Soon, a boat hotel above Thames for 2012 Olympics

London - A bizarre new hotel, shaped like a boat,- is to be placed on top of the Queen Elizabeth Concert hall peering out over the River Thames for the 2012 Olympics to be held here.

The nautical building, due to be hoisted into position on London’s South Bank in December, will be equipped with a mast and look-out station and guests will be expected to keep a detailed log and hoist a flag to indicate they are aboard, the Daily Mail reports.

The designers of the building, called A Room For London are David Kohn Architects and artist Fiona Banner who said they set out to create something 'playful, beguiling and thought-provoking.'

The hotel, which is expected to be massively popular during next year's Olympic games, will have panoramic windows and an upper viewing deck affording some of the most spectacular views of the capital.

But those demanding a degree of privacy will be left very disappointed. The South Bank is one of the busiest places in town and guests will have to get used to a constant stream of curious tourists.

Inside, it will be fitted-out using real timber and the designers promise it will be full of 'nooks and crannies' for guests to explore

The design was chosen from 500 entries in a competition set up by cultural organizations Living Architecture, and Artangel, in association with Southbank Centre.

The hotel will be equipped with a mast and look-out post and guests will be required to hoist a flag to show they are in residence

Tickets for night stays during the first half of 2012 will be available from next month and tickets for the rest of the year, covering the Olympics, will go on sale in January.

A spokesman for the architects said: 'It will appear to have come to rest there, grounded, perhaps, from the retreating waters of the Thames below.

'The idea evolved from narratives of travel and displacement in literature, in particular Joseph Conrad’s novella ‘Heart of Darkness,’'