‘Solar-powered' 640-FOOT superyacht with room for 112 guests boasts private gardens, beach club and on-board restaurant
PLANS for a solar-powered superyacht decorated with private gardens and a beach club have been unveiled by a Swedish designer.
The whopping 640ft vessel concept, proposed by Viken Group, is essentially a floating boutique hotel.
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The superyacht-inspired cruise yacht, if it is ever built, will be spread across ten decks, and kept running by a 125-strong crew
Credit: Viken
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The accommodation will include double-height windows to showcase panoramic views
Credit: Viken
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Beneath REI, will lie a secondary 27m expedition vessel, which could be powered by electric or solar power
Credit: Viken
It boasts a multipurpose beach club that doubles as a sea courtyard with an infinity pool that connects to semi-private spas.
It is supposed to fit into a small but expanding sector for premium cruises, whisking away guests on long-distance journeys across the high seas.
The accommodation will include double-height windows to showcase panoramic views.
The superyacht-inspired cruise yacht, if it is ever built, will be spread across ten decks, and kept running by a 125-strong crew.
READ MORE ON YACHTS
Viken has not revealed exactly what each of these decks will offer, although it has hinted through new concept renders.
"The market for cruise yachts is currently looking very promising," Antonio Romano, marketing director at Viken Group, said in statement.
The group says it also has a culinary vision for the superyacht, currently known as REI.
REI will offer an exploratory dining experience themed 'from sea, to land, to sky,' offering guests "a diverse and delectable range of cuisines," according to the Viken Group, which has been building high-end cruise ships for 60 years.
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The restaurant-on-water is expected to have a seasonal menu that adopts the cuisine of the countries it visits.
'World's biggest superyacht' in jeopardy after tycoon behind £400m 700ft floating city for rich REFUSED to pay for plans
Fredrik Johansson, co-founder of the Viken Group, said: "The 196m project is the perfect illustration of the combined offerings of the Viken Group, where we manage exterior styling, engineering, master planning and interior under one umbrella."
Beneath REI, will lie a
secondary 27m
expedition vessel
, which could be powered by electric or solar power.
This
would provide guests with easy and luxurious transport from the boat to any beach resort or hard-to-reach cove.
The group was tasked with building a yacht for the luxury Four Seasons hotel group.
The Four Seasons 1 vessel will be the first of four premium cruise yachts set to launch under the hotel's brand in January 2026.
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It boasts multipurpose beach club that doubles as a sea courtyard with an infinity pool, that connects to semi-private spas
Credit: Viken
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The group says it also has a culinary vision for the superyacht
Credit: Viken
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RTÉ News
3 days ago
- RTÉ News
Borrow-ito: Concern as consumers take on debt for a takeaway
Economists and market watchers think the world may have a new recession indicator – the fact that more people can now take out a small loan to pay for their takeaway. This relates to a recently-announced partnership between Klarna and DoorDash – which is a big food delivery service in the US. Klarna has also partnered with Deliveroo Ireland (which was recently acquired by DoorDash). So we're not being left out in being able to borrow our way to a burger and chips. Let's take a step back - what is Klarna? Klarna is one of the main players offering what's called 'buy now, pay later' services. It's a Swedish company that's actually been around for 20 years, though it only launched in Ireland just under four years ago. And the way its BNPL business works is that you buy something from a retailer that partners with them – generally online. Then when you get to the checkout you're giving the option of either paying upfront as you normally would, or you can break the amount up and pay it in instalments over a number of weeks. That might mean breaking up a purchase price into four equal payments, spaced out over six weeks. So, for example if you buy a €500 TV, you'd pay €125 on the day, then another €125 in two weeks' time, another €125 in four weeks and then the last payment after six weeks. And when you do that there's no interest applied, no fee or charge or anything like that – you pay the same as you would have if you'd just bought it outright on day one. Instead, Klarna generally makes its money by charging a commission to the retailer for handling the payment. In a way it's very similar in spirit to the old-fashioned hire purchase option that a lot of appliance retailers here have offered for years. The big difference is that it's