Soviet warship gets glamtastic £10m makeover

CHINA might have been a tad deceptive when it said it wanted to buy the former Soviet aircraft carrier Varyag to turn into a casino. The giant ship is now refitted as a training vessel and awaiting its first flight of combat aircraft.

However, the other Soviet carrier purchased by the Chinese, the Kiev, has been put to the purpose the Chinese originally bought it for - as a luxury floating hotel.

The retired warship, 273 metres long and 53 metres wide - roughly similar in size to the UK's Invincible class carriers - was sold to a Chinese company in 1996, and has been part of a military theme park in the Tianjin municipality since 2004.

It has now undergone a 9.6 million refit, an amount somewhat less than spent getting the Varyag up to modern military standards, and its owners believe that China's increasing naval power will drum up customer interest and appeal to curious visitors.

Prices to stay onboard the hotel have yet to be disclosed, but the images seem to indicate the owners are aiming of the top end of China's domestic tourist market.