If you’ve stayed in a deluxe hotel or resort, you’ll know how rich and rewarding the experience can be
but have you stayed in a floating hotel?
Staying in a floating hotel can be nothing short of magical
because looking out your window and finding yourself surrounded by pristine waters of a lagoon, a lake
or even the sea is a memory you’d never forget.
There are several floating hotels around the world that are cool, but
some stand out for an ethereal ambiance that cannot be matched by anything on the planet.
Check out these top ten floating hotels in the world.
10. Taj Lake Palace, Udaipur, India
In India, in the state of Rajasthan especially,
several palaces of royal families have turned into deluxe hotels and while you will feel like royalty in any of them,
a stay in the Taj Lake Palace, Udaipur is a completely different experience altogether.
The huge spectral mansion looks almost magical floating in the middle of an Indian Lake.
Those who love their James Bond Movies will recognize
the floating palace that served as the backdrop for the film "Octopussy" starring Roger Moore.
There is nothing as extravagantly seductive as the Taj Lake Palace, Udaipur
built by Prince Maharana Jagat Singh II in 1746
and restored to its former luxurious glory in the seventies.
The floating palace hotel houses 66 super deluxe rooms
and 17 suites, all with views of the lake.
Guests at the Taj lake Palace are treated like royalty and greeted by champagne on arrival.
You will also be escorted under embroidered ethnic umbrellas
to your room and a princely experience is guaranteed.
The entire hotel is a display of unimaginable luxury and opulence.
If being pampered in the hotel isn’t enough,
guests can go sightseeing around Udaipur
in an expensive vintage car
or a 1948 Jaguar.
A ticket to India, please.
9. Manta Resort, Tanzania
Words can’t really do justice to the experience of a stay at the exclusive Manta Resort
built on offbeat Pemba Island off Tanzania and Zanzibar's mainland.
Manta Resort has several features to vow anyone that lives there
but nothing can beat the spectacular Underwater Room.
The resort was designed by Swedish company Genberg Underwater Hotels
and took seven years to construct.
The chambers of the resort are watertight with 100 % safety
and float 250 meters off the coast
within a secluded and protected area within the stunning and turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean.
The resort also has a rooftop deck, and a lounge
but the showpiece of the floating property is the glass walled bedroom
that is submerged 13 feet below the surface.
Can you picture yourself going off to sleep watching more than 100 marine species swimming around you,
what an awesome experience would that be? In fact,
the underwater bedroom has been constructed to attract marine life with spotlights that illuminate
schools of fish, octopus and squid,
corals and Spanish dancer sea slugs,
a scene that will blow you away.
8. Catamarans in Serbia
How would you like to live in a floating catamaran?
That is the exact experience you can hope for in the Serbia based
Salt & Water design studio’s floating catamaran apartments
constructed to promote tourism on landlocked bodies of water.
The stylish catamaran apartments are something out of this world
and consist of a central floating unit that is then connected to 12 other pods via a network of docks.
A single unit can accommodate four people
and offers amenities like a living room, bathroom and a galley.
The biggest attraction however is its unique construction
where each unit can again be separated from the central part
and navigated wherever a guest wants to spend the night. Now that’s pretty cool don’t you think?
Just think you can take your own room and float away with it elsewhere.
The main catamaran consists of a restaurant, conference hall, offices for staff and a café.
The floating catamarans were even awarded the Millennium Yacht Design Award,
an international competition for yacht designers.
7. Floating Lodges in Cambodia
Cambodia because of its rough political history can sound intimidating but let me tell you,
the country itself is spectacular.
Called the 4 Rivers Floating Lodge, this floating hotel is enchanting, to say the least,
and located in the magical surroundings of the Cardamom Mountains.
Like a resort of sorts, the 4 Rivers Lodge is the best example of eco-tourism
that offers a rejuvenating and relaxing experience in the lap of nature.
The floating villas are run on a unique wastewater treatment system
and have been constructed using sustainable material.
Built with an aim to promote and protect the local environment, and forest, the floating lodges using very little wood
and instead have used substitutes like composite materials in the construction.
For those who love nature, the 4 Rivers Lodge is outstanding
and will never disappoint as one is surrounded by thick flora and fauna of the Cambodian rainforests.
You may even catch a glimpse of the
Malaysian sun bear or the Pileated Gibbon.
Completing the experience is the raging waters of the Tatai river cascading into the gorge below.
6. OFF Paris Seine, France
There is nothing to beat the Parisians when it concerns style
and the boat hotel on the River Seine is hard to beat in terms of sophistication, elegance, and design.
The floating hotel OFF Paris Seine is moored near Austerlitz station
and features a lounge covered with hundreds of suspended metal sheets
giving it a unique and out of this world design.
The bathtubs and basins on the property are all illuminated
and there is also a plunge pool ornamented with a gigantic inflatable golden swan.
The OFF Paris Seine offers 54 rooms
within the 80-meter-long hotel
including four suites, split between the main and upper decks.
