PREVIOUS SPREAD, LEFT A bedroom-suite lounge features
a Moooi carpet, photographic art from Carol Beckwith and
Angela Fisher’s African Twilight series from THK Gallery, a David
Brits mural and a drinks trolley by Douglas & Company.
PREVIOUS SPREAD, RIGHT Looking into Gigi Rooftop restaurant
from the library, there are furniture pieces from Artefact,
a vintage pouffe from OnSite Gallery, an artwork by Zhenya Li
and a bonsai from Kirstenbosch.
and steel alterations, a blank canvas of sorts.”
In the 20 rooms and 12 suites, that industrial raw-
ness creates a cool metropolitan feel. Besides the
facade, the rooftop retains the most significant traces
of the former buildings in the brick gable and tower,
the latter converted to house the pool. Creating Gigi
Roof top was a way of solving the two buildings’ dispa-
rate heights. “For heritage reasons, the New Edwardian
roof shape is retained, but in steel and glass to hint at
modern ity,” says Klaus.
The interior design is a considered mix of vintage
and modern classics, collectibles and curiosities, and
contemporary art. Tristan du
Plessis credits a flexible client for
allowing him to go against the
grain of traditional hotel design.
“We mixed local and internation-
al design brands in the space:
Moooi, Jieldé and DCW éditions
sit beside Gregor Jenkin, David
Krynauw and Wiid Design.”
This approach has worked:
Gorgeous George is the first hotel
in Cape Town to join the inter-
national Design Hotels stable.
Each of the privately owned and
operated hotels in the collection of 300 are known for
their distinctive creative expressions rooted in a city’s
design, architecture and hospitality culture.
So who is George?
“George is everything – he’s the curious, he’s the
sensitive, he’s the adventurer,” says creative director
Kara Furter. “George is a person who would live in the
hotel,” adds Tobias, who himself moved into the hotel
before the opening, in part to be hands-on and in part
because his home in the city is empty from bringing
pieces to the hotel he thought might work in the space.
“One thing that made me come to Cape Town and
choose to stay is the Capetonians – the attitude, the
open-mindedness,” says Tobias. “I’d be happy if Cape-
tonians were to accept Gorgeous George as a living
room. Making a place for locals is more challenging
than making one for tourists, but in every big city there
is a hotel like this that appeals to its residents, and
I hope that’s what we can be for Cape Town.”
gorgeousgeorge.co.za
tristanplessis.com
urbanecitizen.co.za
HE SAW AN
INNER-CITY
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ASSETS.visi.co.za JUNE/JULY 2019 48