British Boat Hotel

China makes aircraft-carrier hotel and Russia is preparing its space hotel. Britain has a BOAT hotel! And it's expected to draw visitors for 2012 Olympics. 

Visitors to London's South Bank could soon be left feeling all at sea. A bizarre new hotel - shaped like a boat - is to be placed on top of the Queen Elizabeth Concert hall peering out over the River Thames. The nautical building, due to be hoisted into position in December, will be equipped with a mast and look-out station and guests will be expected to keep a detailed log and hoist a flag to indicate they are aboard.

The designers of the building, called A Room For London, are David Kohn Architects and artist Fiona Banner who said they set out to create something 'playful, beguiling and thought-provoking.'  The hotel, which is expected to be massively popular during next year's Olympic games, will have panoramic windows and an upper viewing deck affording some of the most spectacular views of the capital.

 

But those demanding a degree of privacy will be left very disappointed. The South bank is one of the busiest places in town and guests will have to get used to a constant stream of curious tourists. Inside it will be fitted-out using real timber and the designers promise it will be full of 'nooks and crannies' for guests to explore. The design was chosen from 500 entries in a competition set up by cultural organisations Living Architecture, and Artangel, in association with Southbank Centre.

Ahoy there: The hotel will be equipped with a mast and look-out post and guests will be required to hoist a flag to show they are in residence

Tickets for night stays during the first half of 2012 will be available from next month and tickets for the rest of the year, covering the Olympics, will go on sale in January.   A spokesman for the architects said: 'It will appear to have come to rest there, grounded, perhaps, from the retreating waters of the Thames below.  'The idea evolved from narratives of travel and displacement in literature, in particular Joseph Conrad’s novella ‘Heart of Darkness,’' To compliment the literary theme there will be a well stocked library containing books about London by authors such as William Thackery, Henry Mayhew and Iain Sinclair.