Take a good look at the large TV on the wall in the photo above. Located in the skylounge of Arkley, it’s matched by one directly across from it, mounted above a mirror-image seating arrangement, too.
Two TVs facing each other? I know, I couldn’t quite see the point, either, when I visited Arkley at Lürssen just prior to delivery this summer. But I soon learned the method to the madness. First, the owner happens to have a lot of TVs onboard, to heighten the entertainment factor. Second, he wanted guests to be able to watch different movies or programs simultaneously. Finally, he didn’t want an amidship TV console interrupting the flow of the room.
The latter point is part of a broader theme aboard Arkley. From the staterooms on the lower deck to the observation lounge on the uppermost deck, the 60-meter (197-foot) yacht sets specific ambiances for enhancing the owner’s and guests’ senses.
See the foyer below? Located to the starboard side on the main deck, it’s the main entry aboard. Leather and oak paneling create a bold stripe pattern that immediately leaps to your attention. It’s also meant to make guests reach out and touch it. But the more you – and they – look, the more there is to take in and/or touch. Oak fashioned in a basket-weave pattern provides the backdrop to the art niche, and there’s a wave pattern in the oak inset overhead.
Even subtle touches are intended to soothe the senses. The large ports in the owner’s suite and VIP stateroom feature electronic blinds, as do the traditional ports in the lower-guest cabins. These can sometimes be a bit noisy, but the ones on Arkley are said to be quieter than the norm.
But for times when a little noise (so to speak) is called for, the sundeck comes in to play. There’s a plug in the overhead by the sunpads for a karaoke system. And if that’s not enough, the crew can remove the sunpads so that the base can serve as a stage. (Steel drum band, anyone?)
From the PADI-certified diving instruction her crew can give to the handful of SeaBobs and other watertoys, including a sailboat, Arkley is a yacht intended to keep the entertainment going. She was conceived for charter, so you can experience it yourself this winter in the Caribbean through Imperial Yachts, which also managed her build.
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