If the mention of a floating hotel conjures visions of a futuristic designer hub, think again, as at one such establishment in Bangladesh, you won't even find a mattress.And to make matters even less comfortable for those who value their personal space, guests spending the night in its cheapest rooms will need to do so while lying next to other holidaymakers.But despite the basic facilities, workers and tourists flock to the Faridpur Hotel in Dhaka because an overnight stay there costs as little as 31p. If the mention of a floating hotel conjures visions of a futuristic designer hub, think again, as at one such establishment in Bangladesh, you won't even find a mattress Instead, the guests stay in cramped living quarters - the most basic of which is just a room where all the guests sleep on one mattress-less 'bed' (pictured) Many of the guests staying at the hotel are traders who work in the area and some stay there for months at a time For less than the price of a bar of chocolate, guests are given a place to spend the night and have access to free water and toilets during their stayThese cheap floating hotels popped up for the first time in the city in the Fifties, mainly to accommodate Hindu traders who came to Dhaka for business by the Buriganga river.
Over time, their numbers gradually increased.After Bangladesh declared independence, their numbers fell to just five. The Faridpur Hotel, situated on the bank of the Buriganga river, is made up of five separate floating boats.But unlike the comfy hotels with exquisite furnishing and striking views that Western travellers are used to, these cheap beds are anything but fancy. For less than the price of a bar of chocolate, guests are given a place to spend the night and have access to free water and toilets during their stay.They also get a small locker to keep their possessions in. These cheap floating hotels popped up for the first time in the city in the Fifties, mainly to accommodate Hindu traders who came to Dhaka for business by the Buriganga river The Faridpur Hotel (pictured above), situated on the bank of the Buriganga river, is made up of five separate floating boats Although there are both single and double private cabins, the facilities are not designed for families and they're not allowed to stay at the hotelThere are no TV sets, no living-dining area, no comfy, queen size mattresses and no flowers to decorate the room.
Yet at any given point in a day, one can find scores of guests packed inside the floating hotels.Muhammad Mustafa Miyan, the 46-year-old owner of Faridpur Hotel, said: 'We have anywhere around 40 guests at a time in our hotel and they stay for as long as three months.'There are 48 rooms in the hotel, consisting of private cabins and beds.The lowest price of Taka 30, or 31 pence, applies to a bed in a shared room perched on a large launch.There are no mattresses and those who stay there are forced to use bedding to making things a little more comfortable. Its most expensive rooms cost Taka 120 (£1.25), for which a guest gets a private cabin.But these hotels are not meant for families. Instead, it's mainly traders from different district and towns who need to stay near the busy Sadarghat area of the city that stay there.And there are many traders who stay in these hotels for long periods of time. Muhammad Mustafa Miyan, the 46-year-old owner of Faridpur Hotel, said: 'We have anywhere around 40 guests at a time in our hotel and they stay for as long as three months'
Floating hotels had been extremely popular and at one point, there were over 50. Now, there are only around five in the city Left, a man using the outdoor shower area on the boat and right, a man walking out from the hotel, which floats on the heavily polluted riverSiraj Mohammad, 55, is a fruit seller who has spent more than 40 years in these floating hotels - staying between his home in Shariatpur and Dhaka.Over the years, Mohammad has learnt to make himself feel comfortable at the accommodations.He said: 'I came to Dhaka before independence. At that time, there were at least 50 floating hotels in Buriganga and it was convenient and cheap. For me it was the best option to live in Dhaka. So I stayed back.'Like him, there are at least 15 other traders who have lived in these floating hotels for five to 20 years.Miyan, who has been running the hotel for the last 26 years, says the popularity of the hotel is mainly down to its price.He said: 'It is cheap so people who come from small towns and villages for their work and business stay here.
'For a nominal price, they get purified water, clean toilets, separate beds. 'And we also provide our customers with small lockers to keep their valuable things. But food is not provided.' The lowest price of Taka 30, or 31 pence, applies to a bed in a shared room (pictured) perched on a large launch There are no mattresses and those who stay there are forced to use bedding to making things a little more comfortable Guests have access to a private locker for their belongings but other than that, they have very little privacy at the hotelMy ten-year-old sofa bed from Marks & Spencer had served me well but was just getting a bit dog-eared - so I recently went back to see if the same model was still available.Except the 10cm mattress of my old bed has been switched to just 6cm on the current version. As I'm reluctant to pay more than a grand for something with what seems to be a lower spec than it used to be a decade ago, I set about researching alternatives.There are certain questions you'll need to ask at the outset, such as what type of mattress you want.
