An African Villa by Brian Johnston

An African Villa should have been on a TV home renovation show, because its owners have turned three rundown student townhouses into a stylish and very attractive boutique hotel in quite an inventive way. We think the style should be termed Afro-Zen. Grass baskets from Malawi have become eye-catching wall decorations, war spears are turned into artworks, peasant vessels from Zambia seem chic, and painted ostrich eggs are piled in bowls and look like the latest in Cape Town cool. We're not quite sure how it's all been carried off so successfully, but if you want to know how to make a Zulu ceremonial wedding hat into a room feature, this is the place to be. And despite the contemporary style, An African Villa is very comfy, with peaceful earth tones highlighted with red walls, two lounges with scattered sofas, complimentary tea and coffee, and an honesty bar. Thumbs up to the two complimentary Internet stations – they even have thoughtful notepads and pencils set out beside them. A courtesy phone in the lobby also offers free local calls. The only disappointment, perhaps, is the rather bare courtyard with its tiny pool: this is really an indoors kind of place. British, German and American tourists love it. And why not? Even the location in a quiet Tamberskloof district street is good, just below Signal Hill and a 20-minute walk from the city centre.

The rooms
Created from three adjacent townhouses knocked together, An African Villa doesn't exactly have a room standard; all are different sizes and locations. (But okay, ask for room C4 if you want the biggest in the house, with a four-poster bed and large balcony overlooking the street.) In any case, all twelve rooms have king-size beds (with twin option), and are decorated in very soothing brown and white shades. Porcupine quills, ostrich eggs and apples make for interesting additional decorative touches: look and learn. If you're really picky, you might chose between green highlights or red highlights in your cushions. Suffice to say that all the guestrooms are dandy: good armchairs, good bedside tables, good desk. Yes, the TV screens are a bit small (in room C4 you'd need a telescope to see it from the bed), but what are you doing watching TV in glorious Cape Town anyway?