There are perks to South Africa's ongoing drought. On weekends in Cape Town this winter, locals could be seen hitting the beaches of Camps Bay and Clifton or enjoying the ever-expanding V&A Waterfront and its growing skyline in just a t-shirt. It's here that you'll find upcoming The Silo, a new hotel property by Liz Biden's Royal Portfolio that manages La Residence and Royal Malawene. The Silo sits atop the upper six floors of what will become the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (MOCAA). Championed by Joachim Zeitz and set to open in September, the Zeitz MOCAA will offer an African rival to London's Tate Modern, MoMA in New York and Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid.
With so many luxury hotels in Cape Town from One&Only to Belmond's Mount Nelson, somehow we still only think of Ellerman House (pictured). A destination in and of itself, Ellerman House engulfs a glamorous Bantry Bay compound with the elegance of a private home equipped with all-day guests only restaurant, Pritzker-worthy wine cellar and generational staff that define one of the best hotels in the world. The in-house art collection will inevitably become its own museum one day, with the security in and outside the property to prove it. We were charmed by amenities like The Pantry, an edible nook in the hotel continually stocked through the day with bespoke cheese plate, gluten-free cookies and the perfect 2am snacks that don't even require you change out of your pajamas.
All around Cape Town there is talk of what's new, especially in terms of restaurants that include a new eating house by Luke Dale Roberts - considered the country's top chef following acclaimed The Test Kitchen and Pot Luck Club. The Shortmarket Club occupies a former factory space and infuses a more-rustic style and 20s vibe into an all-day eatery serving-up eggs and soldiers, rib eye on the bone and lamb rumps. Also new for spring is The Stack, a restaurant, bar and members club with designer pedigree located in a glamorous colonial building in the Gardens District. The all-day brasserie is the hottest restaurant to open in Cape Town this year and the perfect evening out before heading to new nightspots like Outrage of Modesty, an alchemist's dream hidden behind an unmarked entrance downtown that attracts the city's coolest characters after midnight.
