Sunborn London

The 128m- (420ft)-long yacht was purpose-built as a hotel (it has no engine and was towed to its berth in London after being built in Finland). It has accommodation in 132 rooms and four suites set over five decks.

All rooms include comfortable beds, a flatscreen television, a work desk, tea and coffee making facilities (including Lavazza coffee machines) and en suite bathrooms with Prija toiletries. The rooms are considerably more spacious than you would expect for a cabin onboard a ship. Most of the rooms have their own balconies and many of them have views of Canary Wharf, the cable car and London City Airport.

The suites are larger with separate sleeping and living areas, a massive balcony, a spa bath and, as you would expect from a Finnish-built hotel, they feature their own private sauna.

The bar, restaurant and the upper deck Sky Bar are open to the general public so you don’t need to stay here to get a feel for the place.

The Lands End restaurant offers fine dining although there are a couple of more casual options on the menu including fish and chips and the Sunborn burger.

Like the restaurant, the hotel’s Sundown Bar is overpriced for what it is; however, it is worth popping in for a drink if you’re staying elsewhere but are curious to have a look inside the Sunborn. The bar is arguably the nicest part of the yacht and it offers great views of the surrounding area.

The hotel also has its own spa facilities but it does not include a fitness centre.

Free Wi-Fi wireless internet access is available throughout the hotel.

The Sunborn considers itself decidedly fancier than Good Hotel, the other floating hotel just a five-minute walk along the waterfront, although much of this really depends on your personal taste and many people find the Sunborn’s excessive bling to be garish and tasteless and much prefer the more minimalist design aesthetic of Good Hotel.

It simply seems to be trying too hard to appear upmarket with its polished brass, gold and wood finish, mirrored ceilings and the hideously ornate chandelier that dominates the main staircase. It may have been built and designed in Finland but it is not what normally springs to mind when you think of Nordic design.

The novelty factor of staying on a superyacht is a big drawcard for a lot of guests but it is not the sort of place that will appeal to everyone. You’ll either think that it is swanky or a bit wanky.

The hotel has a nice waterfront location around a three-minute walk to the ExCeL exhibition centre and it is also reasonably close to the Royal Docks terminus of the Emirates Air Line cable car, which is only a six-minute walk away. Its close proximity to the cable car means that this hotel is a good accommodation option if you’re attending an event at the O2 Arena (which is located at the other end of the cable car line).

It is part of the cluster of hotels at the western side of ExCeL, which also includes a Crowne Plaza, the Good Hotel, an ibis and a Novotel. Although there are a lot of other hotels in the area, the immediate neighbourhood has more local character than the area on the other side of ExCeL and there are also modern blocks of flats and local shops and restaurants nearby.

It is a five-minute walk to Custom House station, which is served by the Elizabeth line and the DLR with frequent fast trains into The City.