Located in South Africa’s oldest working harbour against a backdrop of Table Mountain, Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront, as popular opinion will tell you, cannot be bettered. And while property development has swept the eternally buzzing area, a few heritage icons have remained untouched. So, when the V&A deliberated on the fate of the country’s former grain silo building, it was a given that it would become something special. Now, some sixteen years after granary operations ceased, the Mother City welcomes its latest gem, The Silo Hotel.
Originally built in 1924, the silo’s grain elevator plays home to the property, occupying the six floors above Zeitz MOCAA – the highly anticipated Museum of Contemporary African Art due to open later this year. Outside, London-based designer Thomas Heatherwick has maintained the landmark’s skyline status as a harbour beacon, with dramatic glass-pillowed windows, bubble-wrapping the façade. All 82 of the Heatherwick Studio creations were locally manufactured and crane-lifted, paying homage to the building’s history as the half-grain geometries glow outwardly at night.
Inside, owner Liz Biden has created eccentric interiors to soften the industrial inheritances. Egyptian chandeliers take advantage of ceiling heights, while the walls are in keeping with the Zeitz MOCAA exhibits below, hosting contemporary African works with commissions from Frances Goodman, Jody Paulsen and Pierre Carl Vermeulen. Most notable in all 28 rooms are the signature bathrooms: equally sized throughout, guests can soak in spectacular city views from the tub, unhindered by the floor-to-ceiling glass portholes. Those seeking out further relaxation can find it in a five-room spa that rounds out the fourth floor.
While a profusion of restaurants are within walking distance, Executive Chef Veronica Canha-Hibbert will tempt most to stay in. The Willaston Bar – named after the first European-bound grain ship to leave the silo complex – is the perfect spot for a cocktail before heading to The Granary, where Canha-Hibbert’s French bistro menu is filled with classics such as bouillabaisse and steak frites. For a simplified menu, the eleventh floor hosts a rooftop bar and restaurant, wrapped by a pool and viewing deck. Atop Sub-Sahara’s once-tallest building, you could be forgiven for thinking you’d experienced the best of the city, without having taken a step out the hotel’s front door.
ADDRESS
Silo Square, V&A Waterfront
-
One to watch: Chiara Lionello’s practice finds beauty in simple gesturesThe Milan-based designer and architect works across multiple disciplines to create objects and spaces that are shaped by experiences and memories
-
Saint Laurent's Anthony Vaccarello curates four rare Charlotte Perriand reissuesThese lesser-seen Charlotte Perriand furniture designs are reissued in a limited edition and on display at Paris' Galerie Patrick Seguin (until 22 November 2025)
-
Viewers are cast as voyeurs in Tai Shani’s crimson-hued London exhibitionBritish artist Tai Shani creates mystical other worlds through sculpture, performance and film. Step inside at Gathering
-
Wallpaper* checks in at Few & Far Luvhondo: an intimate South African eco-lodgeWith just six cliffside suites, Few & Far Luvhondo offers front-row seats to the untamed wilderness of South Africa’s Limpopo
-
The best new hotels to love without reservationExplore the best new openings in the world, from city buzz in Vienna and Macau to laid-back escapes in Thailand and India
-
Singita Ebony Lodge celebrates 30 years of wild beautySingita Ebony Lodge in Hazyview, South Africa, begins a new chapter with a refresh by Cécile & Boyd
-
A refreshed Cape Grace hotel embraces the best of South African heritageCape Town’s Cape Grace hotel reopens its doors following an extensive and playful renovation by international interior design studio, 1508 London
-
Cape Town: 8 things to do and see for the design-minded travellerCape Town is a capital of art, design, food and wellness; local resident Sean O’Toole on the best things to do and see, from a Bree Street meander to a Constantia wine route
-
Villa One at the One & Only Palmilla — Los Cabos, Mexico -
Martim — Wroclaw, Poland -
Tattersalls Hotel — Armidale, Australia
