The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, is renowned for his expensive taste and extravagant lifestyle, to which his $600 million AUD superyacht Serene serves as a shameless testament.
With all the news about Jeff Bezos‘ superyacht that has been making headlines of late — from the controversial $723m vessel finally being seen under sail for the first time, before its dark and bloody secrets were quickly unveiled — you’d be forgiven for thinking that his was the only massive boat in town worth knowing about. Enter Serene, the jaw-dropping $600 million superyacht that’s the prized possession of Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud.
The boat boasts a plethora of impressive numbers straight off the bat, beyond its eye-watering price tag: at 439 feet long and with 4,500 square feet of space, it’s certainly one of the biggest yachts ever to come across our radar here at DMARGE and quite comfortably trumps the $500,000-a-week boat that infamous bachelor and baller Dan Bilzerian was seen chartering for the start of his ‘hot boy summer’. However, there’s one feature in particular that sets it apart from the rest…
WATCH: It almost makes Dan Bilzerian’s superyacht look paltry…
The vessel’s snow room is kept at a (literally) freezing temperature of -11 degrees Celsius (12 degrees Fahrenheit, for our trans-Atlantic readers), with real snow that gently falls from the ceiling like some life-sized, billionaire-exclusive snow globe.
While this may seem like a surprising feature on such an extravagant vessel, when you consider the oppressive heat of the scorching Saudi summers, it provides a welcome and refreshing enclave.
This seemingly idiosyncratic feature is the handiwork of two people, both pivotal to Serene’s story: Pascale Reymond of Reymond Langton Design — who was responsible for actually assembling many of the yacht’s most impressive design features, including the now room — and the yacht’s first owner, Russian oligarch Yuri Shefler, who first had the idea for the chilly chamber which not only reminded him of his sub-zero homeland but also, you’ll be relieved to hear, is located directly next to the boat’s sauna…
Apparently, the allure of this surreal little room — which contrasts the unforgiving Middle Eastern sun with snowflakes setting on the interior windowsill — is so strong that even Bill Gates succumbed to its charms, dropping a massive $5 million USD per week chartering the vessel, as reported by Luxury Launches.
But, amazing as the snow room is, what other features does the yacht boast that could attract such an enormous price tag? With seven sprawling decks, the short answer is ‘quite a lot’.
To contrast the chill-inducing snow room, the boat has a colossal internal seawater pool which — at least when it’s moored in its Middle Eastern home – offers a warm retreat. There’s also a children’s play area on board, should you want to bring the kids along but not actually entertain them yourself, with slides that go between decks and can even chute them down to an underwater viewing area; out of sight, out of mind.
For when the kids get a bit older, or should you want to put even more distance between yourself and the rugrats, Serene also boasts a host of high-octane toys and tenders as well as two helipads.
RELATED: Watch How A $525 Million Superyacht Stows Its Luxury Toys
If you’re looking to take things a little slower, relaxation awaits at the wellness and beauty centre, featuring a fully-equipped spa and Turkish baths. Once you’re adequately chilled out, you can enjoy a movie in the outdoor cinema or drinks and music in the piano bar, before ramping things up again at the on-board nightclub…
Interestingly, one of the few single purchases that Mohammed bin Salman has made that exceeds Serene in cost is quite far removed from the kind of barefaced opulence that such a vessel exudes: in 2017, he also bought the painting Salvator Mundi — thought to be, but debatably, by Leonardo Da Vinci — for a staggering $450 million USD, as reported on NPR.
While it’s tempting to debate which of the two big-ticket items is truly more valuable — a conversation that I’m sure would elicit strong opinions on both sides of the aisle‚ the real question is whether one person should ever be able to drop almost a billion dollars in total on indulgences of any kind… but that’s a conversation for another day. However, you may feel, it’s hard to deny that Bin Salman has taken luxury to chilling new levels…