| Want to receive extra benefits for your stay at The Silo Cape Town, including complimentary breakfast, a space available room upgrade, a property credit, and more? Contact [email protected] for more details. He may even be able to help if you already have a stay booked. |
To finish off our trip we spent three nights in Cape Town. To be honest, I really struggled with where to stay in Cape Town:
- In general I value luxury hotels much more highly in secluded places rather than cities, since I don’t spend that much time in my room in cities
- I was tempted to just redeem points for a decent hotel (though there aren’t any amazing points hotels in Cape Town)
- Ford encouraged us to finish off the trip on a high note; we had gone all out on this trip, and he figured we might as well see that theme through until the end
We decided to go all out and book the Silo Cape Town. The Silo opened in March 2017, and is consistently ranked as Cape Town’s best hotel. It’s also significantly more expensive than any other hotel in Cape Town. The question doesn’t typically revolve around whether the hotel is nice, but rather whether it’s worth it.
Booking The Silo Hotel Cape Town
The Silo belongs to The Royal Portfolio, which includes four luxury properties in South Africa. This ranges from La Residence, located in wine country, to Royal Malewane, which is a proper safari lodge in Kruger.
The Silo rates are published here. We were staying in mid-season, and we decided to book a family suite (34,000ZAR per night), so that we could share a room with my dad. Note that The Silo belongs to Virtuoso, which gets you perks like a room upgrade subject to availability, two 50 minute massages, early check-in and late check-out, and more.
One thing I find interesting about The Silo is their strict cancelation policy. They really seem to be going after the safari crowd rather than those just visiting Cape Town for business or leisure, since none of their rates are fully refundable. All rates have the following policy:
- 5% of rate if canceled more than 12 weeks prior to arrival
- 25% of rate if canceled 8-12 weeks prior to arrival
- 50% of rate if canceled 4-8 weeks prior to arrival
- 100% of rate if canceled within 4 weeks of arrival
As a result, it seemed like almost all guests were on safaris, where a policy like that is normal, and where your trip is locked in way in advance.
Silo Hotel Cape Town Review
With all that out of the way, let’s get into the actual review. First we’ll talk about getting to the Silo, then the check-in experience, rooms, dining, the pool, gym, and spa, service, and more.
Getting To The Silo Hotel
The Silo Hotel is located on the V&A Waterfront, so it has a fantastic location, as far as I’m concerned. The drive from the airport takes under 25 minutes. On arrival we booked a Blacklane (since I usually prefer that for airport pick-ups), while on the return we used an Uber (which cost ~20USD).
Silo Hotel Arrival
The Silo is incredibly unique, and you notice that the second you pull up to the hotel — the first few floors of the building are a parking garage. The hotel takes up floors 4-11 of the building.
Silo Hotel Cape Town exterior
The hotel’s exterior is just so darn cool, and at night they have some video on a projection screen, as well as some artsy chairs that roll around.
Silo Hotel Cape Town exterior
Service at the Silo was phenomenal across the board. The second we arrived we were greeted by the bellmen with a handshake and addressed by name.
Silo Hotel Cape Town entrance
The hotel has a small sitting area on the ground floor, should you want to wait there for an Uber, or whatever else.
Silo Hotel Cape Town entryway
Upon exiting on the sixth floor we saw reception immediately ahead of us. Even though this hotel feels really fancy, service is incredibly informal and kind. Just about every staff member introduced themselves by name and shook our hands.
Silo Hotel Cape Town lobby
There’s some seating in the lobby on both sides of reception. I’ll talk more about the public facilities of the hotel later, but this part of the lobby was almost always empty.
Silo Hotel Cape Town lobby
Silo Hotel Cape Town lobby
Once we were checked in we were given a tour of the hotel, and then eventually led to our room. This is when we found out that we had received an upgrade.
We had booked a family suite, but were upgraded one level to the royal suite. For what it’s worth, the hotel has two royal suites, and there are two penthouse suites that are an even higher category (the hotel only has a total of 28 rooms).
Our royal suite was #905/906, and it was located at the end of the hall behind double doors.
Silo Hotel Cape Town hallway
Silo Hotel Royal Suite entryway
Silo Hotel Royal Suite
O. M. G.
Okay, this was a very legitimate suite, and suffice to say we were pinching ourselves at this point. We were ready for a big downgrade after six nights at Singita properties, but boy was this incredible.
Inside the entrance was a large living room. Now, I think it’s worth acknowledging that the Silo has very untraditional decor. The design is most definitely quirky, so you can’t simply chalk this up to one general architecture or design style… and I really loved it.
The large living room had a dining table with four chairs on one side, along with a desk. Then on the other side was a sitting area with a couch and two chairs.
