Dorp Hotel in Cape Town: A Love Letter
Our transatlantic flight was hours late, a dinner booking was long missed, and nerves were frayed. When we were dropped at the door of Cape Town’s Dorp Hotel, everything changed. The night was cold yet the welcome was warm. The kitchen was closed but dinner was served. Guests were tucked in their rooms while the fire in the living room was still ablaze. Arriving at the Dorp was like slipping into comfortable clothes and conversation with a longtime friend.
In Afrikaans, the word Dorp translates to “village.” Such is the Dorp Hotel. A welcoming hamlet nestled against Signal Hill, it sits in the uppermost spot of the Bo-Kaap neighborhood known for its brightly colored and frequently Instagrammed diminutive houses.
The collection of buildings and rooms feel like they have been there forever. Each space and room is unique, and not in a cloying way. It’s as if the hotel organically grew over time with a storied history to accompany it—inhabited by convivial ghosts you’d want to meet. Surprisingly, the Dorp was built from the ground up less than a decade ago, opening its doors in 2019. The visionary behind it was Gail Behr, a legendary creative force in South Africa. Her touch and tenacity (and, some say, “stylish trickery”) created something that feels intimate, authentic, warm, and personality-rich. She has since passed, but her hand is still felt and her original team remains.
Not only a place you’ll want to visit, the Dorp Hotel delivers ideas and inspiration for creating magic indoors. It dares you to fear not and let your own quirks and passions shine in your space.
“It’s not a hotel, nor a house nor a pub. It is instead a sort of oddballs club …
You’ll know if you fit the moment you arrive
And if you don’t simply reverse down the drive …
We want everyone to be happy or as happy as they can be.
And that applies to the staff here and to me …”
– excerpt from “A Dorp Poem” by Gail Behr, the “inimitable creator of Dorp.”
Photography by Janet Hall, except where noted.
Above: The Dorp’s salon, with large windows commanding views of Cape Town and Table Mountain, serves as both the living room and the dining room, where those-in-the-know come for the Dorp’s famous rotisserie chicken (with a famously secret recipe). Photograph via Dorp Hotel.
Above: Rooms are scattered throughout four buildings on the property connected by patios and pathways with lush gardens dotted with intimate seating areas.
Above: The decor in each guest room is unique with one-of-a-kind pieces and a mixture of textured textiles and warm paint colors that create a feeling that is at once exotic and calm. Photograph via Dorp Hotel.
Above: Glimpses of the salon…
Above: …and adjacent breakfast bar.
For more and to book, head to the Dorp Hotel. Featured image via Dorp Hotel.
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