Friday, February 24, 2006

Whose yacht is this in Royal Victoria Dock, London?

Royal Victoria DockThis is the question I’ve been asking myself on my recent visits to London City Airport. This huge yacht can be seen on the water to the north of Pontoon Dock Station on the DLR. Possible contenders in my mind were Mohammed Al Fayed or Roman Abramovich. The yacht doesn’t seem to move anywhere despite looking extremely fit for purpose, so that rules out commercial cruise operators. I also thought it unlikely to be a floating hotel or bar, an honour bestowed on retiring vessels with some grace and finesse. Like horses escaping the glue factory. Not this sleek, modern cruiser.

However, a little rooting around Ask AltaGoogle and it actually is a floating hotel! The Sunborn Yacht Hotel to be precise. With the tag line “London’s Best Kept Secret”, it’s hardly surprising my guesses were so off the mark.
The website is fascinating. The world’s first custom built Yacht Hotel, with 104 suites, a fifth deck restaurant, conference and banqueting facilities etc etc.

All this is great, but at the end of the day you have to wonder why they’ve gone to such lengths to make this floating vessel evidently capable of chomping up the nautical miles. Is the gimmick worth that much? I guess time will tell.

No comments: