Covid-19 sounds death knell for landmark hotel, The Lenox

A hotel that has stood the test of time is no match for Covid-19, and it is going under the hammer next month in Cape Town.

The landmark The Lenox building in the shadow of Table Mountain has witnessed the South African War, the Spanish flu and the rise and fall of apartheid. Now the pandemic lockdown has forced its way into the timeline of a property that once belonged to the Dutch East India Company (VOC).

Since the 1930s, The Lenox and its adjacent building, known as Lincoln House, have served as a residential hotel whose guest list has included many well-known personalities, among them the artist Vladimir Tretchikoff. The colonial-era architecture and furniture have outlived decades of urban creep to survive as a rare island of history in the heart of the City Bowl.

In recent years the property has lost some of its lustre due partly to the doldrums besetting the local hospitality industry.

However, property sources say the site has redevelopment potential given its large footprint and good location. The existing heritage buildings, which do not cover the site, offer investment opportunities, particularly with a view to a possible post-lockdown tourism boom.

“Anyone with an eye for redevelopments to sectional title, student accommodation, retirement homes or boutique hotels would not have driven past the property not wanting to get their hands on it,” said auctioneer Christian Stewart of Stewart Property.

“We trust the buyer does justice to the site and the legacy of this iconic property.”

The property’s history reads like an almanac of Cape history, dating back to when it formed part of Gortmolen, a large VOC-owned milling estate with an army of slaves.

Gortmolen (later Annandale) was subsequently subdivided and a secondary homestead — Lincoln House — built by 1860. The Lenox was built later and gradually evolved from the earlier Mount Vernon Hotel to become the main establishment where guests would stay for months at a time, as was the custom in the era of residential hotels. It was at this time that Tretchikoff lived there.

“The whole site is fascinating, really – it has got so many elements to it,” said property historian Jim Hislop. “In terms of architecture, you’ve got Victorian, Edwardian and 1930s. The core of the Mount Vernon building is still there with Victorian marble fireplaces and French doors.”

He added: “To me the best part is the dining hall with the big arched windows, typical of dining halls that you’d find in old hotels. For Cape Town it is probably fairly unique.”