The year 2011 has been a big one for the overwater bungalow and water villa industry, with nearly a dozen new resorts having opened or having added brand new overwater rooms. Not surprisingly, the year 2012 looks to be shaping up at least as big with a wide variety of highly anticipated projects opening or reopening.
Among the more notable openings in 2011 have been the massive Golden Palm Tree Resort just south of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, with nearly 400 water villas.
Water villas and overwater bungalows continue to gain in popularity around the world so it’s no surprise that new resorts keep opening that feature the rooms on stilts. The Maldives alone now has 81 water villa resorts with more than 3,100 water villas combined, which is nearly two-thirds of the world’s total.
In the past few months we’ve seen three new resorts opening to the public, with one aimed at the mid-level market and the other two at the high end.
Potentially exciting news for the many thousands of people who are interested in 5-star overwater bungalows in the most popular parts of the Caribbean, as at least one company has them in the planning stages. A resort called Las Canas on the northern coast of the Dominican Republic is intending to build 10 luxury units, to be opened in 2013.
This follows recent news of overwater bungalows nearly ready to open at the St.
Most of the world’s overwater bungalows and water villas are located in the Maldives, which is just southwest of India, but more resorts are opening every year around the world. Malaysia now has six overwater resorts of its own, which is the third most in the world behind the Maldives and Bora Bora.
Even more impressively, Malaysia now boasts what is by far the largest overwater bungalow resort in the world, with an amazing 392 overwater rooms just off the coast south of the Kuala Lumpur Airport.
Perhaps the most common question we get here at overwaterbungalows.net is: Are there any overwater bungalows in the Caribbean?
The answer is “yes” but until 2013 it’s still a bit of a disappointment to many. The fact is, all of the water bungalows in the Caribbean are down in Central America, and almost all of them are modest “eco-resorts” where there are few frills of any kind.
They are ideal for scuba divers and those looking for some outdoor adventures, but they aren’t perfect for most honeymooners and romantic travelers who want to spend time alone.