(File photo)

A super five-start resort hotel currently being built in a disused quarry in Shanghai is expected to open its doors in May 2018, Qdaily reported on Oct. 10.

The hotel, which is located at an 80-meter deep quarry in Songjiang, Shanghai, plans to seal its roof atop the main structure at the end of 2017 and begin trial operation in late May of 2018, according to the Songjiang Tourism Bureau.

An aquatic theme runs through the design both visually and functionally.

Three levels stand 74 meters higher than the rock face of the deep quarry, including 337 guestrooms and public areas. Two underwater levels will house suites and presidential suites facing an aquarium.

The innovative design by Atkins, a world renowned design consultancy in the UK, prevailed in an international design competition in 2006.

“People may regard me as crazy, but I think, sometimes we need to be crazy. Only in this way can we turn impossible to possible,” said Martin Jochman, a design director responsible for the hotel’s concept and scheme design.