Unveiling the New Cape Grace Hotel in Cape Town

It was four years after its opening in 1996 that Cape Grace was first voted "World's Best Hotel" by the readers of Condé Nast Traveler; ever since, it has always scored as "best" in surveys of hotels undertaken by travel magazines and newsletters.

"It's hard to believe it's the same hotel, because it has a totally different look to it," says Pace, "yet the atmosphere has remained unchanged; our goal is always to ensure that our guests have the best possible Cape Town experience with a level of service that is, and always will be, what defines Cape Grace."

Located on a private quay within Cape Town's Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, the new Cape Grace looks little different from the outside, other than its terra cotta walls are now a shade darker. But step through the doors and it's 100% new. By using hand-painted fabrics, custom-made metal, glass and leather pieces and acquiring museum-quality antiques, Cape Town interior designer Kathi Weixelbaumer has brought Cape Town's long and storied history into every detail of the hotel's design.

In cool hues of blue, warm shades of red and rich tones of green and gold, each of the 121 guest rooms and suites is completely unique and has its own "story," complete with a storybook in each room. Ship manifests, china found in shipwrecks, fanciful chandeliers, Cape Dutch antiques, local flora and arts and crafts dot the hotel, providing an ambience that Pace calls a "uniquely true Cape Town experience, both historic and contemporary." "I know of few other hotels in the world of our size and scope where every room is different," comments Pace.

Embracing. Supporting the artistry and creativity of artisans in the Cape region was central to the refashioning of Cape Grace. Weixelbaumer Design formed a team of local small businesses to create handcrafted fabrics and metal work. For example, the Cape Town firm, African Sketchbook, commissioned artists from surrounding townships to paint fabrics with one-of-a-kind designs so that curtains and bedspreads depict Cape flowers, nautical scenes and local landscapes. Conrad Hicks, one of many artists who worked on the hotel and who is described as an "artist-blacksmith," was commissioned to create hand-made, functional metalwork for lamps, fireplaces and fixtures.

Savoring. The final element of Cape Grace to be transformed was the hotel restaurant. Formerly named one.waterfront, its new name is Signal, evoking the panorama of Cape Town's Signal Hill through the room's wall of French windows. Signal features aged Yellowwood furniture, eccentric hand-crafted chandeliers and a 100-foot, hand-painted wall tapestry depicting Table Bay in the 16th century. A new menu features a unique combination of flavors culled from the diverse cultures that have called at the Cape during its history, including French Huguenots, British settlers, Dutch farmers and Asian traders.