A river cruise that doesn’t move: Yacht hotels float into Europe

A unique five-star hotel soon will open in Gibraltar. Or rather, on the waters off the tiny island nation.

Sunborn Yacht Hotels is putting the finishing touches on the Sunborn Gibraltar, a floating five-star hotel offering 189 guests rooms, banquet space for 750, fine dining in two venues, a spa and fitness center, a concierge and "abundant conference facilities."

Ninety percent of the rooms will have private outdoor space, and the whole ship will be set against the backdrop of the iconic 1,400-foot Rock, off the southern tip of Europe.

The giant 142-meter superyacht, seven stories high, will be permanently anchored in Gibraltar’s Ocean Village Marina. Guests will enter through an enclosed glass bridge.

"Sunborn Gibraltar will be the brand’s debutante and, for some time, the only five star yacht hotel in existence in the world," the company says. "Gibraltar has been chosen as the desired location to begin this story, the first of a fleet of five-star yacht hotels that will change perceptions on luxury travel forever."

Deals for more yacht hotels already are in the works in London and Barcelona, and New York, Hong Kong, St. Petersburg and Tokyo also are on the list.

Sunborn Gibraltar CEO Brian Stevendale says many global hotel companies "have been keen to come" to Gibraltar but could not find the right site.

"Sunborn has strong belief in Gibraltar’s potential as a dynamic international destination of the future," he says. More than 12 million people visit The Rock each year, but there is no five-star hotel.

The floating hotel has event space for 750, and expects half its revenue to come from corporate events, conferences, and private parties, in particular weddings.

Rooms will run from about $250 to $3,000 a night, targeting an affluent audience.

Sunborn opened its first yacht hotel in the tiny coastal town of Naantali, Finland, in 1998.

The hotel will be ready in three or four months, and two sister ships are already under construction.

The four-star-deluxe Sunborn London, at the western end of Royal Victoria Dock, is scheduled to open in 2014.

It will have 153 guest rooms, plus a 200-seat restaurant, cocktail bar and events suite featuring a panoramic glass atrium providing unique views of Canary Wharf across the water.

The Sunborn Barcelona, meanwhile, will be a five-star Grand Luxury class vessel 140 meters long.

It will have 180 high-specification guest rooms, including 27 suites with separate living rooms and wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling windows, as well as private balconies or outdoor terraces.