Priceless antiques, luxurious services, and breathtaking views greet visitors of Mardan Palace. Situated on Lara Beach by the picturesque Mediterranean Sea, Mardan Palace offers its guests experiences they would be hard-pressed to find anywhere else in the world. Through the creative problem solving and nearly 3 years of continuous dedication to the project, RPT, working together with International Concept Management (ICM) brought many of these one-of-a-kind experiences to life for the luxury resort.

As resort guests swim in the world’s largest outdoor pool, they have an opportunity to “swim” with sharks – safely. Located in the center of the pool is a clear, R-Cast™ acrylic shelf swimmers can stand on and look downward into the shark tank below them. This nearly 400,000 gallon (1.5 million liter) saltwater tank contains 4 aquariums and is the main feature of the highly-acclaimed 5-star main restaurant on the premises. In order to allow nearly limitless views of the sharks and other species, the restaurant was built beneath the pool deck, thus allowing diners to enjoy the view of the animals, as well as the swimmers in the pool above.

The aquarium viewing from inside the pool provided varying degrees of difficulty, from engineering the acrylic to withstand water pressure on both sides, human pressure on the inside of the pool, to custom permanent stainless steel installation brackets.

Once swimmers decide they no longer need the safety of clear acrylic between them and marine life, the Aquatic Adventure Swim Reef offers guests a chance to swim with marine life in a controlled environment. Designed to provide an interactive experience for hotel guests, guides provide instruction to swimmers who can then swim, snorkel, or take part in feeding the marine life. Careful selection of local species ensures that guess will have a memorable and safe experience. The Swim Reef contains nearly 344,000 gallons (more than 1.3 million liters) of saltwater and measures nearly 9,700 square feet (900 square meters) with depths varying from 4.5 feet to 10.5 feet (1.4m to 3.2m). Natural seawater is continuously circulated from 1km off the Mediterranean coast through the Swim Reef in order to provide ideal, natural conditions.