generally done over a shorter period of time - so it's a matter of weeks rather than months or years. And it's generally offered at a lower, or now cost altogether. And, it being a fintech, Klarna is designed to be easy to get set up on and use – so there's a much lower barrier to entry, and customers can get spending through it quite quickly. But while Klarna is the big player in this market, it's not the only one offering BNPL. Revolut offers it too – although it does charge a transaction fee, so it isn't entirely free. Retailers like Very have their own buy now, pay later option. Meanwhile there's Humm, which a lot of retailers here use. That's very much in the mould of the old fashioned hire purchase model mentioned before. Apple, meanwhile, also offer a BNPL option in some countries – but not in Ireland. Is there anything wrong with using BNPL? Not necessarily. Some people liken it to a credit card because, just like cards, BNPL is generally a relatively small, unsecured loan with minimal baggage attached. And, like a credit card, if you're smart in the way you use it, it won't cost you anything extra. In fact it can become simply another tool you have to manage your finances and expenses. But, like a credit card, BNPL does create an additional cost if you don't make your repayments in time. It could go from being free to very expensive, very quickly. And if you completely lose control of the debt, it could become a major problem for you. In the case of Klarna, it does warn customers that missed payments may incur a late fee – and it also reserves the right to pass on your bill to a debt collector, which obviously could get messy fast. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the company is more inclined to just write the debt off – certainly if it's small – and then block the user from being able to borrow anything else from them. But the risk remains that you could get pursued by what can often be an aggressive third party, which will apply fees and charges of their own beyond the money that you owe. But even without it getting to that extreme stage, not clearing a BNPL loan in time could become downright expensive. One of the other providers in Ireland offers interest free repayments for up to six months – but if you fail to clear what you owe by then, you get hit with a near 40% interest rate. That is approaching pay day lender territory. And bear in mind that this kind of lending generally isn't done with any kind of credit check behind it. That's part of what makes it so accessible to people, and so easy to get up and running. But it also means that the companies lending users the money don't have much information on their financial history, or on their repayment capacity, and so on. And one of the concerns expressed by the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) about this type of lending is that it could lead to a lot of customers doing what they call 'credit stacking'. This is where they have multiple, small loans spread across multiple providers. Maybe some are BNPL loans, and maybe they have a credit card or two as well. And each of them on their own might not be worth very much or particularly hard to manage - but combined they add up to a sizable ball of debt that is a burden to keep on top of. And the risk there is that, quite quickly, people can get overwhelmed by this, start missing payments, and start seeing the penalties and interest charges mount. Which just makes escaping the situation that much harder. Which is a big risk to take for a meal… Absolutely – and this is part of the concern that has been raised about this new dynamic. Because as cautious as you should be when borrowing for anything, big or small, when it's a purchase like an appliance, or even some clothes, there's a tangible benefit there. You would imagine that it's something the user will get value out of for a long time to come – long after they've actually covered the cost of it. But if they're borrowing money to pay for a coffee and a sandwich, it's going to be gone within an hour of them taking on the debt – and yet they'll still be expected to pay for it for weeks to come. Klarna, for its part, has defended these kinds of partnerships with food delivery apps and has made the argument that people have been using overdrafts and their credit cards to pay for coffees and takeaways for decades. The chances are, it says, that they were hit with hefty interest charges and fees when they did that. Which is true. Though personal finance professionals would urge people not to use credit cards or overdrafts for their food and drink; their advice isn't to replace one type of debt with another. So it may not be the strongest argument in favour of using Klarna. But what this move by Klarna and DoorDash – and Deliveroo here – to partner up is being seen as by some market watchers is one sign of the problems that are bubbling under the surface in the economy – particularly in the US. Just like Ireland, that country has obviously gone through a cost of living crisis over recent years –It was a major issue in the run up to the Presidential Election; and