Get a room: Cape Grace

An iconic Cape Town hotel emerges from an extensive upgrade looking and feeling more local.
2 mins read

Ask any Capetonian about Cape Grace, and they’ll tell you it’s where former US president and first lady Bill and Hillary Clinton stayed on their late-1990s visit to Cape Town – at the time, the first US presidential visit to South Africa.

That the Clintons chose to stay at Cape Grace speaks volumes about its stature, luxury and discretion. But wave bye-bye to the once-traditional look, as British interiors firm 1508 London’s thorough design overhaul introduces a subtly African and distinctly local feel. Art and collectibles are not just engaging, but created by Saffers, and the restaurant menu includes a “granadilla lolly to make you jolly”.

The vibe

Cape Grace’s secluded position alongside a yacht marina at the heart of the V&A Waterfront offers both serenity and bustle. Given its location within the city’s most populated tourist attraction, its rooms and suites are unexpectedly quiet – making sleeping with your windows or balcony doors open, and listening to the gentle sounds of seals splashing in the waters below, a must. Those in search of bustle have the waterfront on their doorstep, including neighbouring Zeitz MOCAA, Time Out Market and the Two Oceans Aquarium, and award-winning chefs Ryan Cole and David Higgs’s recently launched restaurants Coy and Marble, respectively.

Your stay

Whether you’re booking a harbour-view room, a penthouse with private jacuzzi, or a multi-bedroomed suite with balconies and terraces, all 112 rooms share an elegant aesthetic. Furniture is both contemporary and comfortable, rugs are geometric and colourful, and wall panelling lends a grandness to the spaces. An in-room selection of African fiction and coffee-table books makes leisure time in armchairs and sofas irresistible, and fresh flowers serve up that home-from-home feel. Nightlights in the bathrooms and wall-mounted USB ports won’t go unnoticed, and indulgence comes in the form of ultra-plush pillows and linens. Topping off the luxe factor are toiletries from covetable fragrance brand Le Labo (think Santal 33 perfume, because IYKYK).

Drink and dine

In addition to waterside lounging, the relaunched Bascule Bar – long a favourite local hotspot – now boasts speak-easy-inspired interiors, complete with mood lighting, lavish surfaces and a whiskey-tasting lounge that’ll have you rethinking your home bar. It’s where you’ll find us when we’re not upstairs at Heirloom, executive chef Asher Abramowitz’s fine-dining restaurant. Kickstart dinner here with an aperitif from the Moët & Chandon drinks trolley. The menu champions South Africa’s rich culinary heritage – think everything from amagwinya, samp and beans, and umqombothi, to braaied lamb and West Coast oysters. It’s here you’ll find the chef’s take on the city’s beloved granadilla lolly. In his hands this dessert is so cheekily plated, it’s guaranteed to leave you jolly.

We really like

Cape Grace’s colourful art collection is astutely curated and features a selection of both figurative and abstract wall-mounted works by some of Southern Africa’s most dynamic artists. What a stark contrast to the historical prints that previously graced the walls! Two large metallic paper collages by Galia Gluckman are warm and welcoming in the lobby, with other communal rooms including fabric-like works by Cathy Abraham, gel-capsule “tapestries” by Leila Abrahams, and mixed-media artworks by Mark Rautenbach.

Take it from us, the artworks in Bascule are even more engaging. Striking figurative paintings by Banele Khoza, Colbert Mashile, Tafadzwa Masudi and Tusevo Landu serve as great conversational icebreakers; not that you’ll need those, at the talked-about, reinvented Cape Grace.

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Martin Jacobs

From working as creative director on Condé Nast House & Garden and as art director on both Marie Claire and Mens’ Health Best Life, Martin Jacobs’s name has been synonymous with some of the best print and digital design in South Africa. He’s also a writer (and prolific reader) and so combines his sharp eye and love of words to weigh in on matters of design, style and the good things in life.

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