Dock House - Cape Town

The original frame was built in 1860 as the Harbour Master’s residence and first came to the attentions of local hotelier Neil Markovitz of Newmark Hotels, owner-operator of the V&A Hotel at the foot of the hill, when he and his team began the search for a nearby plot on which to build a pool for their guests.

“We first looked at a floating luxury barge but that idea didn’t quite fly, so we ended up with a heritage building instead! Ironically though, very few people from the V&A use the pool at the House now,” comments Andy Nold, Operations Director for Newmark Hotels, which owns and operates both V&A hotels, as well as The Ambassador Hotel at Bantry Bay, and the city’s Salt and Oyo Restaurants.

As a heritage site, the outside of the building and the internal structure had to be carefully protected. This brought a unique set of constraints to the construction process, according to John Wilson-Harris of Gabriel Fagan Architects.

“We appealed to the client not to divide up the large rooms to make more suites but to keep the original layout and deploy oversize facilities such as bathrooms where necessary”.

The result was four spacious rooms, one slightly smaller corner room and one superior ground-floor suite. Turning that limited footprint into a commercial advantage meant focusing on the very top of the market, dialing-up the privacy factor and delivering a superlative service experience.

“Yes, we’re competing with the best of the city’s guest houses but fundamentally it’s still a hotel as we offer all those services, just on a much smaller scale,” says Nold.

Both client and architect decided to prioritise “contemporary additions that left the patina of age on the building,” says Wilson-Harris. Local designer François du Plessis was then tasked with creating the interiors to match.

Inspiration came from the colonial era and the city’s pivotal role as a stopover on trade routes to the East, allowing du Plessis to have some fun re-working antique furniture to fit into his vision of a “classic contemporary haven to contrast with the buzz of the surrounding areas”, as he puts it.

The effect is that of a private home, “not over designed or intimidating in any way”, yet making liberal use of antique chandeliers, restored wooden floors and original cornices. Contemporary artworks from South African artists and photographers help bring things up to date, as does the modern outdoor furniture on the front lawn.

It’s a louche look that is neither too masculine nor too feminine but wins points with both sexes for its individuality and high-touch finishes. Guestroom colourways run from beige through to taupe and mushroom, with the occasional touch of slate grey for intrigue.

Plush carpets and rugs, silk blackout curtains, sofas covered in tonal velvet and antique silverware meanwhile enhance the feeling of classical elegance. High-spec technology takes the form of flatscreen Samsungs and central control panels for mood lighting and butler service.
Bathrooms come with custom-made vanities, oversized showers in marble or black gloss, the occasional freestanding bath and well-proportioned amenities courtesy of South Africa’s Jo Malone clone, Charlotte Rhys.

Beds are “the very best on the market” according to Nold, who then chose to finish them off with fine linens sourced from local specialist Chrysalis and, in some of the more exuberant rooms, wing-backed headboards covered in a Rococo-print fabric.

 Located next door to the main building is an annexe that houses a 30m2 fitness room that makes good use of its limited size with a Technogym Kinesis wall and a retractable rower. There are also three treatment rooms and a combined sauna and steam room, known as a Tylarium, completing the Elements-operated spa offer.

Dining takes place in-room, on one of the private balcony spaces, or in the 12-seater, all-white breakfast room on the ground floor. With such limited capacity however, management took the sensible decision of opening up the restaurant at the V&A Hotel to Dock House guests as well, providing a livelier, more social dining option.

Rumours are already circulating of a third operation in the area that would sit somewhere between the four-star V&A Hotel and the ultra-luxe Dock House, suggesting the Markovitz & Nold double-team may not be finished yet.

Rooms  5 guestrooms and one suite
Dining  Private Kitchen
Drinking  Pool Bar