Football fans visiting Qatar for the 2022 World Cup will be able to stay in bizarre floating island hotels
- There are plans for 16 to be built on the shores of Qetaifan Island North
- Each identical building will have 101 guest rooms, a restaurant and a lounge bar
- After the World Cup, the hotels can be moved to any other coastal location
Football fans at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will be able to stay in one of these bizarre floating hotels.
There are plans for 16 of the quirky hotels to be built on the shores of Qetaifan Island North, which is close to Lusail International Stadium, where the opening and final games of the tournament will be played.
Each identical building will boast 101 guest rooms, a restaurant and a lounge bar over four floors. In total, they will create 1,616 floating hotel rooms.
A rendering showing the bizarre floating hotels that football fans heading to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will be able to stay in
The hotels, which have been designed by Finnish architecture firm Sigge Architects, will be built by Admares, a construction firm also from Finland, which describes itself as ‘the world leader in alternative real estate with pioneering construction methods’.
The company has signed a memorandum of understanding with Qetaifan Projects, the company developing Qetaifan Island North, to build the hotels.
Mikael Hedberg, the CEO of Admares, said: ‘This is the first time ever that pure floating real estate has been used as a temporary solution for accommodation needs at this scale.
‘These hotels do not require major ports and deep water as their draft is significantly less than large cruise ships.
There are plans for 16 of the quirky hotels to be built on the shores of Qetaifan Island North
‘After the World Cup, the hotels can be placed at any coastal location where the water is at least four meters (13 feet) deep.
‘We are excited to be part of the solution for the amount of accommodation needed for the Fifa World Cup 2022.’
While His Excellency Sheikh Nasser bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, managing director of Qetaifan Projects, added: ‘We are pleased that there are investors who share our vision and see the development of Qetaifan Island North as a promising project that has a future as the first touristic destination in Qatar.’
Each identical hotel will boast 101 guest rooms, a restaurant and a lounge bar over four floors. In total, they will create 1,616 floating hotel rooms
Qatar expects approximately 1.6million spectators to visit during the month-long competition. Pictured is the Pearl-Qatar island in Doha
Qetaifan Island North spans approximately 1.3million square metres and has 830,000 square metres of attractions, including seven beaches.
Qetaifan Projects says that the island will ‘provide all the needs of the masses and tourists’ during the World Cup in 2022, which will be the first to be held in the Middle East.
It kicks off on November 21, 2022, and the final will be played on December 18, 2022. It is also the first time that the tournament is not being played during the summer.
Qatar expects approximately 1.6million spectators to visit during the month-long competition, with around 160,000 requiring accommodation.
Al Janoub Stadium, formerly known as Al Wakrah Stadium, is among the eight stadiums for the 2022 Fifa World Cup