Floating hotel

BAHRAIN'S first floating hotel could open as early as October.
The $5 million C-Hotel will be docked at Coral Bay, in Manama, and is described as a five-star luxury facility.
It is Italian designed and will have 14 rooms measuring 20 square-metres plus two suites, all with balconies.
The project is the brainchild of the Seven Leisure Group, belonging to businessman Akram Miknas, which already owns Coral Bay.
"About six months ago I decided to start this project so I bought a boat, which was a house boat, and converted it and took out the engines because the hotel will be a stationary, docked boat," he said.
"The C-Hotel will be a boutique hotel built on the base and hull of an old house boat.
"Working on an existing boat made things a lot easier. We gave the boat to a marine architect to design the new outlay and it took about three months of design work to get it right."
He said all fixtures, furnishing and even the carpet had been custom designed in Italy for the project.
Standard rooms will have a dining area, a big screen television, writing desk and integrated smart technologies among other amenities, costing an average of $300,000 per room.
Mr Miknas said he hoped the facility would appeal to visiting personalities who want to be close to the water.
"I know during the Formula One a lot of the drivers would want to be on it," he said.
"We talked to them during the Fashion TV party, which had a great number of drivers attending, and they seemed to feel that it would be greater fun for them to be close to the water because Bahrain is surrounded by water - and the island life with the water and the sun is very appealing to Europeans.
Attraction
"Throughout the year we thought the hotel would attract small families, tourists and people coming for business.
"Like I said, it is small and only has 16 rooms.
"We expect that there will be a lot of Saudis and well-to-do families from the Gulf and Europe.
"I think they will give us preference rather than being in a big hotel, as they can enjoy the beach, the spa, the restaurants and the gym in one location."
He said the hotel rates had not yet been fixed, but would be comparable to five-star hotels in Bahrain