The Silo

Cape Town, South Africa

Standing – literally – high and above the typically traditional hospitality offering in the South African capital, this Thomas Heatherwick-designed industrial monolith has become a standard bearer for the forward-thinking architects of the modern African metropolis. From its rooftop pool to its cloud-reaching cocktail offering, the hotel's high-flying hospitality offering is now a favourite for Cape Town’s fresh-faced crowd. The name refers to its vast, waterfront home’s former use, but the looks of The Silo are far from agricultural. A cubic grey frame, with lantern-like domed windows, is arresting. Interiors, meanwhile, are unexpected: the matriarch of the diminutive but decadent Royal Portfolio hotel group, Liz Biden, has furnished 28 rooms in her typically exuberant fashion, with Persian textiles, jewel-coloured furnishings and glitzy, glamourous additions (think, dripping chandeliers, and over-stuffed chesterfields in neon hues). Bathrooms are worthy of a mention for the views alone. The leading Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (MOCAA), an institution that holds the continent’s largest collection of modern African art, sits downstairs from the hotel. Some of its colourful collection have made it to the hotel’s communal space; other artworks were commissioned upon opening.

Key Information

• Rooms: 28
• Starting Rate: $1224
• Dining: The Willaston Bar
• Drinking: The Silo Rooftop
• At the Hotel: Rooftop pool, spa, fitness centre, airport transfers, underground parking, private art gallery
• 27216700500
• Visit The Silo's Website

Location

Silo Square, Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, Cape Town, 8001