Rotterdam cube houses become hotel

Youth hostel organisation Stayokay has announced it has converted some of Rotterdam's unusual cube houses into hotel rooms.

The distinctive buildings, designed by architect Piet Blom, have an upper floor in the shape of a cube balancing on one of its corners.

The 49-room hotel accommodation will open on Monday. It includes a restaurant and a meeting room that can house some 250 visitors. An earlier plan by Rotterdam's local government to house ex-convicts in the landmark buildings was thrown out after a public outcry.

The unusual design of the yellow cube-topped buildings, which were completed 25 years ago, makes them into a popular tourist attraction. The earliest residents, however, complained that the interior of the cube homes was rather small and not very practical.