The largest suite is the Sunset Suite that features an orange shade right from the walls
to the décor designed by Tal Lancman and haute couture designer Maurizio Galante.
If you plan a trip to France, this floating hotel is not to be missed.
5. Aqua Mekong; Phnom Penh, Vietnam
There is no better way to take a tour of Vietnam’s exhilaratingly beautiful and stunning waterways
than a stay on the luxurious five-star deluxe floating hotel, The Aqua Mekong.
The floating vessel is a lazy ride along the waterways of the Mekong River that meanders through ethereal and dense rainforests.
In the high water season, the hotel also includes a trek up the river to Siem Reap
and Tonle Sap lakes, freshwater lakes
that will stun you with their beautiful surroundings.
From December to mid-August, the floating hotel also arranges activities
like kayaking along silted villages lining the coast.
Oh wow, that sounds like fun.
The Aqua Mekong is an eco-friendly five-star floating hotel measuring 62.5 meters or 205 feet.
The entire property designed by Saigon-based architects at Noor Design has been constructed from a sustainable material
and has integrated artisan touches throughout to reflect the local culture.
The vessel was also awarded the PURE design award in 2014 after its launch
and provides guests with a beautiful and out of this world experience.
4. The Float House River Kwai Resort; Kanchanaburi, Thailand
The River Kwai in Thailand was made famous by a World War II movie The Bridge Over the River Kwai.
Today, you can traverse the magnificent river in a floating houseboat as part of the Float House River Kwai Resort.
The resort is one of the most serene and peaceful escapes for those who don’t like crowded beaches and cities like Bangkok.
It is almost a hideout of sorts tucked away in the giant canopies of the surrounding lush green jungle.
The floating villas of the resort are customized with teak furniture, designed with an ethnic look
with a large front porch that leads directly to the river.
The Floatel has integrated sustainable material where even the wood used for the construction
is sourced from dead trees and not live ones.
Even the sewage has been designed using septic tanks to prevent human waste from entering the river.
The Floatel is entirely eco-friendly in nature
where the entire experience of a stay includes mixing with the local culture
like the Mon Tribes.
Guests get to see the rituals,
traditional dances and even get to take part in them
not forgetting the delectable Thai cuisine.
3. Solent Forts, UK
In the mid-19th century, three man made sea fortresses were constructed just off England’s
coast to prevent an imminent French Invasion that never materialized.
Called Solent Forts, it was then used as a military installation during World War II but later the property was abandoned in the sixties.
Today, two of the three floating fortresses have been converted into luxurious private vacation Islands.
Solent Forts also have their own departure lounge at Gunwharf Quay
where guests must take a boat to either Spitbank,
the smaller of the two with 8-bedroom suites,
or the larger No Man’s Land with 22-bedroom suites.
The unique floating Forts provide all amenities like bars, restaurants, rooftop hot tubs, and spas.
Guests are also given a complete tour of the architecture of the military installation
and can be quite a memorable experience.
2.Good Hotel London, UK
Here is another floating hotel in London UK that believe it or not was once a detention center for illegal immigrants in Amsterdam.
What’s even more interesting is the fact that this hotel is every bit the concept of a Floatel.
It was launched in Amsterdam in 2015
and traveled across the North Sea with the help of a barge all the way to London in 2016.
The Good Hotel is now anchored at London’s Royal Victoria Docks and consists of 148 rooms
featuring a minimalistic modern design with dark walls and solid raw wood furniture.
There is also a lovely rooftop terrace garden that overlooks the River Thames.
The name Good Hotel was given to promote helping the unemployed find jobs through internships on the property
. All food and beverages served on the Good Hotel are sourced from local markets
in order to support the local economy. Now that’s pretty smart, don’t you think?
1.Zambezi Queen in Africa
There is nothing quite like the Zambezi Queen in Africa as floating hotels go.
This is one of the most beautiful floating eco-resorts you could ever hope to experience in Africa.
Located on the banks of the Great Chobe River,
the floating Zambezi Queen is an elegant and sophisticated property with only 14 air-conditioned suites with a private balcony.
The Zambezi Queen or ZQ as it is also called was originally constructed to transport guests from Katima Mulilo
down the Zambezi Rivers and back.
The cruise lost its popularity after which it was redesigned with the help of South African designer Jenni Button
to its present modern and sophisticated avatar today.
The incredible relaxing ambiance combined with the flow of the river is enough to give any guest an exhilarating experience.
A typical stay includes a thrilling ride across the Chobe River
to view the spectacular landscape and exotic animals on shore making it a complete water safari.
The ZQ rooms are packed with all five-star amenities including En suite bathrooms, Wi-Fi, King-sized beds, air conditioning, and more.
Which was your favorite location? Have these floating hotels enticed you to take a vacation to any of them?
If you were bitten by the travel bug with this video, check out the next one at the end that will mesmerize you.
But before that make sure to click the subscribe button with notifications on so you don’t miss
any of our videos. Till next time.