Marriott International opened The Cape Town Edition hotel at the V&A Waterfront on Tuesday. It is the first Edition hotel on the African continent, Moneyweb reported.
The hotel has 142 rooms. Moneyweb understands that about R1.1 billion was spent to build it, which works out to around R7.7 million for each room.
“The opening of The Cape Town Edition is an important milestone in the V&A Waterfront’s continued evolution and a strong expression of confidence in Cape Town as a globally competitive tourism and investment destination,” V&A Waterfront CEO Graham Wood said.
The hotel stands at Quay 7. It looks out over the area’s new superyacht marina and Table Mountain. It is the 24th Edition hotel in the world.
Marriott, which is based in the United States, runs the hotel and its residences. The money for the building came from the V&A Waterfront Company.
That company is jointly owned by JSE-listed Growthpoint Properties and the Government Employees Pension Fund. The pension fund holds its share through the Public Investment Corporation.
According to Moneyweb, it is the biggest investment in a single hotel in Cape Town and South Africa since the 2010 World Cup building boom. In 2009, the 131-room One&Only Cape Town opened. Its cost grew from about R600 million to almost R1 billion.
The new seven-storey building was finished within two years. Three construction cranes worked on the site to speed up the build.
The V&A hired Shanghai-based architects Neri&Hu to design the hotel. They worked with local design firm StudioMAS.
According to Edition, the building has a low, pitched roof. More than six million bricks were laid by hand on the outside walls to reflect the harbour’s industrial past.
At the centre of the hotel is “The Drum”, a tall, open-air round atrium. The rooftop holds the EAVE restaurant and a heated pool deck.
Wood said the hotel brings an international brand into a working harbour. He said it links to the wider Waterfront through new dining, cultural and public spaces.
“It also signals the next chapter for Granger Bay: a well-connected waterfront district that creates long-term value for Cape Town, our visitors and the communities we serve,” Wood said.
George Fleck, senior vice president and global brand leader at Edition, said Cape Town is one of the world’s most interesting cultural capitals. He said this makes the city a natural home for the brand.
“This opening marks an important milestone for the brand as we continue to grow in destinations that sit at the intersection of culture, creativity and global influence,” Fleck said.
Other Edition hotels are found in places such as Lake Como, Tokyo, London, New York and Riviera Maya.
The hotel sits on an old working harbour site that connects to Granger Bay. Moneyweb reported that Granger Bay has been set aside for a development worth more than R20 billion over the next five to ten years.
Source: this article is based on reporting by Moneyweb. Image: Moneyweb. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Business desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Anelisa Nkuna covers business and money news for Tzaneen Voice. Anelisa reports on the rand, fuel prices, interest rates, jobs, Eskom, Transnet, farming and company results. The aim is simple: explain what the numbers mean for household budgets, small businesses and workers in South Africa.