Rays of light twinkle through the bluest of water, soundtracked by the almost inaudible deep bass that comes from the unique position of being in a room under the sea, the occasional splash of water discernible through the thick glass.

I sit on the end of the bed in my fresh robe, entranced by my own personal aquarium – a window that looks out on the incomparable beauty of the Great Barrier Reef, just 13,000km of water between me and the coast of South America.

As the sea turtle exits stage right, a slow moving figure follows from stage left, the size of a shark with a jet black skin, comically large flippers, and a bright yellow Go-Pro sticking out of his right hand.

It’s Richard the ex-pat Pom, taking in his early Sunday morning snorkel.

As he swims by his words from the day before echo through my head.

“I swam down and had a look through your window,” he had said with giddy enthusiasm.

“Clear as day I could see in. Like a reverse aquarium!”

On one side of the glass, scores of tropical fish, sea turtles and a tall Englishman in a stinger suit and goggles.

On the other, a stunned mullet in a fluffy hotel room robe.

Don’t tap on the glass because you might scare the wildlife – the advice works both ways here.

I carefully lean over to the wall and press the button that lowers my blinds.

Privacy is restored.

Welcome to Reefsuites, the Whitsundays’ newest and most innovative hotel room.

WE’RE CRUISIN’ TOGETHER

“HELP YOURSELF to the ginger,” Richard says as we sit around a reserved table on the Cruise Whitsundays ferry on the Saturday morning.

“It’ll help with the seasickness if you battle with those sorts of things.”

He puts a packet of the uncrystallised ginger in the middle of our group of six and while pride wants to get the better of me, the thought of the three-hour boat trip ahead – from the Port of Airlie to Hardy Reef – means I begrudgingly accept.

“It’ll probably be fine but better safe than sorry,” Richard says.

“The last thing you want is the chain reaction of one person being sick.”

The Brisbane-based property valuer is here with his teenage son as a sort of bonding exercise, booking the Reefsleep experience where guests stay on the ocean pontoon in high-class swags that include lighting and USB ports to charge your phone.

Coincidentally, the other pair on our table includes ex-pat Brit Michael, who has driven up from the Gold Coast with his teenage daughter in a van, snorkelling and scuba diving along the way.

“I’m away a lot for work so it’s been good to spend some time together and see parts of the country you wouldn’t see otherwise,” he says.

“This is a good chance to get my daughter’s hours up (scuba diving).

“But I’m really interested in having a look at your room.”

They’ve all heard about it. The hotel room under the water, sold as having the most unique view in Australia – the flora and fauna of the Great Barrier Reef just a thick pane of glass away from you and your bed.

And everybody is desperate to have a look.

Earlier we’d all gathered at the Port of Airlie at 8am to take the slow boat to paradise.

“Oh the Reefsuite experience, I hope you love it,” the bubbly woman on the check-in desk says as she hands me a special duffel bag and wristband that identifies you as a sleeper on the reef.

It’s a handy way to figure out who you’ll be spending your weekend with, because it’s not just the people who are staying on the pontoon that travel out there – hundreds of other tourists pile onto the ferry for four hours of reef activities from $269 per person.

For those just doing the day trip, it’s six hours on the boat once you take into account pick-ups and drop-offs at Daydream and Hamilton islands.

To stay in the luxury outdoor beds, it’s $525 per person. In the underwater Reefsuite, it’s $799.

“I think it’s pretty good value,” Richard says.

“Meals included, drinks included, all the snorkelling you want. It makes sense to stay the night.”

And you should trust his judgment. He is a valuer, after all.

HOW SUITE IT IS

A WOMAN RUSHES over in her togs to the rope that separates the visitors from the stayers.

“No, no, no, no, no, no, you’re not allowed up here,” she says to a Chinese family of four who have sidestepped the makeshift barrier.

“This area is only for people staying the night.”

With their broken English not coming fast enough, they use the universal language of wristband to explain that they are indeed allowed into the exclusive area of the top deck, where the reef sleep luxury outdoor beds line the railings.

The disembarkation between ferry and pontoon is chaotic.

“OK, Reefsleepers, make your way up to the top deck and leave your bags there,” one of the brilliant staff members calls out as they attempt to guide hundreds of tourists around to different spots on the floating fun house.

“Leave your bags up there and then make your way to your booked activities or to the snorkelling area.”

It’s an awkward moment. As the stayers from the night before lounge in their beds and sunbathe on the deck, us newbies crash their party and hurl our bags down like we’re sticking a flag deep into their territory.

There’s no lockers and because the guests from the night before remain, it’ll be another four hours before you can claim your bed or in my case, your underwater room.

But the awkwardness doesn’t last long, because you’re advised to fill your day with as many activities as possible.

We choose to book a heli-scenic trip to start the day, which is a 10 minute joy flight for $150 per person out over the reef, including the increasingly famous Heart Reef – a photo must for the budding social media influencer.

