The Silo Hotel Review: Cape Town's Grain-Silo Landmark on the V&A Waterfront

Location & Setting: On Top of the Grain Silo at the V&A Waterfront

The Silo stands on Silo Square, at the inner edge of the V&A Waterfront, built into the elevator tower of the grain silo that stored South Africa's maize from 1924 until the 1990s. The lower floors of the same complex now hold the Zeitz MOCAA, the largest museum of contemporary African art on the continent; the hotel occupies the six floors above it. You are not near the Waterfront — you are standing on its most recognised building.

For a visitor, the position is hard to beat. The shops, restaurants, the aquarium and the harbour are a flat two-minute walk, the Robben Island ferry leaves from the same basin, and Table Mountain fills the sky behind the city. The airport is roughly twenty-five minutes by road outside peak traffic. Because the hotel sits high on the silo tower, the views start where other hotels' top floors end.

The position puts you within easy reach of:

• The Zeitz MOCAA — directly below the hotel, with private guest access through a dedicated entrance
• The V&A Waterfront — shopping, restaurants and the Two Oceans Aquarium, all on foot
• The Robben Island ferry — the departure jetty is a short walk around the same harbour
• Table Mountain and the Atlantic Seaboard — the cableway about fifteen minutes by car, Camps Bay and Clifton a short drive down the coast, the Winelands under an hour out

The Royal Portfolio, and the Building Itself

The Silo is part of The Royal Portfolio, the family-owned South African group behind La Residence in Franschhoek and Royal Malewane in the Greater Kruger. Every room is designed by Liz Biden, whose style is maximalist and unmistakable — bold colour, antique and contemporary furniture mixed together, and original African art on every wall. If you know the other Royal Portfolio houses, you know the hand; if you do not, expect a hotel with far more personality than the usual five-star.

The building is the other half of the story. The architect Thomas Heatherwick carved the guest rooms out of the old concrete grain tubes, then set faceted "pillowed glass" windows into the facade — panes that bulge outward in geometric sections, so the view comes to you in cut-glass panels rather than a flat sheet. In the superior suites these windows stand up to 5.5 metres tall. It is the feature guests remember, and it is the reason the hotel looks like nothing else on the Waterfront.

The Rooms & Suites: Where You'll Actually Stay

The Silo has 28 rooms and suites across six categories, which makes it a genuinely small hotel — intimate, personal, and limited enough that the better suites book months ahead. The look is consistent with the brand: strong colour, layered art and furniture, and those pillowed-glass windows framing the city and the mountain. Every room is different, so the category you book matters more here than at a bigger hotel.

Rooms & Suites

The entry Silo Rooms — eight of them, 41 to 44 square metres, each with a private balcony over the harbour — are the ones most couples book, and they already feel a clear step above a standard five-star. Above them sit the double-storey Duplex Suites (76–88 square metres) and the Deluxe Superior Suites (60–67 square metres) on the eighth to tenth floors, the ones with the tallest pillowed-glass windows and the biggest views.

• Best for couples and solo travellers wanting the most distinctive room on the Waterfront
• From about R20,500 per room per night for a Silo Room, indicative

Family & Royal Suites

The Family Duplex Suites are two-bedroom, double-storey layouts of 111 to 128 square metres on the seventh floor — proper space for a family who want to stay together at this level. The two Royal Suites, each 132 square metres, have triple-aspect views across the Atlantic and the mountains.

• Best for families and milestone stays
• Rates on request by suite and season

The Penthouse

At the top sits The Penthouse, a single 211-square-metre suite with a cinema room, its own spa treatment room and two balconies — the pick for a honeymoon or a once-in-a-lifetime stay, and one of the most sought-after suites in the city.

• Best for honeymoons and once-in-a-lifetime stays
• Indicative rate around R108,000 per night

‹ › ROOMS & SUITES

Individually designed rooms with bold colour, African art and pillowed-glass windows. Swipe through.

The Rooftop Pool, The Silo Spa & Wellness

The heated rooftop pool is the one most guests come up for. It is glass-sided and set on the roof of the silo, with a 360-degree sweep across the Waterfront, the city and Table Mountain — a genuine statement pool, and one of the best pool views in Cape Town. The same rooftop level carries The Silo Rooftop bar, so a swim and a drink run into one another at the end of a day on your feet.

The Silo Spa is smaller and more intimate than a resort spa, with treatment rooms, a sauna and a steam room, and treatments using Ling and Black Pearl among other lines. There is a fitness centre for anyone keeping a routine on the road. For a boutique city hotel the wellness offer is well judged — personal rather than industrial — and the Penthouse has its own private treatment room.

‹ › ROOFTOP POOL, SPA & WELLNESS

The glass-sided rooftop pool and The Silo Spa. Swipe through.

Dining, the Willaston Bar & The Silo Rooftop

Food and drink at The Silo run from a long breakfast to a late cocktail without you needing to leave the building.

