The Western Cape is home to no shortage of world-class hotels. In order to stand out, some hoteliers have taken a particularly creative approach to architecture, décor and overall concept. While many travellers gravitate towards the familiar and traditional, there are those of us who seek the novel, the unusual and the unexpected. The unique, and boutique. WORDS Sharon Waugh
If you’re looking for something more than just a place to sleep, here are four of the most charmingly quirky boutique hotels from across the region.
The Grand Daddy Boutique Hotel
Normally, I am not one for camping, or even ‘glamping’, but there are times when I will make an exception. One of those times is when you have to take an antique elevator to reach your campsite… or rather trailer park… on an inner-city rooftop.
In the centre of Cape Town is the Grand Daddy Boutique Hotel, a hotel housed in a historical hotel building that dates back to 1895. The original elevator is now the oldest working elevator in Cape Town and possibly the whole of South Africa.
You might expect a building with so much history to be restored to its former glory and operate as a heritage hotel. Instead, the current iteration is modern and full of character. Twenty-five rooms are boldly decorated with striking patterns, bright colours and a proudly South African aesthetic. There are also two event venues, one of which features delightfully trippy Alice in Wonderland wallpaper.
The penthouse suites take the form of seven gleaming Airstream trailers on the hotel’s rooftop. Each one has been decorated by a different local interior designer in line with a South African road trip theme, such as Cape Winelands, Beach House, Rooftop Safari and Karoo Dorps. They are fully serviced with luxury bedding, modern amenities and thoughtful touches.
On the rooftop, you can also find the Sky Bar, where you can have a sundowner
and take in the views of the city, before retreating to your not-so-mobile mobile home for the evening.
The Karoo Art Hotel
Entering the Karoo Art Hotel, a member of the Cape Country Routes just off the R62 in Barrydale, feels like Dorothy entering Oz. The white facade gives way to a vibrant technicolour world as you cross the threshold.
Art is everywhere.
Oil paintings line the walls, sculptures appear in unexpected corners and colourful murals transform ordinary spaces into imaginative ones. The public areas double as a gallery, with many of the artworks available for purchase. Each of the hotel’s rooms is individually decorated with eclectic art pieces, hand-painted murals and other design details.
You can get lost in history looking at mesmerising vintage colonial safari photographs in the Melvill & Moon Room, while the oversized Tretchikoff wallpaper in the Magnolia Room feels light and playful. Some rooms are whimsical, others dramatic, but all feel like small creative worlds of their own. Apart from the usual facilities, the hotel is also home to an event venue that hosts art-related workshops and live performances, as well as a cinema.
This hotel doesn’t simply display art. It is art; colourful, expressive and inseparable from the quirky personality of Barrydale itself.
The Turbine Hotel and Spa
On the Thesen Islands in Knysna stands a hotel that, at first glance, doesn’t look like a hotel at all.
With three towering chimneys rising into the sky, the Turbine Hotel and Spa resembles an industrial facility more than a place you might choose for a relaxing getaway. That is until you step inside.
The building was once the power station that supplied electricity to Knysna and its timber industry. Now dining tables sit beside colossal machinery, turbines rise dramatically through double-volume spaces and industrial piping snakes across walls. This is all juxtaposed with velvet chairs, contemporary art and soft lighting.
When the building was converted into a hotel, the original turbines were protected as historical features. Instead of hiding them, the designers embraced them as sculptural centrepieces. What could have felt cold or mechanical somehow becomes warm and atmospheric. The rooms soften the industrial narrative slightly, layering in soft fabrics, elegant furnishings and large windows overlooking the canals.
The hotel’s Island Café and Gastro Pub serve dishes that reflect the region’s fresh produce and coastal influences, while the spa offers a space for another form of relaxation, proving that even a former power station can become a sanctuary.
Dorp Hotel
The terms “best kept secret” and “hidden gem” get thrown around a lot, but Dorp Hotel genuinely feels like both. Despite being a sprawling 42-room hotel perched on Signal Hill overlooking the city of Cape Town, many locals are unaware of its existence.
In the Salon, a double-volume space that functions as both a restaurant and a lounge, palm trees tower over quirky pink granny settees while ceramics, cut flowers, books and striking artworks appear everywhere you look. A set of dinosaur bookends holding many an afternoon’s reading material rests on a grand piano, while gold lettering next to the door reads “Check your privilege”.
It feels less like a hotel and more like the home of a well-travelled eccentric aunt who has the best stories to tell. Each room has its own personality, decorated with colourful textiles, vintage furniture, books, unusual artworks, unexpected touches and whimsy. A sense of play is woven into every corner, complemented by lush greenery and hidden nooks, perfect for lingering over coffee or a book. The hotel also boasts some of the best views of Table Mountain in all of Cape Town. It almost seems unfair given the captivating interiors.
It’s very hard to put Dorp into words, but it’s impossible to describe the lingering feeling you leave with.
Where the stay becomes the story
Each of these hotels tells a very different story. The Grand Daddy spins a playful tale of glamping in the middle of a city. The Karoo Art Hotel immerses guests in colour and creativity along one of the country’s great road-trip routes. The Turbine transforms industrial heritage into dramatic design. And Dorp offers a deeply personal world of art and imagination above Cape Town.
In a world where many hotels are designed to look reassuringly similar, these places remind us how delightful the unexpected can be. Here, the hotel isn’t just somewhere to stay, it’s a destination worth travelling for.
