Gorgeous George (imagery: © Claus Brechenmacher & Reiner Baumann)

The 2019-opened Gorgeous George, showcasing the work of Urbane Citizen and Tristan Plessis Studio, provides a hyperlocal immersion into the Mother City’s creative scene.

This stunning scheme has helped raise the bar for hospitality in South Africa.

Heritage meets industrial style

On launching in early 2019, Gorgeous George introduced guests to South African art and design, with an architectural backdrop that fuses traditional elegance with industrial styling. Architectural firm Urbane Citizen successfully repurposed two landmark buildings – one Edwardian, the other art deco – into a modern luxury hotel.

These two heritage buildings were first joined together in the 1940s. Various original features have been retained, moreover, from the cornices and oak flooring to the brass entrance doors.

In this setting, the architects created spacious guest accommodation, as well as expansive public areas, pairing heritage details with nods to the surrounding area’s urban edge through materials such as concrete and steel.

A platform for South African art

A meaningful connection to the neighbourhood has been created through the hotel’s interior design concept, which was led by Tristan Plessis Studio. This celebrates contemporary South African design with a neutral-to-dark colour scheme and artwork from domestic artists, including Porky Hefer.

Soft touches of blue and white complement the more industrial structural elements, and the reception area is distinguished by 1,800 hand-painted Delft-inspired ceramic tiles, forming a map of Cape Town.

The 20 guestrooms and 12 suites here embrace local art, each boasting a city-inspired mural by artist David Brits. Raw concrete walls and exposed pipework are met with handmade furnishings upholstered in velvet, sumptuous rugs, king beds and an array of curios, while patterned tile flooring and custom-designed fittings set the bathrooms apart.

Last but not least, a real highlight of the hotel is the Gigi Rooftop social hub, which offers an appealing indoor-outdoor living space incorporating a pool, a restaurant helmed by top chef Guy Bennett and abundant greenery.

For more info about this scheme, and to view an extensive gallery of hi-res images, check out Gorgeous George’s project page on the TOPHOTELDESIGN website.

Many TOPHOTELNEWS articles draw on exclusive information from the TOPHOTELPROJECTS construction database. This subscription-based product includes details of thousands of hotel projects around the world, along with the key decision-makers behind them. Please note, our data may differ from records held by other organisations. Generally, the database focuses on four- and five-star schemes of significant scale; tracks projects in either the vision, pre-planning, planning, under-construction, pre-opening or newly opened phase; and covers newbuilds, extensions, refurbishments and conversions.

Learn more

Related Articles