Oil Rig Luxury Holiday Resort No Pipe Dream...

It sounds too bizarre for words, but the luxury holiday of the future could be onboard an oil rig rather than relaxing in the sunny climes of the Maldives or the Seychelles.

It’s a strange but true pipe dream of Morris Architects who won first prize at the Radical Innovation in Hospitality Awards. The awards, which were sponsored by Hospitality Design magazine and the John Hardy Group rewarded the unique idea of converting old oil rigs into luxury resorts.

In the Gulf of Mexico, there are approximately 4,000 oil rigs which are due to be decommissioned in the next 90 years. The current preferred method of disposal is through explosion, but destroying the rigs can have harmful environmental consequences and is currently very expensive.

Douglas Oliver, the director of design at Morris Architects pioneered the idea of a hotel conversion that could rival the fantastical Dubai luxury hotels. With an average of 20,000 square feet of space to play with per oil rig, that’s a lot of room to create exquisite suites for around 300 guests and along with a range of aqua activities including sailing and scuba diving.

Mr Oliver said: “The Rig is much like the ICEHOTEL. It’s that kind of unique experience. We were trying to create a hospitality experience that is unique and fully rounded, and interesting enough that people are interested in doing it,” according to Hospitality Design Magazine.

The Rig conversion has a strong eco-friendly theme, powered by environmentally sustainable technologies such as wind, solar and wave power. Moreover, the rigs retain their rich aquatic habitat for the 20,000 odd fish that live in and around the structure beneath the waves.

The Rig has the potential to be a phenomenal one-off experience luxury holiday, or be included as part of a cruise package as a stop-off point before heading to the popular Caribbean destinations.



Specialist Travel news posted by Lily Townsend