European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - December 11, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                A suite a Jules undersea Lodge Cornea Complete with locked fridge sink Var video Library stereo system end of course a window. Suite life underwater Bojoh Platero associated Pressl eave your fancy clothes at Homo and Don l bring a hair dryer it you re checking in at Jules undersea Lodge. Situated 30 eel below the surface in a picture quo natural Lagoon Oil key Largo. Fla., ibis Small hotel named after author Jules Verne is hidden from View in the last Frontier on Earth inner space. Every minute was belter than the last Sieve Tyler Lead Smogor of the Rock group Aero Smith recalls of his vial it was like being a kid again the Underwald a Blat was developed by scientist Ian Kob Lirt in 1971 it served As a sea lab of i puerto. Rico until it was put in storage in 1974 in fort Lauderdale. A decade Saler. It was brought to key Largo and. Converted to an underwater hotel by or. Neil Monney termer director of Ocean engineering Al the . Naval Academy. To built this to change the perception of the Public said Munney 48. This is the first time they can live under water it s Akin to living in space it s also the Only underwater hotel in the world close to a thousand guests almost 40 percent of them non divers have stayed at the Lodge since it opened two years ago. The daily Cost ranges from $99 to $295 per person depending on the number of guests and the program selected. A mini adventure Day visit costs $50 a person. Those who spend a Tut Day receive an aquanaut a certificate. The steel Lodge is so feet Long and 20 Teet wide. There Are two 8-foot-by-10-foot bedroom suites on one Side and an 8-fool-by-eo-Lool Multi purpose suite that serves As an entertain men Complex living room and Galley on the other. Separating the two Chambers is a10-foot-by-20-1ool dive port room that includes a Moon Pool Entrance plus Shower and bathroom facilities. Suites Are carpeted furnished and equipped with Mer Persona replace Bellboy instructing guests in the use of water Power and oxygen within the Lodge. Indirect lighting. Each has a stocked refrigerator sink video cassette recorder and stereo with a Library of tapes for the Var and sound system. Frozen meals Are prepared in a microwave oven in the Galley. The two bedrooms have double lower Beds and single upper Beds the living room can sleep iwo. Guests pass Between rooms through Large circular hatches. The Kobrick Marine Center includes the hotel and Marine resources development foundation a non prod research Lac Lily that provides training and research for scientist Sand students arriving guests Are met by Pam Thorsell. Most people Are so excited about going Down. They Don t have a lot at questions but non diver Are. Sometimes nervous she says they end up having a great  Cort lied scuba divers get a Short course to prepare for a watery descent to their rooms and the exploratory dives they can make in the Lagoon instead of Bellboy. Jules undersea Lodge has Mer persons experienced divers who accompany guests to their suites explain the amenities and Are on Call at All hours to answer questions or run errands. Guests also attend orientation programs offered by Mer persons such As 20-year-old Ray Whitney. He explains the gauges and equipment that Monitor and provide through an umbilical Cable fresh air water Power and communications to the Lodge. Backup equipment includes Independent support systems inside the habitat. Tha Lodge also contains a six hour air Supply. Guests Are linked to the control Post and outside world by an intercom in each room sound powered Telephone Marine radio and a Telephone. A watch officer is always on duty at a Mission control Center near the Dock on the Lagoon s Edge. And closed circuit television monitors the dive port room. This Way. We can see people going in and out Whitney says. Quests must Check in with the watch officer whenever they go out or a  following orientation guests put on bathing suits and Board a Small boat to a platform stationed Over the Lodge a diving mask and tins Are the Only required equipment. A they need Are toiletries shorts to shirts and pyjamas Tor those who Wear them Whitney says. No hair dryers and no alcoholic beverages. They Don l mix wit dhring. Guests need not bring tobacco either there s two thirds More oxygen in the habitat than on the surface Monney says. Cigarettes would bum too last and smoking puts toxic gases Inlo the  Luggage is wrapped in plastic bags and placed in water tight Pelican cases to be taken to the suites. Guided by Whitney guests Don a Small harness equipped with a Pony bottle of air in Case of ,. Emergency. Hookah lines Lel hered air hoses with attached scuba Mouth regulators Are used for the 30-foot descent to the Lodge. Once in the water guests climb Down a rope 1o the Bottom and under the Lodge where they come up into the Moon Pool a 5-foot-by-7-Fooi opening in the dive port room. There they remove masks fins and Hookah lines Shower with fresh water and put on dry clothing. The accommodations Are Roomy and comfortable and there s Little sensation of being under the sea. A 42-Inch picture window in each room provides a panoramic View of the Many varieties of fish and sea life in the Lagoon. As guests Settle in they Are treated to a Parade of inquisitive fish snapper Yeho Tail grouper Grunt and an occasional Manatee peering in the windows. That s  says Whitney pointing la a 10-tq 15 Pound grouper with Bright Green eyes he s always hanging  there s no cocktail lounge or bar but if Chris Olsyad drops by guests Are treated to an added adventure. Olsyad a biologist and underwater technologist at the foundation takes visitors on exploratory dives Over an area the size of a football Field. With Siale and underwater Pencil he identifies soft corals sponges. Tunicates anemones and other fish being in the Lagoon. Night dive offers the sight of lobsters and crabs crawling on the Boito. Guests can prepare Frozen meals in a microwave. But restaurant meat deliveries Are but a phone Call away. The most difficult is a pizza says Whitney. I have to wrap it in plastic bags to keep it water Light. Then i have to sit on it to take ii Down to the hotel and i have to be careful not to tilt in and mess up the  Page 16 the stars and stripes sunday december 11,1988