End of an era for Table Bay Hotel

Oscar the iconic Cape Fur seal was the last to leave the building when the Table Bay Hotel closed its doors for a major refurbishment last week.

The bronze statue, which was strapped up and lifted away by crane, has become the mascot of the hotel at the V&A Waterfront.

“He has had the same view for almost three decades. He needs a vacation, said Joanne Selby, general manager of the Table Bay.

The real seal which the statue commemorates was one of the first to grace the land near where the Table Bay Hotel building stands. Oscar was named after a fisherman with whom he shared an unlikely friendship. After the fisherman died, Oscar continued to visit the builders and the members of the hotel’s opening team during construction.

The hotel will be closed for renovations until December. Ms Selby said it was the end of an unforgettable chapter. “As we pack up furniture, fixtures, and cherished memories, we do so with a mix of nostalgia and excitement.

“This is not goodbye - it’s au revoir. When we reopen, the heart of the Table Bay will remain the same: our incredible staff, whose warmth and dedication have made this hotel feel like home to so many.”

The hotel will re-open as InterContinental Table Bay, Cape Town, following a major refurbishment that will feature 306 rooms and suites, offering views of Table Mountain, the harbour, and the Atlantic Ocean.

Guests will enjoy direct access to the V&A Waterfront and Sun International will continue to manage and operate the hotel on behalf of the V&A Waterfront, the property owner and developer, under a new franchise agreement with Intercontinental Hotel Group (IHG)Hotels & Resorts, one of the world’s leading hotel companies.

Ms Selby said the hotel’s lease had come to an end in 2022, however, the Covid-19 lockdown threw a spanner in the works and they had to extend the lease to this month. “We wanted to make sure that, along with the Waterfront, we got the recipe right.”

Since its grand opening in May 1997, graced by the late activist and former president Nelson Mandela, the Table Bay Hotel has been home to guests from royalty to rock stars to world leaders and sports legends - including England’s famous Barmy Army, who once drank the bar dry in 2016.

Other iconic guests hosted over the years include the late king of pop Michael Jackson and artists Vanilla Ice, Chris Brown and Robbie Williams; American actors Wesley Snipes and Robert de Niro; and kings and queens such as King Harold and Queen Sonja of Norway, Mohammed V1 King of Morocco and Prince Albert of Monaco.

Among the heads of state to visit were former French president Jacques Chirac and Barack Obama – first as a senator, and thereafter when he became American president.

There were also guests who visited regularly - and one in particular who has made the Table Bay her home.

Ruth Hess, 81, a Swiss psychologist, checked in to the hotel over a decade ago and made it her permanent home in 2021.

She about 14 years ago, she sold her home overlooking Lake Zurich in Switzerland, which brought her great sadness. Thereafter, a friend who had a travel agency booked her on a cruise ship and Cape Town was her second stop, and she fell in love.

She then came back and stayed at the hotel frequently over the years, before deciding to live and work remotely from the premises.

Ms Hess said she had a hard time packing up “her room” this last time, as the emotions hit her. “I packed very slowly. I always left things at the hotel until I came back from Switzerland, but I had to give a lot away.”

However, she said her spirits were lifted when she took the elevator down and Ms Selby grabbed her hand, leading her out to the lobby where the Table Bay staff lined the glass corridor at the entrance, cheering and waving as they said farewell to her. “From pool staff to the bar people and chefs - they all waved and clapped for me. I couldn’t even speak. It is something I will always carry in my heart.”

Ms Hess said staff members from the Table Bay still visit her at the Mount Nelson Hotel, where she is staying while the hotel undergoes renovation. “They have become my family. The chefs here know what I need to eat, and the bar knows my drinks.”

She said she will miss receiving her special drink of tumeric, garlic, lemon and aniseed tea, and watching the harbour from her regular room. “This is my home. I will miss the people who were always so nice and welcoming.”

Ms Hess had also been invited to many parties and events at the hotel, including the Miss South Africa pageant held during lockdown in 2021, and the hotel’s 25th anniversary celebration.

Another long staying guest, David J Forman, from Scotland, said: “Having lived in (the Table Bay Hotel), and over the last 25 years having proudly introduced four generations of my immediate family, and multiple groups of friends from Scotland to it, it was with more than a hint of emotion when we checked out in January this year, and said our final farewell to the Table Bay hotel, a true South African icon.

“However, as the saying goes, ‘Where one door closes another door will open’, so with great anticipation we look forward to the new, re-imagined, Table Bay Hotel.”

Ms Selby said: “One of our guests first visited the hotel with his father in 1997, returning each year with his family, and more recently, with his granddaughter. These people are not just guests, they have become the Table Bay hotel’s family.”

The only other time the Table Bay had closed its doors in its history was the seven months it was not operating in 2020 due to the Covid lockdown.

Graham Wood, Sun International’s Group COO, said for the next few months a number of the hotel’s 190 staff members have been deployed to other Sun International properties, while some staff will return to work to plan for the opening of the new hotel.

During the closure period, he said, the remainder that are not required to work will receive a reduced salary and Sun International will pay their pension, provident and risk benefit funds on their behalf while they are on furlough.

Ms Selby said it was a luxury to open a hotel, and then reinvent it with the same people. “This hotel was around before wi-fi, cellphones and technology. Guests have changed, and we need change to make ourselves relevant.”

She said she was grateful that the staff will stay on the journey. “When I got here, there was already stuff. I will get new stuff, but the heart of the building, the staff, will remain here.”

“We know this place, and we know the guests and we are sure they will choose to come back.”