ROOM ON BOARD
A new group of enterprising hoteliers has found a creative alternative
to conventional brick and mortar hotels. Prepare your sea legs and
hop onboard the new breed of boat hotels that is leaving the land
locked in its wake. Guy Fiorita reports.
IBoatel, floating hotels, boat and breakfast, suites at sea. Call it
what you want, there is a new wave in the hotel industry that
sees more and more hotels leaving terra firma behind to open
hotels over the water. From Singapore to Montreal, an
Australian river to a Swedish lake, floating hotels have begun
to claim space in the rivers, lakes and oceans around the world.
Like their non-coastal brethren, floating hotels come in all shapes, sizes and levels of comfort. The first hit the water years ago, but most of these came in the form of massive cruise ships brought in temporarily to offer additional accommodation during the celebration of a major event like the Olympics or even at large trade fairs in some cities. A few have remained permanent fixtures but most set sail as soon as the event ended.
The new breed of floating hotel is not only smaller and a lot more charming but many of them were purpose-built from existing vessels and have become permanent fixtures along the canals and rivers of major metropolitan areas. This is true of CPH Living barge hotel, a 12-unit retreat floating in the city centre of Copenhagen. Like the finest boutique hotels, guest rooms are individually designed, employing classic Danish furnishings with a maritime theme. Each room has all the amenities one expects of any hotel except here the water views begin just on the other side of the glass and the floor to ceiling windows in every room has its own view of the famous Town Hall clock. Outside, the rooftop sundeck gives guests an unparalleled private view of the city that is well worth the price of the room.
After spending decades saving lives in the North Sea, the Harlingen Lifeboat Hotel has been refitted to offer overnight accommodation in a beautiful setting across from the Harlingen town hall in the Netherlands. The interior retains much of its old world charm including the original mahogany woodwork and a water lily-shaped bed and a wooden twoperson bath in the fore-cabin.
Along the same lines, De Barge in Bruges, Belgium, was once a working barge plying the tranquil waters of the Bruges- Ghent canal. Today the canals of Medieval Bruges are the perfect backdrop for this impeccably designed boat hotel. Guest rooms have a real nautical feel with navy-and-white colour palettes, beds stacked with pillows and lifejackets and mirrors set inside porthole fittings. De Barge is also home of the popular Captain’s Table restaurant.
The boatel phenomena, however, is not limited to urban areas. In Australia, for example, the River Murray just north of Lake Alexandria is home to the Dream Boatel, a private luxury retreat built on the frame of a houseboat with five bedrooms each with king-sized bed, walk-in closet and en-suite bathroom. Outside there is a sky deck, a BBQ area and a swimming and fishing deck. Guests have the option of staying in place near Mannum, Australia, or they can set out to explore the coast of Southern Australia stopping at Adelaide.
What it lacks in luxury the Utter Inn or Otter Inn makes up for in privacy and location. Leaving the port of Vasteras, a little over 100 kilometres west of Stockholm, guests are motored out to a little red house floating in the middle of lake Malaren. The hotel, or room, is the idea of Swedish artist Mikael Genberg. Upstairs there is small living area with an opening in the floor and a ladder that leads down to an underwater sleeping chamber. With windows on all sides Otter Inn gives you the feeling of sleeping in a fishbowl. Guests can have dinner boated out to them and there is an inflatable canoe onboard for emergencies or to explore a nearby uninhabited island but most of one's time is taken up either sunning on the deck or observing the underwater life from the bedroom.
It may not be a hotel but Bota Bota Floating Spa will have you wishing it was. Once a ferryboat and now a luxurious spa Bota Bota has been bobbing on the St Lawrence River in front of Montreal’s Old Port for a little over a year. The Bota Bota Floating Spa of Montreal is comprised of five decks with various spa installations, two saunas, a steam bath, outdoor whirlpool baths, cold showers and baths, relaxation areas, gourmet snack counter, terraces and garden all with incredible views of the river and the Old Port.
Anyone who has ever approached a major city from the
sea knows that the best views of the skyline are from the water.
This is certainly true in Singapore where yacht charter
company Aqua Voyage is offering the chance to spend the
night onboard one of their luxurious yachts surrounded by the
best views of the skyline of any hotel in the city. Guests may
also opt for a full service option with dinner prepared onboard
by a specially selected chef and wake to a sumptuous breakfast
the following morning. Aqua Voyage offers a variety of vessels
ranging in size to provide overnight accommodation in total
comfort. Best of all if you do decide to take it out for a spin,
the Aqua Voyage captain is always ready and willing to weigh
anchor and head off to any of a myriad of idyllic settings just
over the next wave. Now that’s a service even the best landbuilt
hotel can’t offer. 
