$5-Billion Moon-Shaped Hotel in Dubai Will Let You Experience Outer Space on Earth

Dubai is known for its extravagant architecture and, if Moon World Resorts has its way, a new hotel is set to reshape the most populous city in the UAE. The Canada-based company plans to build four MOON resorts, with the first designated for Dubai. The 735-foot-tall replica of the Moon will include all the amenities one would expect from a luxury resort, as well as special experiences meant to replicate a visit to Earth's satellite.

The $5 billion project would feature both a “lunar colony” and “lunar surface” experience intended to bring space tourism down to Earth. According to the company's founders, Sandra Matthews and Michael Henderson, the resort could accommodate up to 10 million visitors a year once completed. The lunar colony alone has capacity for 2.5 million guests a year, and it's even projected to include a training platform for space agencies and astronauts.

Of course, MOON is still a resort and, as such, there will be plenty for guests to experience and enjoy. The resort will include a nightclub, an event center that will hold up to 5,000 guests, a spa-wellness center, a jazz piano lounge, and a multi-level lounge based on an alien spacecraft. A large convention center is intended to attract exhibitors in the technology and space fields.

MOON will also include 144 luxury units for purchase as part of a private residence program. Each 2,000-square-foot villa comes with a lifetime membership to MOON that comes with exclusive privileges.

While official plans in Dubai are being finalized, the company estimates that it would take two years to construct this unique resort. “From an architectural, engineering, and design perspective, MOON can be built,” Henderson shares.

This is not the first time that Moon World Resorts has made a splash. In 2021, the company announced that they were planning on bringing MOON to Las Vegas. At the time, Henderson shared that he and Matthews first came up with the concept in 2000 and that “the objective was to develop an authentic, mega-scale reproduction of planet Earth's Moon, incorporating the world's largest sphere.”

Though it does not appear that the Las Vegas project is moving forward, we're looking forward to seeing if MOON can take hold in Dubai.