Filed under: Famous Homes, Design, etc, House Tours, Architecture, Cool Homes
Docked just 100 kilometers north of Amsterdam, consider this your unique waterfront getaway. Photo: Reddingsboot in Harlingen
While vacationing, I have no qualms with beachfront hotels or sailboat rides, but I took pause at this discovery: An overnight stay in a lifeboat. Because of my dislike for cramped, tiny spaces, I imagined sleepless nights and cramped quarters.
However, the interior of Lilla Marras, a lifeboat docked in the Harlingen harbor on Holland's north shore, about 100 kilometers north of Amsterdam, is not what you would expect. Rooms on the lower deck are artfully arranged to feel as if you are in a boutique hotel -- albeit a small one -- not a lifeboat.
From 1955 to 1979, Lilla Marras served along the British coast and performed 105 rescue operations (including saving the lives of 45 people). The boat was recently restored to accommodate travelers (two people at a time). Today, for 229 euros (approximately $311) per night, you can secure a spot on this luxury lifeboat, which is surrounded by multi-million dollar yachts.
Not the cramped quarters you'd expect on a boat, this lilypad-design bed is actually a double-size bed. Photo: Reddingsboot in Harlingen
The cabin space has been carved out for relaxing and entertainment. Bedtime means retiring to a lilypad-shaped double bed. While, a flat-screen television and DVD player, turn the room into a home movie theater. You don't even have to sacrifice a pro-bono meal: Breakfast is delivered to the pilothouse daily.
Doesn't this cedar bathtub look lovely? Never mind that it's next to the toilet. Photo: Reddingsboot in Harlingen
If a storm rolls in forcing you to head below deck, simply recline to the forecabin and take a hot bath inside a cedar bathtub that's deep enough for a true soak.
A breakfast nook for morning coffee, complete with two Arne Jacobsen-style chairs. Photo: Reddingsboot in Harlingen
In the aft cabin are two swivel armchairs, a table and a wall unit for audio-visual equipment. For light meals, there are a boiling-water tap, a mini-bar and a kitchenette to get you started on some creative, shipman's-style cuisine.
Sadly, if you want to spend a night in this lifeboat, you will have to hold onto your excitement: Lilla Marras is booked through 2010. (The year 2011 has the next openings.)