Gorgeous George — Cape Town, South Africa
Bolstering an already expansive design landscape, Gorgeous George has just opened its doors in Cape Town's vibrant inner city. Located between St George’s Mall and the famed Green Market Square, the 32-room boutique property comprises two landmark buildings – one Art Deco, the other Edwardian – originally stitched together in the 1940s and now repurposed by local firm Urbane Citizen Architecture.
Inside, the Johannesburg-based interior designer, Tristan du Plessis has focused on a strong contemporary African aesthetic, dressing the raw, urban bones of the building, like the steel window frames and concrete beams, with a bold palette and pieces from top South African talent including furniture by David Krynauw, Gregor Jenkin, Dokter and Misses and Porky Hefer, whose crocodile swing chair certainly turns heads. ‘I wanted to go with people who were making really unique contemporary African design, like Jenkin, who is taking Victorian-style design and turning it on its head by crafting it in metal,’ explains du Plessis.
Diversions, of course, are dominated by Cape Town's wine, surf and mountain offerings, but don't miss out on Gigi Rooftop, the hotel's plant-filled indoor-outdoor bar, restaurant and pool space, where chef Guy Bennet serves a menu of updated classics – using fresh, local and seasonal ingredients – against a backdrop over downtown and beyond.
ADDRESS
118 St George’s Mall
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
-
Phaidon’s new Graphic Classics is a lavish greatest hits of graphic design
Graphic Classics is a compendium of seven centuries of visual culture, from the everyday and ephemeral to visionary works that reshaped our world
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Birley Chocolate hits the sweet ’n’ chic spot in London’s Chelsea
The new Birley Chocolate shop, a sibling to Birley Bakery, is a confection of colour as delicious as its finely crafted goods
By Melina Keays Published
-
Feel at home at Auberge, Château La Coste's new inn for culture lovers
Auberge La Coste sits at the heart of the art-filled estate, minutes away from the joyful town of Aix-en-Provence
By Harriet Thorpe Published
-
Singita Ebony Lodge celebrates 30 years of wild beauty
Singita Ebony Lodge in Hazyview, South Africa, begins a new chapter with a refresh by Cécile & Boyd
By Luke Abrahams Published
-
A refreshed Cape Grace hotel embraces the best of South African heritage
Cape Town’s Cape Grace hotel reopens its doors following an extensive and playful renovation by international interior design studio, 1508 London
By Daniel Scheffler Published
-
24 hours in Copenhagen: stay, bike, dine, and discover Danish design
Plan your 24 hours in Copenhagen: sleepover in a former brewery, wake up with a wild swim, and immerse yourself in the home of a modernist master
By Simon Mills Published
-
Peter Beard’s biographer, Christopher Wallace, on writing the wild life of the quintessential Twentieth-Century Man
Author Christopher Wallace traces the footsteps of the original playboy-artist-activist Peter Beard, travelling from Kenya, to the Serengeti, Cassis and beyond
By Christopher Wallace Published
-
Estelle Manor is a chic take on the hotel and country club
Estelle Manor, a transformed Grade II-listed house and estate in Oxfordshire, welcomes guests with Roman and Williams interiors, parasols by the pool, and a soon-to-open tepidarium
By Henrietta Thompson Published
-
Off-beat eco-lodge Sun Ranch opens in the Byron Bay hinterland
The 1970s-inspired Sun Ranch estate has been envisioned by a collective of friends from Australia’s fashion and hospitality scenes
By Monique Kawecki Published
-
Maroma, A Belmond Hotel, Riviera Maya opens following a major redesign
On the Yucatán Peninsula, the new-look Maroma showcases local craftsmanship and Mayan tradition with interiors led by interior architecture studio Tara Bernerd & Partners
By Charlotte McManus Published
-
A weekend in wonderful Copenhagen
The ultimate weekend in Copenhagen starts here: discover the latest openings across the UNESCO World Capital of Architecture, stay in a hotel afloat, start your day with brilliant baked goods and ski down a power-station piste
By Simon Mills Published