Silo Hotel Royal Suite living room
Silo Hotel Royal Suite living room
Silo Hotel Royal Suite dining area
Silo Hotel Royal Suite desk
Silo Hotel Royal Suite living area
To one side of the couch was a large wall display that housed the minibar.
Silo Hotel Royal Suite living room
There was a Nespresso machine and a kettle.
Silo Hotel Royal Suite Nespresso machine & kettle
In addition to that there was a minibar with soft drinks, water, beer, wine, liquor, and more. Everything (including the snacks and wine) was complimentary, with the exception of the liquor.
Silo Hotel Royal Suite minibar
Silo Hotel Royal Suite minibar drinks
I also appreciated how unique their snacks were. Rather than just having your typical packaged brand name chips, they had gift boxes with all kinds of (relatively freshly prepared) snacks.
Silo Hotel Royal Suite minibar snacks
Silo Hotel Royal Suite minibar snacks
Continuing with the room’s quirkiness, there were at least half a dozen dishes throughout the room with chocolates in them.
Silo Hotel Royal Suite in-room chocolates
The desk even had a big bowl with candies.
Silo Hotel Royal Suite in-room candy
There was a lovely welcome amenity waiting for us, including a bottle of South African sparkling wine, some fresh fruit, and chocolates (this is a standard welcome amenity for all rooms).
Silo Hotel Royal Suite welcome gift
Off the living room was a large balcony, featuring two sets of sitting areas.
Silo Hotel Royal Suite balcony
Silo Hotel Royal Suite balcony
The royal suite then had two roughly comparably sized bedrooms. My dad stayed in the bedroom off the right side of the living room, which was spectacular, with incredible floor-to-ceiling windows. It’s pretty incredible how windows can completely transform a building — the Silo wouldn’t be the same without these windows.
Silo Hotel Royal Suite bedroom
Silo Hotel Royal Suite bedroom
Silo Hotel Royal Suite bedroom
This room looked out over the port.
Silo Hotel Royal Suite bedroom
The bathroom was about the same size as the bedroom, and featured a huge walk-in shower, a soaking tub, double sinks, a toilet, and more.
Silo Hotel Royal Suite bathroom
Silo Hotel Royal Suite bathroom
Silo Hotel Royal Suite toilet
Silo Hotel Royal Suite shower
As you’d expect, water pressure in the shower wasn’t amazing, given Cape Town’s water shortages.
Silo Hotel Royal Suite shower
Toiletries were in reusable Penhaligon’s containers, with their Quercus scent.
Silo Hotel Royal Suite shower toiletries
There was also a ton of closet space.
Silo Hotel Royal Suite bathroom
Ford and I stayed in the bedroom to the left of the living room. The layout was identical, though the design was significantly different.
Silo Hotel Cape Town Royal Suite bedroom
How breathtaking is this room?!
Silo Hotel Cape Town Royal Suite bedroom
Silo Hotel Cape Town Royal Suite bedroom
Our room had an awesome direct view of the V&A Waterfront.
Silo Hotel Cape Town Royal Suite bedroom view
And we also had a very nice bathroom…
Silo Hotel Cape Town Royal Suite bathroom
That art… hah!
Silo Hotel Cape Town Royal Suite bathroom
Wifi in the room was fast and free, and our room was refreshed twice daily. Every evening they’d bring different canapés for us to snack on, which is a cute touch.
Silo Hotel Cape Town evening snacks
Silo Hotel Cape Town evening snacks
At turndown they also brought freshly baked cookies.
Silo Hotel Cape Town turndown cookies
Silo Hotel Cape Town Breakfast
Breakfast is included with all rates at the Silo, and is served in Granary Cafe, which is the hotel’s signature restaurant on the sixth floor, right next to the lobby. Breakfast is served daily from 6:30AM until 11AM.
The Silo Granary Cafe
The Silo Granary Cafe
Here’s the breakfast menu:
Breakfast was such a treat. It always started with the “harvest table,” as they called it, which included some yogurt, granola, fresh berries, salmon, and cheese, all on an afternoon tea-style platter, plus fresh pastries in a basket.
Silo Hotel Cape Town breakfast
The cappuccinos at the Silo were spectacular, and there was also always a juice of the day. The carrot orange juice was my favorite.
Silo Hotel Cape Town breakfast
One morning I had the avocado toast.
Silo Hotel Cape Town breakfast
Another morning I had the hummus toast.
Silo Hotel Cape Town breakfast
Ford and my dad mostly stuck to the egg dishes.
Silo Hotel Cape Town breakfast
Silo Hotel Cape Town breakfast
Everything about the restaurant experience was awesome, and we didn’t even have to sign for anything.
Granary Cafe Dinner
Cape Town has an incredible food scene, and while we ate out for two nights, the first night we decided to eat at the hotel’s restaurant, which came highly recommended. The whole experience, from food quality to service, was flawless. With us each having an appetizer and main course, and a total of five glasses of wine, the total came out to less than 100USD.
