It’s tempting to re-define Pepper Tree House. It’s designed rather as a space that’s sophisticated, calm, elegant and elusively stylish. A bit like many of the women you pass in the streets of Milan or Paris who project that almost impossible to copy street-chic. So let’s rename Pepper Tree House a multi-level urban ‘sky-villa’ then. You could describe the interiors as neutral with accents of aged wood, glass and steel but that would seem too cool, too remote. It’s much, much more fun staying here. Firstly it’s in the heart of De Waterkant and surrounded by apartments and houses on narrow cobbled streets. You will photograph, paint or sketch them – if that’s your talent. It demands that kind of visual souvenir.
From Pepper Tree’s rooftop, up a few steps from an outdoor dining area, there’s a plunge pool on a deck. By day, armed with a glass of crisp white Sauvignon Blanc take a dip, sit cross-legged and watch the city live. Reads its signs. The Aerial Cableway will be ferrying visitors up Table Mountain – but not if that famous cloud ‘cloth’ boils over like vapour from dry ice. Locals will be hanging out in coffee shops sipping their first double espresso of the day. Note: join them. In the harbour, over the heads of distant cranes, you may time the gradual docking of a luxury ocean liner. Ah but they’re only here for 48 hours. By night your view changes to an undulating matrix of lights that define the contours of the bay. The bright busy-ness of De Waterkant’s clubs, restaurants, coffee shops and fashion outlets are minutes from your front door. Staying here in winter? There’s a fireplace and one particularly tempting leather armchair that suggests you might take a warm throw, curl up and shut out the world for a while. Or stay home and hold a dinner party with gourmet dishes and fresh ingredients sourced from the famous delis around you.
Pepper Tree offers you instant access to the lively beat of one of the most iconic cities in the world and yet offers the perfectly private retreat.
What we love!
- Fancy Italian, Greek, French or Cape Malay food? From a relaxed brasserie to a tapas bar or a fine dining establishment, your choice of restaurants is a short walk away or a few minutes by taxi.
- It is shopping heaven in De Waterkant. There are several unusual fashion, decor, antique and design outlets here and arguably some of the finest coffee shops in Cape Town. The adjacent suburb, the colourful Bo-Kaap, has many buildings dating back to the 1800s and makes for a fascinating meander.
- Apart from booking a walking tour, try cooking classes if you’d like to return home with Cape Malay cuisine in your food repertoire.