• Floating hotels are popular in Sweden's watery capital, Stockholm.stockholm panorama 3 image by Anton Chernenko from Fotolia.com
  
  Floating hotels offer unique experiences, from being watched by fish in a tiny one-room hotel with underwater views, to birdwatching from a lodge moored in a pristine rain forest. Floating hotels are more than a mere gimmick; their portability can serve a practical purpose in areas plagued with congestion and rising sea levels.
  
  

Utter Inn Hotel

• Utter Inn, located west of Stockholm on Lake Malaren, was designed by Mikael Genberg, a Swedish artist and sculptor, to help people expand their sensory boundaries. Utter Inn consists of a kitchenette, a dining area and a wrap-around terrace that floats on a platform above the water, while a single room is located 3 feet below the surface. The room features windows with panoramic underwater views. Guests are taken by boat to the hotel and left with an inflatable canoe and instructions. They can paddle to the nearby uninhabited island or swim and sunbathe at Utter Inn before retiring to bed underwater.
  
  Utter Inn Hotel
  
  Vasterasfjarden
  
  Vasteras
  
  Sweden
  
  011-4621-39 01 00
  
  visit-vasteras.com
  
  

Amstel Botel

• The Amstel Botel is a budget floating hotel moored next to a former-shipyard-turned-artistic-district on the IJ River in Amsterdam. The hotel has 175 rooms with a choice of water or dockside views. Amstel Botel has a 24-hour reception desk where you can hire bicycles or arrange tours, a breakfast room and a bar with a pool table, a pinball machine and a jukebox. The hotel is close to downtown, and there are free ferry and shuttle bus connections to and from Amsterdam Central Station.
  
  Amstel Botel BV
  
  NDSM-Pier 3
  
  1033 RG Amsterdam
  
  011-31-20 626 42 47
  
  amstelbotel.nl
  
  

Malardrottningen Hotel

• This 59-room hotel was once the world’s largest motor yacht, built in 1924 for Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton. The accommodations range from a small cabin on the lowest level to the spacious owner’s cabin on the top deck. The Malardrottningen shows evidence of the luxury yacht that it once was, with a gangplank entrance and a wood-paneled lobby. The hotel is conveniently located in the center of Stockholm close to the Royal Palace. The full-service restaurant offers a smorgasbord breakfast on the deck with expansive views over the city.
  
  Malardrottningen Hotel
  
  Riddarholmen
  
  111 28 Stockholm
  
  Sweden
  
  011-08-545 187 80
  
  malardrottningen.se
  
  

Salt and Sill Hotel

• Salt and Sill Hotel, on the tiny island of Kladesholmen on Sweden’s West Coast, was built by the owners of the Salt and Sill Restaurant as a floating hotel to avoid taking up space in the fishing village. The hotel was built on a nearby island and towed into the harbor to rest on floating pontoons next to the restaurant. The 23 ocean-view rooms are decorated in modern Scandinavian style. Salt and Sill features a sauna boat, a smaller replica of the hotel.
  
  Salt & Sill Hotel and Restaurant
  
  471 51 Klädesholmen
  
  Tjörn
  
  Sweden
  
  011-46-304-67 34 80
  
  saltosill.se
  
  

King Pacific Lodge

• King Pacific Lodge is moored in the heart of the Great Bear Rainforest in British Columbia during the summer months. In October, the lodge is towed south to its winter home in Prince Rupert. King Pacific was selected as the best resort in Canada by the Conde Nast Readers’ Choice Awards in 2008 and 2009, and the establishment was on the publication's Gold List in 2010. The hotel has 17 suites with wilderness or ocean views, king-size beds and deep tubs. King Pacific Lodge is committed to reducing its carbon footprint in this pristine wilderness area.
  
  King Pacific Lodge
  
  255 W. First St., Suite 214
  
  North Vancouver, British Columbia V7M 1B3
  
  Canada
  
  011-604-987-5452
  
  kingpacificlodge.com