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A proposal to install a 250-room floating hotel on a Coal Harbour water lot north of the Vancouver Convention Centre’s west building has been approved by Vancouver’s city council.
Vancouver will be getting its first floating hotel or floatel on the waterfront next to Vancouver Convention Centre West.
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The 131-metre long and 18-metre wide, six-level vessel, called a floatel , will feature a hotel-bar, shops, restaurant, a spa, and viewing areas on the north and west sides, and will connect to the shore with a series of pedestrian bridges.
The Floatel is a joint venture between the Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre and Sunborn International Holding, a Finnish developer that specializes in luxury floating hotels, with two open already — in London and Gibraltar.
In a news release, Sunborn said the approval marked a major milestone for the project.
The council’s decision clears the way for the project to move into its next phase of development and is “an exciting addition” to the company’s group of landmark floating hotels, the company said.
Sunborn will now continue to advance the project timetable, implementation structure and financing arrangements in collaboration with its local partners and stakeholders, it added.
The hotel will be low-carbon, use no fossil fuels, not discharge anything into the water, and create no emissions from engines or generators, according to the city.
Parking, drop-offs and loading will use existing spaces at the Vancouver Convention Centre, and guests will access the hotel by the Waterfront SkyTrain station or the Harbour Air Seaplane terminal.
With files from Denise Ryan