There is something satisfying about an old Cape Town building getting another chance. In Gardens, The LENOX is being restored from a once-grand residential hotel and later backpackers into a 47-room boutique hotel with an artist residency at its heart.
Israel Luvhimbi / Unsplash
The building dates to 1897, when the property’s Mount Vernon building was constructed. It was expanded in the 1930s and became The Lenox, a residential hotel where guests could stay for longer periods. Its 1935 dining room, with its large arched windows, remains one of the property’s defining features.
But the story of the site stretches further back.
The property formed part of the historic Gortmolen estate, while Lincoln House, a late-Georgian villa dating to around 1860, adds another layer to the site. Heritage assessments recognise the buildings for their architectural and historical significance within the Gardens streetscape.
For decades, however, that history sat somewhat quietly beneath the surface.
The Lenox eventually became a guesthouse and backpackers, retaining traces of its former character, including Victorian fireplaces, French doors and its old dining hall. It was also once home to artist Vladimir Tretchikoff, whose connection to the property adds an unexpected artistic thread to its history.
Now, art is set to become part of its future too.
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From historic hotel to creative hub
The restoration is being led by MEMORIST, a French heritage preservation company within the MOBILITAS group, with Newmark Hotels & Reserves set to operate the hotel. The plans combine the restoration of the historic buildings with contemporary additions, a restaurant, conference facilities and landscaped gardens.
The hotel is expected to open in 2027.
But the most interesting part may be happening beyond the guest rooms.
The property’s artist residency, Villa Lenox, is being developed in partnership with the French Institute of South Africa. From 2028, it is planned to welcome francophone artists from Africa and France for three-month residencies, with three live-in studios accommodating up to nine artists a year. A pilot residency is planned for 2027.
The idea is for the artists to work within the hotel rather than behind closed doors. Guests will be able to encounter the creative process, visit studios and experience exhibitions and artworks throughout the property.
It feels like a natural direction for a building with an artistic past.
A new kind of stay in Gardens
The location adds to the appeal.
The LENOX sits in Gardens, close to Table Mountain, De Waal Park, the South African National Gallery and the galleries, restaurants and cafés of the City Bowl.
It’s a part of Cape Town where you can step outside and spend the day moving between mountain paths, galleries, leafy streets and long lunches. The hotel itself is intended to become part of that experience, rather than simply another place to sleep.
And that’s what makes the restoration interesting.
Cape Town has no shortage of new hotels, but there is something different about staying somewhere that has already lived several lives. The LENOX has been a villa, a residential hotel, a guesthouse and a backpackers. It’s next incarnation does not erase those chapters. Instead, it builds another one around them.
By 2027, the old Gardens landmark is expected to welcome guests again. And when Villa Lenox follows, its rooms and studios will bring together something the building has not had for a while: a future that feels connected to its past.
The LENOX is not being preserved in amber. It’s being allowed to live again.
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