The Penthouse
A floor of its own, 250 square metres, with the ocean and the mountains in every direction at once.
Clifton, Cape Town
Six suites above the Atlantic, on the most sought-after road in South Africa. Taken entirely, for one party at a time.
There is one road in Cape Town that everyone in the city can name, and one house on it that people stop to look at. This is that house.
Nettleton Road runs along the cliff above Clifton's four beaches, high enough that the Atlantic fills the whole window and the Twelve Apostles rise directly behind you. Number 21 sits at its finest point, with the ocean on one side, Lion's Head on the other, and nothing in between.
It is a private home rather than a hotel, and when your guests take it, it is theirs alone: six suites, a resident chef, a chauffeur, housekeeping, and a concierge awake at any hour. No lobby, no other guests, no one to walk past.
Every room is individually appointed with its own art, antique furniture and character. Five are shown here; the house sleeps twelve in all.
A floor of its own, 250 square metres, with the ocean and the mountains in every direction at once.
150 square metres on the level below, with a private library, a Steinway, and a terrace facing the Twelve Apostles.
Jade artwork and bronze Zulu sculpture, where Asia meets Africa. 75 square metres, and the room that suits a family.
Sixty square metres, contemporary and classic in equal measure, with a private terrace above the water.
A double-volume room turned inland, looking straight onto the rockface of Lion’s Head.
Everything is in place before your guests arrive, and nothing is announced.
Breakfast on the lawn each morning, and dinner to whatever brief you give him.
Set naturally into ancient granite, and one of the most photographed places on the peninsula.
Massage and spa therapy on the terrace, and yoga above the water at first light.
A car whenever it is wanted, and someone awake at every hour of the night.
Cocktails and canapés as the Atlantic turns copper, then purple, then dark.
Round-the-clock security, and a guest list the house has never discussed.
The staircase hall is hung with paintings the owners have gathered over decades, and every room holds its own pieces — bronzes, antique furniture, jade, a Steinway that is played rather than admired. It is the difference between a house that was decorated and one that was lived in.
Twelve people need somewhere to sit together as well as somewhere to sleep. The house has a drawing room, a dining room that seats the whole party, and a music room with the sea in the window.
The house is high above the road, with its own gate and its own silence. The city begins a few minutes below it.
For a party of up to twelve, the house is held exclusively: every suite, every member of staff, and the whole of that view. It is where the February journey begins.
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