Looking for a hotel room with a view in London? How about a boat on a rooftop? That would be Room for London – a one bedroom hotel shaped like a boat on the roof of Queen Elizabeth Hall at Southbank Centre, London.

Room for London

From the upper and lower decks of this rooftop boat, guests can enjoy the extraordinary views of London, from Big Ben to St Paul’s cathedral.

It’s a good bet, though, that there will be a lot more people staring at the boat stuck on the rooftop than the other London attractions in the South Bank.

It’s a temporary installation that’s going to be part of the London 2012 Festival. Living Architecture and Artangel, in association with Southbank Centre, ran a contest where they invited designs for the instllation. The winning Room for London: Roi des Belges design, chosen out of 500 submissions, was sent in by David Kohn Architects and artist Fiona Banner.

Their concept of this boat left stranded on top of the building is that it came to rest there, grounded, perhaps, from the retreating waters of the Thames below.

David Kohn architects explains that “The idea evolved from narratives of travel and displacement in literature, in particular Joseph Conrad’s novella ‘Heart of Darkness,’ a story that begins beside the River Thames. The boat takes its name from the steamboat that Conrad himself captained on the Congo. Visitors to the boat will be invited to create their own narrative by recording their experience on board.”

The inside of the ‘hotel’ consists of one double bedroom with a view of London and an ensuite bathroom. In addition to the balconies on the upper deck, there’s also a library on board. Guests will be expected to raise a ‘nautical flag’ when they come aboard, and write about their stay and the whole experience in the logbook.

You can book the Room for London starting Sept 8, for stays from January to June 2012. For those who want a stay during the 2012 London Olympics, reservations can be made starting January 2012, for stays in between July-Dec 2012.

On top of the guests who will pay to stay, there will also be some ‘thinkers-in-residence’ invited to come and stay at the boatel on the roof and encouraged to write about it and the city.

Photo courtesy David Kohn Architects and Fiona Banner

More info and booking: living-architecture.co.uk

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Hotel stays these days are increasingly hi-tech with all kinds of technology from smart phone door keys to tracking chips in towels. A lot of it isn’t really of much use to guests, but sometimes technology can be used to solve simple but important problems.

CP Snoring Absorption Room

A Crowne Plaza hotel in London is offering what it claims is a ‘snore absorption room.’ The technology is being tested at Crowne Plaza London – The City hotel for one week from 27 June to 1 July.

The hotel says they’re doing it because 50% of couples in the UK are complaining that their partner’s snoring is ruining their holidays, and three in ten couples have come close to splitting up because of uncontrollable snoring.

Tom Rowntree, spokesperson for Crowne Plaza, explains that “There’s nothing worse than being kept up all night and that’s why we’ve designed this specific snore absorption room to help give our guests a great night’s sleep.”

The technology includes egg box style foam on the walls to reduce the reverberation of your snore. The sound-proofed walls work in tandem with a sound absorbing head board to muffle the snore echo.

There’s also an anti-snoring bed wedge which acts as a body pillow, encouraging snoring guests to sleep on their sides or upright. The concept is that lying flat on your back makes the base of the tongue and soft palate collapse to the back wall of the throat, and this is what causes the snoring.

Even the pillow is a hi-tech anti-snore pillow that uses neodymium magnets to create natural magnetic fields which open the airways and stiffen the upper palate. If the snoring is still beyond control, then the room has a white noise machine which drowns out the snores and helps people relax.

Note that Crowne Plaza also has a comprehensive Sleep Advantage program to help to sleepless guests. It includes extra comfortable beds, guaranteed wake-up calls, quiet zone floors and sleep amenities. They also have their own sleep expert – one Dr Chris Idzikowski, who advises the chain on their sleep programs and helps them design the technology.

If you want to book the snore absorption room, call 0871-942 9190.

Photo – IHG

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There’s a new style magnet in the heart of London’s West End – the W London Leicester Square Hotel with its shiny translucent glass exterior and located perfectly for a night out in London.

W Hotel Leicester Square

The £200 million pound, 192-room hotel was built by the McAleer & Rushe Group on space that was previously occupied by the Swiss Centre, on the corner of Leicester Square and Wardour Street in between the square and Soho.

The hotel’s theme and design is based on the duality of British culture (think Savile Row meets Soho), with a sleek interior where a formal day turns into a very informal night.

For example, The W Lounge offers classic British fare with breakfast, all day-dining and afternoon tea. In contrast, the Wyld Bar has an oversized rotating mirror ball with live DJ’s and a nightclub-style dark ruby glow.

Considering that the Prince of Wales theatre is a bare 50 yards away and eight other major theatres are within 300 yards, the hotel also caters to the Theatreland movie buff with an in-house 38 seat 3D screening room just off the W Lounge.

As for the accommodations, the 192 guest rooms include 17 suites, three WOW suites and one E-WOW suite. The rooms combine a studio-like setting with accents unique to London, technology with state-of-the-art entertainment system featuring flat screens and an iPod dock, and luxury with a signature W bed and high thread-count Egyptian cotton sheets.

Room at W Hotel Leicester Square

Not to mention extras like a well-stocked ‘munchie box’ and bathrooms with rainforest showers and telephones. Guests can also use high speed internet and cordless phones with voicemail.

In addition to the W Lounge, the hotel has another dining option in the form of the UK’s first Spice Market where Michelin-starred chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten offers guests a taste of his modern take on Southeast Asian cuisine.

Throw in the location with celebrities already tramping in and out of the hotel for parties and shows, and the hotel’s plan to change its exterior glass color according to the time of day and happenings within the hotel and city, it’s fair to say that the hotel is well on its way to being quite the hotspot and probably in the news a lot.

Photos: W – uggboy; Room – McAleer & Rushe

Info: 10 Wardour Street, London, W1D 6QF; Call 0800 325 25252 or visit www.wlondon.co.uk

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2012 day here doesn’t mean some day two years from now. It means today, as in now – 20th Dec which is the 20th day of the 12th month. And it is being celebrated to mark the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

2012 Day Holiday Inn

Holiday Inn just happens to be the “Official Hotel Provider” for the games, so they want in on the celebrations too and are allowing people to book rooms – just for today – for £20.12.

You can book the £20.12 rooms on 20 Dec, 2010 from 00.01 hours to 23.59 hours for stays at 171 participating Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels in the UK.

This includes over 20 hotels in London alone. The £20.12 rate is limited to 2 rooms per household.

The stay has to be between 26 Dec 2010 and 9 Jan 2011 (excluding 31 Dec). Complimentary breakfast is included.

Denise Lewis, athlete ambassador for Holiday Inn said in a statement that “With the Holiday Inn £20.12 room rate visiting loved ones this Christmas is really affordable.  This fantastic rate means people can enjoy time away from home without worrying about the expense.”

To book a room for £20.12 and see the full list of participating hotels, visit www.holidayinn.com/2012 or call 0871 942 9223 on 20 Dec 2010 from 00.01 hours until 23.59 hours.

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