• The Granary Café — the main restaurant on the sixth floor, serving lunch, dinner and a traditional Royal Tea, with contemporary South African cooking and local wine under a sunburst of pillowed-glass windows
• The Willaston Bar — the sixth-floor bar for all-day food, cocktails and bar snacks, with the layered Royal Portfolio look and views across the harbour; the room most guests settle into first
• The Silo Rooftop — al fresco drinks and light meals beside the pool, with the 360-degree sweep over the city
• The Wisdom Room — a glass-fronted private dining and meeting room that seats up to 22, for a celebration or a small event

The Willaston Bar is the one to plan around. A cocktail as the harbour lights come on, with Lion's Head and the mountain going dark behind the city, is the memory most guests take home — and the rooftop is worth timing for sunset on a clear evening.

‹ › DINING & THE WILLASTON BAR

The Granary Café, the Willaston Bar and The Silo Rooftop. Swipe through.

Pricing & Value Analysis

Comparative Value

• vs. the other top Waterfront names: The Silo prices at or above the One&Only and the EDITION, and well above Cape Grace, at the entry level. You are paying a premium for the building, the art and the rooftop — a design and art experience as much as a hotel. If that is the point of the trip, it earns its rate; if you want the same part of the harbour for less, Cape Grace is the sharper-value five-star.
• vs. an Atlantic Seaboard villa: A Camps Bay or Clifton villa gives you space and privacy but none of the art, the rooftop or the service of a hotel like this. The Silo is the choice when the room itself is the destination.
• vs. a city-centre five-star: A City Bowl hotel can be markedly cheaper and closer to the Bree and Kloof street restaurants, but nothing in the city centre comes close to the setting, the views or the design. The Silo is the pick when you want the most distinctive address in Cape Town and will pay for it.

The Value Proposition: You are paying for the single most recognised hotel building on the Waterfront, a small and personal house with original art in every room, a rooftop pool with a 360-degree view and the Zeitz MOCAA at your feet. It is expensive, and we say so plainly — but for a honeymoon, a milestone, or a design-led few nights to bookend a safari, there is nothing else quite like it in the city.

What Could Be Better: Honest Critiques

In fairness, here is where The Silo will not suit everyone.

1. It Is Expensive, Even Here

This is one of the priciest hotels in the country, and the entry rate sits well above most of its Waterfront neighbours. It is worth it for the right traveller and the right occasion, but if value is high on your list, Cape Grace or a City Bowl five-star will stretch your budget further for a similar part of town. We will always be straight with you about where the money goes.

2. The Design Is Bold, Not for Everyone

Liz Biden's maximalist style — strong colour, layered antiques and art on every wall — is the whole point of the hotel, and some guests love it on sight. If your taste runs to calm, pared-back, minimal rooms, this is not that, and the EDITION or Cape Grace will feel more like home. Look closely at the room photographs before you book.

3. It Is Small, and Books Far Ahead

Twenty-eight rooms means the hotel is intimate, but it also means availability is tight, especially for the better suites and The Penthouse in peak season. If your dates are fixed, book early — we will tell you honestly what is open and whether a neighbour is the better bet for your window.

4. It Is a City Hotel, Not a Safari

This is an urban harbour hotel, so there is no wildlife on site. The safari is a flight away in the Greater Kruger, the Sabi Sand or the Eastern Cape — which is exactly the trip we build around a stay like this. Treat The Silo as the city bookend, not the bush.

Who Should Book The Silo?

Practical Booking & Visit Information

Best Time to Visit

• Summer (Nov–Mar): Cape Town's peak — long, warm days for the beaches, the Peninsula and the rooftop pool, and the busiest, priciest window. Book well ahead.
• Autumn (Apr–May): Our pick — warm, settled weather, fewer crowds and softer rates, with the mountain often at its clearest.
• Winter (Jun–Aug): Cooler and wetter, but the quietest and best-value time, and the Willaston Bar and the spa come into their own.
• Spring (Sep–Oct): Whales off the coast, wildflowers in the wider Cape and rising but not yet peak demand.

Getting There

• By air: Cape Town International Airport is about twenty-five minutes by road outside peak traffic; we arrange a private transfer straight to Silo Square.
• On foot: The main V&A Waterfront, the aquarium, the Robben Island ferry and the Zeitz MOCAA are a short, flat walk — the museum is directly below the hotel.
• Around the Cape: We pair the hotel with a private guide and vehicle for Table Mountain, the Peninsula, the Winelands and the beaches.

Good to Know

• A Royal Portfolio hotel, so expect the group's bold, art-led style throughout
• Private Zeitz MOCAA access for guests through a dedicated hotel entrance
• The better suites and The Penthouse book months ahead — reserve early for fixed dates
• Breakfast, parking, Wi-Fi and use of the gym and spa facilities are usually included; confirm at the time of booking

Sample Cape Town & Safari Journeys

Most people put The Silo at the start or end of a bigger Cape and safari trip. The sample journeys below are the ones we build most often around a stay here. Prices are per person and indicative; the exact figure depends on the room, the season and your party. We tailor every one of them, so treat these as a starting point rather than a fixed menu.

Want one of these costed for your dates and party? Send us an enquiry or WhatsApp +27 78 471 4852 and we will come back with a firm quote and the right room for your stay.

A note on the images: these are The Silo Hotel's own official photographs of the hotel.