the price of eggs has remained a talking point in recent months. And now we're seeing the prospect of consumer prices there rising at a faster pace once again in the coming months, because of the impact of Donald Trump's tariffs. And that's led to this BNPL offer becoming attractive to enough consumers that Klarna and DoorDash think it's worth pursuing. Of course the internet has had great fun with this too – with tonnes of memes based around what people feel is the absurdity of the situation. There are lots of references to The Big Short and Wolf of Wall Street in there, talk about Taco Bell Credit Default Swaps, and one tweet saying 'it's 2026 and I have defaulted on my burrito debt' But all that aside, finance experts feel that - if borrowing money to pay for an everyday luxury like a coffee or a pizza, and maybe even groceries, is now attractive or necessary for a lot of consumers - then there is something fundamentally wrong with the system. And things are probably only going to get worse. Are Klarna even making money on all of this? No – not at the moment at least. In fact their losses have grown considerably recently. It posted quarterly results last month, which showed that its revenue and customer base was growing – but so too was the number of customers that were defaulting on their loans. It said $136m worth of loans were lost in the three month period – which was up 17% year on year. And if even some of that growth is coming from the likes of loans for food deliveries, it puts them in a bit of a bind. Because it's not like they can go and repossess a burrito – and they're probably going to even have a hard time getting a debt collection company interested in taking on such a tiny debt, especially not in a way that's going to be very financially beneficial. It should be said the rise in defaults wasn't the only thing that fed into their costs in the period – the cost of funding those loans got more expensive, while they also started offering staff share-based payments. But the fact that they were losing more of the money they were supposedly lending out did still feed into a more-than doubling in their losses for the period, with a net loss of $99m being 110% higher than its first quarter of 2024. And those figures represented the latest in a string of bad news stories for Klarna. It recently announced it was looking to hire 700 customer service workers, having previously tried to fill those rose with AI, only to find out that the quality of their service dipped as a result. And back in April the company also announced that it was pausing its plan to float shares on the stock exchange. It blamed the volatility created by Donald Trump's tariffs as the main reason for that, but there was a feeling within the market that the company wasn't quite ready to invite the level of scrutiny that would-be investors would require. And the big risk for them and businesses like them is that if there is to be an economic slowdown globally – which is is expected – consumers are likely going to be squeezed even more than they are at the moment. That might see people pull back from buying things that they don't already have the money for – meaning they won't need Klarna. Or it could mean they buy things through Klarna and then just refuse to pay them back. And either of those scenarios would mean that the fundamentals of the business would come under even greater pressure than is already the case.
Irish Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
We struck Gold on this visit to US state – and you should too
It has been 25 years since I visited the States and the last time I was in America, I was getting a selfie with Minnie Mouse at Disney World in Florida. So what better way to reintroduce America to me as an adult than to head for California's Tuolumne County – the heart of Gold Country where thriving Gold Rush towns put the region on the map. Here, you'll meet real life cowboys and cattle ranchers. Sadly, none I could take home to mum. After 10 hours on an Aer Lingus flight direct from Dublin to San Francisco, we travel around three hours to Sonora, the largest town in Tuolumne County. This quaint town offers a glimpse into the past with their preserved saloons, historic buildings and museums. Our first stop is bedtime. We arrived at The Inn on Knowles Hill, a gorgeous boutique bed and breakfast hotel overlooking the town of Sonora. It's been 14 hours since I last saw Ireland and I was looking forward to my bed. We were immediately greeted by owner Rhonda Buess, who runs this charming hotel with her vintage car obsessed husband couple have been married since 1992 and have spent over $1M renovating The Inn on Knowles Hill - and boy, does it show. The Inn is 12,500 square feet of home away from home. I've never slept in a bed with the softest of pillows and the most comfortable mattress. It was so big, I joked I'd need a ladder to climb in. After a peaceful night's sleep, it was time for breakfast. But this was no grab and go situation – I was in America now. For every guest, Rhona prepares a two-course breakfast that sets you up for the day. For our