Bo-Kaap says no thanks to booze

Muslim residents are fighting to stop liquor being sold to guests at a five-star hotel on their doorstep in Cape Town.

Booze is now being "discreetly" served at the Hilton hotel in Bo-Kaap, much to the dismay of local Muslims who were assured it would be alcohol-free when its doors opened ahead of last year's Fifa World Cup.

Global hospitality empire Hilton Worldwide is running the hotel - and trading with a temporary liquor licence - after it was sold by previous owners, Arabian consortium Coral Hotels.

"(When) the Coral opened, it promised to be a 'dry' hotel. But we weren't even told when the Hilton took over this year, so now we're caught between a rock and a hard place.

"We feel the character of the Bo-Kaap is slowly eroding and liquor at the hotel will have an adverse effect," said Osman Shabodien, chairman of the Bo-Kaap Civic Association.

In Islam, the Koran forbids alcoholic beverages.

The suburb is home to mosques and the shrines of Muslim saints - and to many Muslims. Shabodien said residents were opposed to authorities granting the hotel a permanent liquor licence.

"We will call a meeting if we hear a licence is granted. We won't just walk away if it goes ahead," he said.

The suburb on Signal Hill boasts sweeping views of Robben Island and Table Mountain - and a proud Islamic tradition spanning about 300 years.

While investors snap up the area's trademark colourful homes, residents cling to its heritage. Soaring rates and property prices are making the Bo-Kaap unaffordable for its original Cape Malay community.

Complaints abound about newcomers drinking wine on their stoeps - while the Muslim call to prayer is derided as noisy.

The Coral International prided itself on being alcohol-free and offered "a Middle Eastern experience on South African soil".

Shabodien said there was a verbal agreement that it would be alcohol-free.

But the rebranded Hilton Cape Town City Centre is serving alcohol at its pool-side Signal Hill Lounge, where a marble-topped bar sits metres from male and female prayer rooms with prayer mats facing Mecca.

The hotel's general manager, Andreas Bossard, said alcohol was served with discretion at only one of three restaurants.

"Our hotels serve as a meeting place for people from all walks of life, regardless of beliefs, race, colour or religion.

"In an effort to meet the needs of our diverse guests, while being sensitive to the cultural environment in which we operate, the hotel has applied for a licence to be able to discreetly provide hotel guests alcoholic beverages upon request," he said.

Minibars in the hotel's rooms are stocked when guests ask for this.

Mayoral committee member on safety and security Jean-Pierre Smith said the liquor board's licence application process was "bureaucratic and untransparent".

"In my experience the liquor board does not take people's objections into account. I share their irritation around the application process," he said.