On June 11th the FIFA World Cup started in South Africa and we thought it would be a good idea to tell a bit more about the different cities where all the football matches are being held, combined by sharing the best design/boutique hotels in the 3 main cities in South Africa with you.

Cape Town

Endless beaches, great people, absolutely an upcoming city that can show itself to the public. The location between the Table Mountain which is approximately 1000 meters high and the Table Bay is more than spectacular.
What is so special about Cape Town? The Malaysian Bo-Kaap district is a very colorful one. A stroll along Sea Point, De Waterkant and Green Point is a must. During the evening the Long Street is transformed into a party zone – don’t miss that one!

The best hotels in Cape Town? Well, we came to the conclusion that the best is absolutely The Grand Daddy, the only hotel that has a luxurious Trailer-Park on the roof, all 7 Airstream caravans have been retro-futuristic designed by local artists. Also nice is the Urban Chic Hotel & Café (we like the name), great location and nicely designed rooms. We think a hidden hot spot is the Hippo Boutique Hotel in Cape Town, a hotel that offers its guests a black book with tips on where to go to. Every single month new highlights for eating, drinking, shopping and seeing. Fabulous!

Johannesburg

This city, also called “gold digging city“, just celebrated its 100th birthday. Life is moving fast in this finance and business megacity, actually the largest city in South Africa and one of the 40 largest metropolitan areas in the world.
What to visit or see? Easy: take the headquarter of the diamond company De Beers. It looks like a sparkling diamond. The Carlton Centre, a 223 meters high skyscraper offering the highest view in South Africa on the 50th floor called The Top of Africa. One should visit the Braamfontein, a hip district with design shops, art spaces like you see them in Soho or Berlin and great scene cafes, restaurants and bars.

Try The Peech Hotel in Johannesburg, a eco-chic boutique hotel & bistro, nominated as South Africa’s leading boutique hotel for the last three consecutive years. Take The Westcliff, it is situated in Johannesburg´s most exclusive residential suburb. Being part of “Orient Express”, they offer a selection of movies with an Orient-Express connection including Murder on the Orient Express, From Russia With Love, Strangers on a Train and Shanghai Express. Look at The Grace Hotel, located in the elegant Rosebank district. Art galleries and the Rosebank Mall with offer a huge range of beautiful crafted merchandise – yes, our favorite hotel in Johannesburg.

Durban

A city which is developing itself pretty fast due to the World Cup, new districts, an enlarged beach promenade, renovated malls and by far the most beautiful football stadium, the Moses-Mabhida-Stadium it looks like a mix of an UFO and a hand bag. Extremely futuristic and able to host more than 70.000 visitors. A must-see is the “Bean Bag Bohemia“, opened in 1995 as bar, café and restaurant, in the meantime it has strong connections to art, the creative as well as the entertainment industry. Yes it became the hot spot for the creative trendsetters of Durban. Also worthwhile to visit is the “KZNSA Gallery“, an important gallery for photography, multimedia and audiovisual art.

A lovely hotel to stay in is the Quarters Hotel in Durban, also called “Quarters on Florida“, as 4 Victorian houses on Florida Street in Durban have been transformed into this luxury boutique hotel. A new hotel is the Docklands Hotel Durban Waterfront, it offers 87 rooms and 12 lofts and stunning views over the Indian Ocean and the harbor, the Canary Wharf of South Africa. Perfectly situated on the ocean´s edge ist the Oyster Box Hotel, closely located to the Afro-chic Durban city centre. It is more a grand dame then a boutique or design hotel but worthwhile staying in.

Which country will win the World Championship Football 2010? We would not like to bet on that, we leave that up to you. We decided to get on the plane to Cape Town and stay at the Hippo Boutique Hotel. Happy football!