Once in a while, a hotel comes along that is breathtakingly original and truly one of a kind. Cape Town has no shortage of notable places to stay, ranging from a superlative hideaway (Ellerman House) to a colonial grande dame (Belmond Mount Nelson Hotel). But The Silo, which opened in March of last year, is much more than just an addition to an already distinguished roster. It is a game changer.

The Silo

The property is the brainchild of well-known South African hotelier and designer Liz Biden, whose portfolio includes a safari lodge (Royal Malewane), a wine-country estate (La Residence) and a beachfront retreat (Birkenhead House), all of which are Harper-recommended and established favorites of Hideaway Report readers.

To join this distinguished company, a city hotel would, at a minimum, require a dramatic or unusual location. In recent years, the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront has become the focal point of Cape Town, with innumerable restaurants, a food market, an aquarium, an ever-expanding range of boutiques and, since fall 2014, a vibrant center for African arts and crafts. A few fishing boats still putter in and out, but they are greatly outnumbered by million-dollar yachts in the marina. Not long ago, however, the Waterfront was a much more down-to-earth place, whose center was a 187-foot grain silo. (When it opened in 1924, it was the tallest building in sub-Saharan Africa.)