It was over entirely too soon for the price, but it really is a once in a lifetime experience as you take in a view that very few people get a chance to see.

While other optional extras include an introduction to scuba diving, certified dives for those with more experience, or a full body massage for 55 minutes at $130, we skip them all and head straight into the included snorkelling experience.

“First of all, there’s no sharks. Let’s get that straight,” our host Gabrielle says.

“When you hear of shark attacks up here it tends to be tourists swimming in places they shouldn’t. We take your safety very seriously.”

And it’s not an empty promise.

Lifeguards watch like hawks from the pontoon while another staff member patrols in a boat. Flippers are a condition of entry into the water and life jackets and noodles are available for anyone who’s not a strong swimmer, or for those who want to chill out as they watch the sealife go about their business.

It’s a calming, rewarding experience – a spectacular insight into life under the water as Groupers, Parrot Fish and Wrasse serenely swim about you, unperturbed by your existence.

And it gets even better around 3pm, when the hordes of tourists pile back onto the ferry and head back to the mainland, leaving just you, the fish, a stunning sunset and – at most – 15 other people to enjoy a few cheeky beers (included), an espresso martini or three (not included), and a smorgasbord of top quality food that comes in an endless stream from the on-deck kitchen.

It’s paradise on a pontoon.

ONE FISH, TWO FISH, BED FISH, LOO FISH

AROUND 2AM I WAKE to the feeling of unease that a person gets at that time of night.

It’s usually accompanied by a pretty standard question.

‘Did I lock the doors?’, ‘have I missed my alarm’, or ‘what was that creaking noise?’.

On this night, however, the question was more ‘why is the Giant Trevally staring at me like that?’.

I briefly consider closing the blinds for the sake of aquatic privacy, but the novelty of it all stops me in my tracks and I nod-off to the gentle hum of the air conditioner and the inquisitive gaze of a giant fish.

“Rest assured, we will tell you when scuba diving and snorkelling is open again so you know when to close the blinds,” Gabrielle tells me after showing us to the room.

“There’s also some lights that you can play with the illuminate the water in different colours and might attract different fish at different times.”

Giant wall of water aside, the room is as good as any other luxury hotel room you’d find on – or under – the reef.

The shower runs hot and with good pressure, the bed is comfortable, and you’re provided with the quality toiletries that you’d expect in top-class rooms on the mainland.

At times I find myself just standing at the window, staring into the deep blue and marvelling at the ingenuity of it all.

You become familiar with the fish. There’s old mate black and white stripes, there’s that pretty yellow couple who appear to be joined at the hip, and there’s the big fella – the Maori Wrasse who has lived here for decades.

Occasionally, a new guest arrives. The odd sea turtle here and there or a huge group of jelly fish who appear to have no control over where they’re going.

And the best part? You get to use the #nofilter hashtag on Instagram because there is no filter that could possibly do the colour justice better than the real, unedited photo.

The only drawback – the wall is thin between my room and the guests next door – who apparently haven’t seen each other in a while.

“That’s you emergency escape wall,” Gabrielle says.

“In the case that you can’t make it up the stairs, you can unlock this wall and get out that way.”

While the ambient noises from next door are – distracting – I comfort myself in the knowledge that if any wall is going to be thin, I’m glad it’s not the one with the Pacific Ocean pushing against it.

SLOW FERRY HOME

“DID YOU SEE the sea turtle?” Richard asks as I finish off the remnants of my cooked breakfast while sitting on the deck in the sun.

“I did,” I reply. “And I spotted you right behind him.”

Richard seems almost embarrassed and assures me he couldn’t see me through the window, and even if he did, I’m sure he’d prefer to wipe the memory of me in my robe from his mind.

With another few hours left in paradise, I get back in the water to enjoy the solace of swimming the Great Barrier Reef alone before retiring to the deck to read a good book, and be fed with a never-ending stream of sushi and homemade pizza.

Then, like the slowest Ride of the Valkyries scene from Apocalypse Now in history, the ferry-load of tourists appears on the horizon and gradually approaches to rob our quiet paradise away from us.

“It’s funny isn’t it?” one of the other guests says.

“We’ve all been together for a little over 24 hours but you build a sort of camaraderie out here.

“Like a shared experience that none of us will ever have again. And a shared annoyance at the people coming to take it away.”

It’s a unique holiday that brought unique moments.

And as I travel back on the calm waters to Hamilton Island to take my flight home, I think about the fact that I’ll never again see a sea turtle at my bedroom window – and with any luck, nor will I see Richard the ex-pat Pom there either.

FAST FACTS

*Cruise Whitsundays runs the ferry from the Port of Airlie to Hardy Reef, with stops at Daydream and Hamilton Islands

*Qantas and Virgin Australia fly from Brisbane to Hamilton Island

*Virgin Australia and Jetstar fly from Brisbane to Proserpine

*A single booking for the Reefsuite room is $1199