Two very exciting holiday stays I recall were at the now derelict Fontana Inn, in Hillbrow and the then one-star, Citrusdal Hotel.
The Elangeni in Durban was the first smart hotel I stayed at and - to be frank, I didn't like the house rule that decorum was required. We children had to eat separately. One night we were allowed to eat with our parents - and, I saw to it, that it would be our last. When I realised that each time I dropped my napkin that the waiter standing at the ready by our table would pick it up, I kept doing it.
Fast forward to the 1980s... I obsessed about the new 5-star hotel that was being built near The Golden Acre - then the spanking new and smart mall. There was a scale-model of The Cape Sun Hotel in the Station Concourse which I'd pass through every day. Even at that point I knew that The Cape Sun Hotel would be my home.
My favourite spot was The Palm Court. I loved the fact that the palm trees that had been preserved to remain exactly as they were - the giant brass rope-hung chandeliers - the buffet lunch, but more than anything I loved the pianist. The short of it is that I contrived reasons to be at the hotel nearly every day over about two years. I expended much effort, an inheritance and time mending a broken heart. My love for the pianist was unrequited but my love for hotels has never abated.
I'd had a peek at the top-floor Presidential suite courtesy of the hotel florist, who was a friend, while flowers were being delivered. At the pinnacle of 1980's glamour, that suite so dazzled me - massive windows, now common, exposed a dizzying view and an interior right off the set of Alexis Carrington's apartment in Dynasty.
Today just the bathroom is exactly as it was - sprawling, with three basins - book-matched marble from floor to ceiling and an oval tub, reflected by mirrors, sunken into a dais with marble steps. On the far left is a toilet and bidet, behind closed doors. On the far right is a shower cubicle, so deep that you hang your towels inside it. The bathroom has mirrored sliding doors to separate it from the dressing area and twin basins.
Although just one bedroom, the suite has a business-ready executive desk wired for printers and fax machines that overlooks the sitting area and giant TV and sound system. A round dinner table, in a circular alcove, seats six. There is direct access to the suite through the butler's kitchen so that staff can magically appear with your scrambled eggs, without you having to dress first to let them in.
Such a suite is designed for entertaining and perfect to use for a presentation for up to 10 people.
While The Cape Sun has downgraded to four stars, it still retains a lot of the glamour that made me first love it. Riempies still offers a traditional Cape buffet (and a sensational breakfast) but venues like the Villa, then electrified by Taliep Petersen's band Sapphyre, Alvon Collison and Terry Fortune, and the superb fine-dining Tastevin and Noon Gun Pub are no more.
The location is perfect - the topless tour bus stops just around the corner where Cape Town Tourism has its office, the hotel provides a shuttle to the V&A Waterfront and if you want to use public transport you're at its epicentre. The downside is that if you have your own car there is a 30-minute wait when you need it (the storage garage is across the road) and you have to pay a parking fee.
Still, nothing lifts the spirits quite like souring to the 19th floor in The Cape Sun's glass elevator.
For more information go to www.southernsun.com or call +27 (0)21 488 5100.