first course, Rhonda served us organic bosc pear poached in cardamom spice, filled with vanilla bean creme with raspberry coulis and toasted almonds. Our second course arrives – Aebleskivers (Danish pancakes) served traditionally with raspberry jam and Chantilly cream. The dish was accompanied with Knowles Hill eggs florentine, a recipe designed at The Inn and some turkey bacon. The food isn't the only thing that kept us talking on our trip – The Inn is steeped in history. Rhonda tells me: "The house was built in 1927 for a Swedish man called Charles Segerstrom. He had stock in the West in a lumber company. He was president of Royal Bank. He had hotels in San Francisco, but his primary money making was from mining.' Rhonda explains that each of the eight rooms at The Inn are all named after the famous people who have stayed there, including President Herbert Hoover, Supreme Court Justice, Earl Warren, Helen Keller, Ruth Bryan Owen and Melvin Belli. 'We've even had Motley Crew," she boasted. Most people who buy a hotel nowadays want to modernise it – but Rhonda and Fred wanted to restore it back to the roaring 20s. They are the third owners and bought the house in 2005. The previous owners had decorated it hot pink. "We opened in 2012. It took about seven years to get ourselves established.' Guests are not only treated to Rhonda's excellent cooking skills but they will also be accompanied by Fred downtown in one of his vintage cars. He owns several vintage Rolls Royce's which he proudly shows off out the front of this charming must stay hotel. After a peaceful night's sleep, we took a trip to Railtown 1897 State Historic Park where we met train enthusiast Daniel train station welcomed the first steam train back in 1897 to crowds of 5,000 and is a hit with fourth graders on school tours. From April until October, the train station runs excursion train rides as well as The Polar Express, which runs in November and December and "always sells out," said Daniel. The station was also home to some of Hollywood's 200 famous films, including High Noon, Back To The Future III and Petticoat Junction. 'Locomotive No.3 is by far the most famous here. She's been in more movies and TV shows than in Hollywood. Hollywood loved it. It has a classic style and it's cute. Sonora is also home to Columbia's State Historic Park, which is another hit with kids. But for the adults too, the western themed town features plenty of restaurants and bars to keep cool from the Californian sun. After digging for some gold at Columbia, thirsty travellers can head to Indigeny Reserve to sample some cider from the local sits on a stunning 160-acre preserve and apple orchard and is a hit with locals, especially on Valentine's Day. Our tour guide Cassandra takes us through the fruits of their labour from this family run business, which employs just 12 people, and was started by retired couple Jay and Judy Watson. Cassandra brings us through the process of harvesting the apples from their 30,000 trees. 'When we are harvesting our apples, we are harvesting over 52 varieties. 'Each year is different, depending on the seasons, whether we get a lot of water, whether our blossoms did great that year, we can range about 300,000 pounds of apples to a million pounds of apples. And so when we're harvesting, we harvest everything, even the imperfectly, perfect apples. This whole entire range here we have about 30,000 trees.' As well as feeding the cider thirsty customers, Indigeny feeds a plethora of wildlife from harvested apples that hit the orchard a day of tours, we head downtown – courtesy of Fred in the Rolls Royce – and arrive in style at a local dive bar, where my colleague hustles a few unsuspecting locals in a game of pool. The next day, we leave Sonora and head to Yosemite National Park for two days hiking. Yosemite is well worth a visit for any traveller who loves the outdoors. It's an hour and a half from Sonora and the views are breathtaking along the way. The side of the park we're exploring is the road less travelled. We met our tour guide Gabriel for a two-hour hike to Hetch Hetchy – an hour and a half from the popular Yosemite Valley. Hetch Hetchy, whose reservoir supplies the water for all of San Francisco, is a hidden treasure that lies in the northwest portion of Yosemite National Park. It's a jaw-dropping trail, way less crowded than other areas of the park, and is a perfect weekend backpacking trip for any level of experience. It sees fewer than 100 visitors a day, compared to the 19,000 day tourists to Yosemite Valley. And to rest your tired legs after, there's Rush Creek's Lodge and Spa. The hotel is the newest Yosemite spa resort, featuring incredible indoor and outdoor spa elements inspired by the natural beauty and power of Yosemite. But for those who prefer to sleep under the stars – Evergreen Lodge Yosemite is the perfect spot and just 20 minutes from Hetch Hetchy. Pick from family cabins, glamping tents or couples cabins – but be warned those who glamp need to remember the dress for the elements for bed. It gets very cold at night in Yosemite. Evergreen Lodge also offers all