Pocket sprung are generally good, with the more springs the better. Memory foam tends to divide sleepers more with its lasting impression that moulds to the body. Sitting pretty: Choosing the right sofa-bed can be a bit of minefieldAlso, what type of sofa cushions do you want on the sofa itself? Softer ones that you need to plump daily or more durable ones that do not require much attention?It is also worth making a decision about the sofa-bed mechanism, with my preferred option being the sofa converting into a bed in one easy movement with wooden slats to provide additional back support.Interior designer Sarah Ward, of Sarah Ward Associates, recommends investing money so that you get the exact product you want to ensure the comfort of your guests.She said: 'The thickness of the mattress and the mechanism will dictate the overall height of the sofa. A corner will unit make the product seem more generous and luxurious. And remember that the bed size will be governed by the seating area within the arms of the sofa.'Sofa Workshop prides itself on its bespoke service.
There are set sofa-bed designs to choose from but these can then be altered according to your requirements - for example, if you want higher arms, it will build these for you. And while it has a choice of fabrics, you can even use your own. So say you bought some fabric from Laura Ashley, you can ask for the sofa to be covered in that material - so long as it is upholstery fabric and adheres to fire regulations. However, the depth of the cheapest mattress option available from Sofa Workshop is just 2.5cms. Sofa Workshop insists this is for one-off guest use and that the everyday sofa-bed mechanism has a 10cm thick mattress and wooden slats. However, it is not pocket sprung. The mattress on the Sofa Workshop Jude sofa-bed is 10cm thick and is on wooden slats.Hitting Marks & Spencer on Oxford Street at peak shopping time was always going to be a bad move. But strapped for time, I headed to the furniture department at the top of the central London store. I've had an Abbey sofa-bed from Marks for the past 10 years, and I have been more than pleased with it - but it has done a good stint and it is time for it to be replaced.
After choosing a different fabric, I was about to pay when I decided to check on the size of the mattress. It was a deal breaker as it is no longer 10cm, but a mere 6cm. An M&S spokesperson said: 'Our Abbey sofa range is a firm favourite with our customers and we have sold it for over 15 years. We are always looking at ways to improve our products, and our Abbey sofa-bed now has a fully sprung base and slimmer mattress that offers better support and more comfort.' The M&S Abbey sofa-bed has seen its mattress shrink in size from 10cm to 6cm.Bishopstrow storage sofa-bed, £1,887, www.willowandhall.co.ukFrom the moment I walked into Willow & Hall's stunning showroom in Chiswick, I knew that the experience of buying a sofa-bed had turned a corner. A keen and energetic showroom assistant began with showing me the three types of mattresses on offer, from the 14cm open spring model with interconnected springs and pocket sprung mattress with individual springs (which is more suited to two people) through to a memory foam base at 12cm, which is apparently the most popular option.
The easy mechanism means conversion into a bed is with one easy fold out movement. There is also a choice of cushions - luxury ones that need plumping every day or more hard wearing ones. This design also comes with storage under the chaise, offering a perfect place for pillows and duvets. Ordering on the website isn't smooth as it could be. The mattress on the Willow and Hall Bishopstrow chaise storage sofa-bed has an impressive 14cm mattress.Some of Heal's sofas are stunning and so it was disappointment to see they don't all translate into sofa-beds. So while some of their sofa-beds are large and full of plump cushions, their sofa-beds have a more modern and angular feel. For example, the Cumulous corner sofa is not available in a sofa bed format. Heal's seems to be missing a trick on this front and if this product was available, it would have been at the top of my list. A spokesman for Heal's said: 'All our sofa-beds have pocket sprung mattresses, of varying size depending on the style.
They are designed in Denmark and whereas standard sofa-beds can be either a bed or a sofa, our styles are more multifunctional - for example the Knap sofa bed can be a sofa, a day bed (half up, half down) or a bed. You can also vary the seat back recline between full upright and gentle recline offing many ways of using these versatile pieces of furniture.' The sofa-beds at Heal's have pocket sprung mattresses, of 'varying size depending on the style'.John Lewis offers an alternative to the traditional sofa-bed design. The bed is pulled out from the main unit and a sheet can be put over the whole area including the chaise unit. The foam mattress is aimed at occasional use and the chaise end unit offers a storage area. The mattress is 8cm deep. Jo Unsworth, upholstery buyer at John Lewis said 'Customers may not always have a spare room available, so are increasingly keen to ensure that their sofa-beds are as aesthetically pleasing as possible, which is partly why this model is one of our most popular.
This sofa-bed is also particularly comfortable, due to its thick mattress, so a good buy for a customer looking for a sofa-bed that will be used on a regular basis. It also has internal storage to allow bedding to be stored in and is available in a number of sizes and a huge array of different fabrics.' The mattress on the John Lewis Sacha large sofa bed is 8cm thick.If you don't have several thousand pounds to spend on a sofa-bed with a pocket sprung mattress and wooden slats, you need not give up on your search for a comfortable solution. One option is this sofa-bed from Ikea, which comes with a 10cm foam mattress and costs less than £200. I can recommend this product for those with a smaller budget as I bought it for my first home - and it lasted until it was replaced many years later with the M&S sofa-bed mentioned above. The cover is removable and comes in more than half a dozen different colours. The look of the sofa is clearly not as sophisticated as some of the other products reviewed, but this is a great option for those with less to spend.