The trend-setting hotel is as fashionable as it is functional
When friends return from a trip, you'll often hear them remark that the experience of their lodgings was either comfortable or cold and clinical. They might mention the magnificent view, commend the excellent room service, or recollect the impressive spread they enjoyed at the breakfast buffet.
"I made sure to soak for hours in that beautiful bathtub," was my takeaway from a night at Babylonstoren, for example.
So as I write this, I am trying to convince myself that encouraging you stay at Radisson Red (or 'Radisson Rad' as I've dubbed it) purely for the excitement, isn't a gimmick.
Because that is exactly what you can expect from this dynamic, innovative hotel that opened its doors just two years ago. Fitting right into the Silo District, with the Zeitz Mocca and all its jaw-dropping displays right next door, you'll quite literally find yourself craning your neck around every corner in anticipation for a creative activation or event.
The first and only Radisson Red in Africa is made up of a young team of staff that serve the avant-garde hotel and all its visitors passionately.
I'm greeted with great enthusiasm when I arrive for check-in at 2pm on a Thursday afternoon.
"Look at you in our colours," the delightful doorman says as he waves at me vivaciously. Before I embarrass myself by responding to his greeting in kind, the doors part for me and we both giggle at the cheekiness of his gesture.
It takes less than five minutes for Brandon to set me up with a key for my room and send me on my merry way. As I cross the lobby towards the elevators, I pass a mini bar of gin, tonic and exotic garnishes. There's candied popcorn and other inviting nibbles, but the hoard of Woolworths personnel piling out of a conference room to my left makes me lose my nerve, and I dart to the lifts in escape.
The hallways are bursting with colour. Two 7ft framed prints confront me as I walk out onto the floor of my room and I promise myself to get a picture in between them once I've changed into my dinner attire.
As the door claps shut behind me, a sweating ice bucket of Pongracz is what catches my eye - shimmering from the warm sun kissing it through the studio-style window.
As I move further into the room, a glimpse of a mosaic-tiled wall hijakcs my attention. Entering the bathroom, I take a moment to admire the modern finishes. It's been a busy day of meetings, so I am looking forward to reapplying my makeup in the lighted mirror I know will be nothing but complimentary.
Back en route, the immaculate state of the studio presented before me brings a smile to my face. Two twin beds sit, looking like they're fresh out the box. On the other side of them, a red cabinet is the only real break of monochrome in the tastefully decorated room and I can understand why. Had the fantastic feature wall framed by the white cupboards and linen been colourful too, the entire room would be jarring.
Understated yet incredibly stylish; curator Dale Simpson knew exactly what he was doing when he injected his creativity into Radisson Red.
I want to pop the champagne chilling atop the cabinet, but the bubbles coupled with the view of burly seamen hard at work in the shipyard below will provide the perfect setting for the long awaited catch up my +1 and I want to have. If only she'd arrive already!
I'm unpacking the last of my clothes into the wardrobe when my phone rings.
Azande and I fill our flutes with fizz and set up by the window. "We've got a tasting of the winter menu in a bit, and then there's a gin blending session right after that," I warn my fellow rhodent. It's been months since we've linked up, and the pair of us tend to have a riot when we're together, so we both need to be reminded to keep things professional - until we are left to our own devices again at least.
By the time a text telling me the Oui Bar & KTCHN team are ready for our dining experience, Azande and I are on our second glass. All giggles as we make our way to the eatery on the ground floor, I negotiate a usable picture next to the artworks I was praising earlier.
Sue and Nikki are all smiles and welcome us into the eatery with excitement and warmth. "Our Head Chef has your meal waiting for you, and we're sure you've come hungry so we'll leave you to it," Sue says before both her and Nikki leave us in the caring hands of Naseer.
Young, yet incredibly learned in his culinary wisdom and expertise, Chef Naseer takes us through the warming winter menu. He's even picked the wine we are pairing our meal with.
Chef Naseer is patient as my dinner date and I work through the generously plated menu, and we respond by showering him with praise. He explain that all the ingredients are sourced weekly from the Oranjezicht Market and the menu proves there is something for ever palate and preference.
The crumbed tofu dish even managed to convert Azande.
There is simply no space to fit anything else in by the time we hug Naseer goodnight. But we've committed to gin blending, and Rob's energy is much too contagious to dismiss.
"Welcome to the dispensary," Rob introduces.
We are each handed a beaker as the experienced mixologist gives us a brief gin education. Then we are left to play. With 14 boiling flasks full of different gin varietals (honeybush, nutmeg & clove, rose pelargonium, lavender, and classic juniper to name a few) Rob suggests we mix a maximum of three or we risk making the gin blend too complex to enjoy.
"That smells like vix," Azande reviles. Having mixed grapefruit, cinnamon and cardamom, I am pretty chuffed with my blend, but after she tastes some, my drinking buddy confirms that my gin tastes like menthol rub as well. Rob comes to my aid. With one sip, he skilfully deduces that I was heavy handed with the fragrant varietals and suggests a dash of lemon & orange gin as the sweetness will balance the flavour profile out.
Feeling like mad scientists, Rob sends us off with a bottle of our unique blends and suggests we head up to the rooftop for a few drafts of Baxter's Bitchin' Blond before we call it a night.
It feels to good to slip out of a relaxing shower and straight into a bed that feels as soft as cotton candy. Sleep comes easily to the both of us, and as suddenly as my eyes were weighed down by tire they spring open at the sound of my alarm. Quietly changing into my workout gear, I head to the gym to make use of the treadmill, punching bag and yoga mat before breakfast.
After an invigorating shower, Azande and I make our way downstairs to stuff our faces with more fare the kitchen is willing to whip up for us before we leave.
The dining space is filled with a diversity of guests. A few corporates are having a business meeting on one side, a great individual is towered over a table closer to the bar - his DSLR camera on the chair next to him; the rest of us are filed one-behind-the-other waiting to for a plate of salmon, scrambled or poached eggs, savoury waffles, or bacon. I've just been kicking my own ass with a decent amount of cardio so I decide to have it all and more (yup. I have the pear flapjacks, some bircher muesli, a bowl of bird seeds, some of Azande's croissant).
Though I don't regret packing as much delicious food into myself as possible, I am starting to feel incredibly uncomfortable. The hotel tour Ben takes me on is the perfect amount of activity to help work off the bloating.
It's time to check out, but before I do Nikki and Chef Naseer come by to say a final goodbye. The past 20 hours have gone by in such an entertaining blur, there really hasn't been a single dull moment. "You're going to see more of me," I remind Naseer. His peanut butter cookies and milk dessert last night was inspired, and if that's the only reason I have to return to 'Radisson Rad,' it is certainly reason enough for me.
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Cape Town is a playground for adventurers. Whether you want to explore the great outdoors, take in the best art and culture the city has to offer, or enjoy the Mother City's deliciousness - you'll find something just for you. Book your next stay at one of the woderful hotels I've suggested here.