LOCATION
This new hotel is next to the dry dock at the V&A Waterfront, smack bang at the entrance to the new Silo district. It is also near the Cape Town Comedy Club, the Two Oceans Aquarium and what they're calling the cultural hub of the decade, the Zeitz Mocaa, Museum of Contemporary Art Africa.
ROOMSThere are 252 "studios" and "studio suites". Compared to the more business-oriented Radisson Blu, the Red is four-star and funky, purposely arty and eclectic, even odd.
They exercise environmental care with water-saving aerated taps, strongly encourage 90-second showers (which heat up quickly to avoid waste), paperless check-in, a water-saving menu and handy buckets provided to collect grey water for reuse.The family rooms have built-in bunk beds with individual televisions at the foot of each bed, and a larger, separate screen for the adults - not that you would worry about screen time with a full-frontal view of Table Mountain and a front-row seat to the goings-on at the dry dock, where tugs and larger vessels come in for cleaning and primping.
STYLE
The hotel is kid- and pet-friendly and quite offbeat in style, with the colour red, beehives, kilts and skateboards all notable décor elements.
There is no front desk, though Baxter, the resident Boston terrier, might greet you on arrival. Or one of the staff in kilts, takkies and T-shirts will sort you out.It isn't hard to see why. There are sun loungers around a long pool of desalinated water specially brought in to fill it. A drinks truck and a simple but ample menu with a grill and pizza oven all on the top floor. Then there's the visuals: the city, mountains, waterfront, big wheel, ships and yachts.It ticks the boxes on hotel must-haves: gym, unlimited high-speed wifi, events and games rooms (also called meeting rooms) with tech toys. I only had an issue with parking, which is part of the public area and paid for by guests at R110 a day or so.
SERVICE
For all the casual vibes, service is still top-notch. Baxter does his bit to butter you up, too.
THE EATING
Head chef Morne Botha won my heart with his breakfast beans. The mix of chickpea, butter and kidney beans in a tomato sauce were a revelation with regular eggs and bacon. Nutella croissants, stuffed English muffins, the breakfasts in jars and veggie sandwich stacks have outsiders coming in for a morning nibble.For lunch or dinner, there are toasty broccoli "brooms" to sweep up sesame and garlic; and some sophisticated options such as prawn boxes with chilli.
THE 'DO' LIST
Where to start? Out their front door is a good place. In the Silo district alone there is Zeitz Mocaa, the V&A, boat trips, the ferris wheel. We stopped at Shimmy Beach Club for a lunchtime pizza. Who would have guessed this popular night spot has a kids' club, complete with dress-up costume area?
RATES
From around R2,600 to R4,000.
BOOKING
E-mail baxter@radissonred.com or visit radissonred.com/cape-town
• Naidoo was a guest of Radisson Red...