guests complimentary smores for that real American experience as well as heated saltwater pool and hot tub amongst the pines. The next day, we headed for the Tuolumne Grove of Giant Sequoias for a blissful two-hour hike amongst the two dozen mature giant sequoias. This strenuous walk is worthwhile when you come across these giants in the middle of the forest. After our hike, we head for a quick lunch stop at Around The Horn for a tasty American Hot Dog. And to quench your thirst, this bar offers a beer flight so customers can explore all the bar's different craft beers on offer. We head back on the road to shake our tail feathers on the last stop of the trip – The Chicken Ranch Casino. This casino underwent a massive $400 million renovation and caters to all your entertainment needs. It's non-smoking and its general manager Todd DeRemer spent 14 years of his working life managing a casino in Las Vegas, so he decided to bring his 33 years' experience in the gaming industry back to North America. The Chicken Ranch Casino also features a 209 Sports bar with 3D video aspect all around – it is the only one in North America as well as a Wahlburger – the second one in California and sales are eighth in the entire nation. Forget heading to Vegas, this hotel, which opened in July 2024, has 197 eggceptional rooms with 22 suites – including one called The Mother Pucker that features a golden chicken that players rub for good luck before heading downstairs to gamble. 'About 70 percent of people who stay at the hotel are players,' says Todd as he reveals the casino had two massive wins in March. One jackpot was $863,000 and the other for $823,000. The Chicken Ranch Casino also has a stunning Fine Dining restaurant called Perch Rooftop Dining and also has a shallow pool, which will host major parties in the future. For my first time back to America in 25 years, this was the perfect reintroduction as an adult exploring. Yosemite was definitely a highlight of the trip, and I look forward to returning again.
The Irish Sun
4 days ago
- The Irish Sun
Rob Cross wins first darts match since being banned as company director over £450k in unpaid tax
ROB CROSS won his first darts match since his financial woes were made public. The 2018 world champion has been Advertisement 1 Rob Cross has won his first darts match since his financial woes were made public Credit: PA The Insolvency Service found that the Premier League Darts star withdrew more than £300,000 from Rob Cross Darts Limited between March 2020 and November 2023 that should have gone to creditors, including to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). The world No.9 also took out more than £400,000 from In an attempt to repay part of his debts, Cross has entered into an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA), a legally binding agreement where he has committed to making regular payments to an insolvency practitioner. Monthly contributions to the IVA will vary depending on the income he receives through his performances at darts tournaments during this year and future years. Advertisement READ MORE IN DARTS There is £30,000 available for the winner of this weekend's Nordic Darts Masters in Copenhagen and he began the event by beating Swedish thrower Andreas Harrysson 6-4 in round one. The world No.9 – who plays fellow Premier League star Chris Dobey in the quarter-finals on Saturday – says he spent Thursday walking round the Danish capital for '14-and-a-half miles'. Probably a chance to clear his head and get away from the news that was released by The Insolvency Service while he was away. Cross, 34, said: 'I've not picked up the darts for a while. Advertisement Most read in Darts Nordic Darts Masters Prize Money Here is a full breakdown of the total prize pot on offer in Copenhagen... Winner (1) £30,000 Runner-up (1) £16,000 Semi-finalists (2) £10,000 Quarter-finalists (4) £5,000 First round (8) £1,750 CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS 'I have had two-and-a-half weeks off. I had been a little bit lazy. I'll be better 100% in my next match. 'I didn't know where my game was at – I could have gone out there and hit 120 or a 48. Rob Cross follows Luke Humphries with stunning nine-darter 'Andreas is very dangerous and has played great. I am happy to get over the line and keep pushing. Tomorrow it has to come together. Advertisement 'To win this would be fantastic. I have had time off and some difficulties. But it would mean a lot to win it this week. 'Tonight could have been tougher with a few boos and whistles, it could have swung the game in his favour. 'We all feel it when the darts are flowing and the crowd gets on your back. I'm very appreciative of that. Darts is tough. 'It has been nice to be here. The weather was better than I expected. I thought it was going to rain. It's a great place to go out and fill your lungs out with some air.' Advertisement Cross famously won the PDC World Darts Championship in 2018 – he trounced the retiring Phil Taylor 7-2 in the final – on his debut appearance in the competition. His management team have declined to comment on the story.
