Cape Town CBD OFfice Block turned into hotel

The former Strand Tower office block, situated on the corner of Loop and Strand Streets in the Cape Town city centre, was rapidly transformed into a four-star hotel in time to meet the June 2010 demand for accommodation in the city.

The construction period of just six months began in October 2009 and the Strand Tower Hotel was opened on schedule on 12th May 2010.

The conversion, costing an estimated R250m, was carried out so quickly because the "skeleton" of the building was kept intact. Leisure Development undertook the redevelopment with the interior floor space of 11,460sqm being totally restructured, the external walls have been retained and were reclad, and the positioning of the floor levels and lift shafts were changed.

After identifying the need for more four-star hotels in the Cape Town CBD - where there are already several three- and five-star hotels, the Leisure Group decided to convert the office block, which it owned and had been letting out, into a hotel of this caliber. The hotel is also within walking distance of the Cape Town International Convention Centre, and the city's financial and legal districts.

The contemporary, 19-floor hotel - one of the tallest buildings in the area - will comprise 252 en suite bedrooms, with most offering views of Signal Hill, Table Mountain, the Castle or the city streetscapes. The facilities include a restaurant, bar and lounge, an outdoor pool and sundeck, a gym, sauna, conference rooms, 24-hour concierge and security services, and undercover parking.

The hotel interior has a neutral palette, with simple, clean lines. Earthy colours and textures were used, and mixed it with luxurious finishes like polished marble and rich fabrics. The combination of materials gives an organic, chic look. There are high ceilings in the entrance lobby with copper hanging spheres, and the reception desk is onyx, back-lit to have a yellow glow. The spacious guest bedrooms, which have a soothing base palette with accents of red and green in luxurious fabrics, are all en-suite and air-conditioned, with individual climate-control. The rooms are equipped with DSTV, wireless internet access, mini-bars, and tea/coffee-making facilities. Each room has a desk and chair so that business travellers who wish to work in their rooms can do so in comfort.

Facilities such as the pool and sundeck, gym and sauna appeal to tourists, as do the 220-seater restaurant, with bar and lounge area. The restaurant, which serves three meals a day, will overlook terraces, from which a rim-flow pool and fountains can be seen. The bar area is very glamorous, with mirror mosaics behind the bar and hanging pendants.

The transformation of the Strand Tower Hotel is not the Leisure Group's only venture into the hotel industry. It already owns three other hotels in the CBD: The Tulip, also on Strand Street, The Lady Hamilton, situated just behind the Mount Nelson, and the Fountains Hotel on the Foreshore.