Granary Cafe dinner
Granary Cafe dinner
Granary Cafe dinner
Granary Cafe dinner
The Silo Rooftop & Pool
The Silo’s rooftop is on the 11th floor, and is popular, both among hotel guests and outsiders. For one, the Silo’s pool is pretty awesome-looking. We never did end up using it given that we were there in winter and it was a bit on the chilly side, but it is a very cool pool.
Silo rooftop pool
Silo rooftop pool
The rooftop also has a wraparound bar that was pretty awesome. It had such a cool vibe, with excellent cocktails, impeccable service, and unbeatable views.
Silo Cape Town rooftop
Silo Cape Town rooftop
Silo Cape Town rooftop view
The coolest part of the rooftop, though, was the private and secret rooftop. This is only available to hotel guests. When you’re on the rooftop there’s a secret set of stairs leading up to an even higher level, where there are just a few sitting areas.
You really feel like you’re on top of the world and all alone here, as you’re basically looking down towards the rooftop.
Silo Cape Town secret rooftop
Silo Cape Town secret rooftop
Silo Cape Town secret rooftop
We had cocktails here two nights at sunset, and had the area to ourselves. The servers would constantly come and check on us, and I just thought the whole setup was so magical.
Silo Hotel cocktails
Willaston Bar At Silo Cape Town
On the opposite side of the lobby of the main restaurant was Willaston Bar, which is open all day and serves drinks, snacks, afternoon tea, etc. I came here a couple of times for cappuccinos while working.
Silo Cape Town Willaston Bar
Silo Cape Town Willaston Bar
Silo Cape Town Willaston Bar
Silo Hotel Gym & Spa
The Silo’s gym and spa are located on the fourth floor. The gym can be accessed 24/7. The gym is on the small side, so it sure would be nice if it were a bit bigger (for example, there’s only one treadmill and elliptical). Then again, it’s a very small hotel filled mostly with safari guests, who aren’t necessarily the most active at times.
Silo Cape Town gym
Silo Cape Town gym
Then there’s the spa, and we all got massages here at one point or another during our stay. You can find the full spa menu here.
Silo Hotel spa
Obviously the room rate was high to begin with, though I was pleasantly surprised by how reasonably priced everything was once on property. For example, an hour massage cost ~57USD. I of course understand Cape Town in general is going to be cheaper than New York or London, but often we see top hotels in cities charge exorbitant prices for things, and that wasn’t really the case on-property here.
All that being said, I’d say the massage was good but not great, and it also wasn’t the most beautiful spa I’ve seen. Compared to the rest of the hotel, which almost feels like an art exhibit, the spa felt like a somewhat out of place afterthought.
Silo Hotel spa treatment room
Silo Hotel Service
The service at the Silo matched every other aspect of the experience, which is to say that it was exceptional. There was such a high sense of pride among employees working here, and they all seemed to enjoy their jobs.
The hotel only has 28 rooms, and I got the sense it wasn’t even nearly full when we were there, so you really felt like you had a massive private residence, with service to match. Where do we even start?
- Hoon, the concierge, was one-of-a-kind, and one of the most hands on and attentive concierges I’ve seen anywhere; he helped us with some great restaurant reservations before our stay, was very responsive, and checked on us every morning as we headed to breakfast to see if we needed help planning anything
- In the restaurant every morning our drink preferences were remembered, as was my dad’s breakfast preference (since he had the same thing every morning)
- The bellmen weren’t just helpful at the door, but in one instance we were trying to go to the Robbin Island ferry, and Eugene walked us all the way there, rather than just giving us directions
- We loved spending time on the rooftop, and the staff there couldn’t have been more attentive and fun
In our experience the Silo truly had exceptional service.
Silo Hotel Bottom Line
I was hesitant to spend this much on a city hotel, but this was a once in a lifetime trip, and I wanted it to be amazing from start to finish. I’m so happy we still splurged on the last portion of the trip, because the Silo most definitely didn’t disappoint, and actually significantly exceeded my expectations.
The Silo is an architectural masterpiece, and the decor is also quirky as heck. The hotel feels intimate given that it only has 28 rooms, the food and drinks were top notch, and the service was incredible.
I recently stayed at Aman Tokyo and said that I thought it was my favorite city hotel, but I actually think the Silo might have taken that spot for me. The hotel has everything you could hope for from a city hotel, with a lot of quirkiness thrown in as well, which I love.
All that being said, this is also by far Cape Town’s most expensive hotel. In the low season rates start at ~900USD per night, and it only goes up from there. It’s about double the price of the next best hotel.
So is this an incredible hotel? Absolutely. Is it worth it? Obviously that depends on your budget and situation. If money is no object, or if you are visiting Cape Town for a special occasion and can splurge, then I’d absolutely recommend the Silo.
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