It is the type of setting typically reserved for James Bond films-the kind rife with exotic, luxurious locales funded by deranged henchmen. But the underwater Ithaa restaurant at Conrad Maldives Rangali Island is not a work of fiction, and you may have noticed its interior—complete with site-finished Malaysian teak flooring—gracing the cover of the February/March issue. The 484-square-foot structure was assembled on dry land and then submerged into the Indian Ocean. The total price tag for construction was $5 million, while lunch and dinner, respectively, cost patrons about $195 and $320 per person. But would these prices make the opulently living 007 cringe? Probably not.
It is the type of setting typically reserved for James Bond films-the kind rife with exotic, luxurious locales funded by deranged henchmen. But the underwater Ithaa restaurant at Conrad Maldives Rangali Island is not a work of fiction, and you may have noticed its interior—complete with site-finished Malaysian teak flooring—gracing the cover of the February/March issue. The 484-square-foot structure was assembled on dry land and then submerged into the Indian Ocean. The total price tag for construction was $5 million, while lunch and dinner, respectively, cost patrons about $195 and $320 per person. But would these prices make the opulently living 007 cringe? Probably not.
