat will be on hand to take you to and from your submarine.
An artist’s impression has been done to mock up how the romantic hideaway might look and how you can get under the waves as well as under the covers.
The company emphasizes that the crew (captain, chef and butler) will considerately occupy separate, soundproof living rooms at the other end of the vessel.
Barry White included
While the sub is currently in the Caribbean, it can be moored wherever you desire.
The chef can also offer his in-house aphrodisiac menu including everything from oysters to a fondant of chocolate with an essence of pomegranate.
Cruise ship mishaps
Not enough to get you in the mood?
On its website, the company promises the smooth tones of Barry White singing “You’re the first, the last, the everything” over the sound system.
“Well, the Barry White thing’s a bit of a joke really,” says Bell. “It’s all great fun putting this together but we’re also deadly serious about this.
“We know it’s not in our usual customer’s price bracket, this is very, very high end, but we think that people with that sort of money will have very specific tastes.
“It’ll take 12 weeks to kit it out and customers can have exactly what they want.”
Bell’s one warning is that however wealthy you might be, it’s probably not one for the claustrophobes out there.
From the artist’s impression, there’s an element of a Bond villain lair to the submarine, akin to the Atlantis home of the character Karl Stromberg, the villain in “The Spy Who Loved Me.”
“To me, it looks really, really cool but you can have it to whatever taste you like,” Bell says.
Bell has yet to visit the submarine in question but, because of the increasing interest, he’s planning a trip to the Caribbean to find out what’s in store and how his customers can find love on the ocean floor.