Life, art, good taste

I encounter a diversity of aesthetics in recent travels to Polokwane and Port Elizabeth, unlikely bedfellows; with some Zambia thrown in. My journey takes me in and out of Art Deco, Rococo-meets-Boere-Baroque, modern Zen Bush Chic and Hip with an African Twist. As tenderness is the grace of the heart, they say, style is the grace of the mind. Here are some of the highlights:  

Art and Life I never want to leave this place. The hippest hotel in Mandela Bay - No 5 Boutique Art Hotel in Port Elizabeth’s Summerstrand. Think luxury Art Deco designed to feel like a salon privé from those heady days in Paris in the 20s, with a Champagne Bar, period furniture and glassware, a piano, cocktails. Except you’re in PE bru, and there’s a beach within walking distance, even better, there’s a bar right next to the pool. And – faints with delight – the most fabulous collection of South African art including works by William Kentridge, Robert Hodgins, Sam Nhlengethwa and Henk Serfontein.www.no5boutiquehotel.com

Hot Desks, Good Art This fabulous photograph by Zambian-based French photographer Francois d’Elbee hangs in the main lounge of The Works, a new business space that’s part of Latitude 15 in the Zambian capital Lusaka. The Works is a first for Lusaka – a collaborative and dedicated office space offering pods with hot desking and bean bagging, similar to Soho Works in London, or We Work in New York. www.latitudehotels.com

Rembrandt Comes to Polokwane  These gold framed portraits by the famous Dutch painter Rembrandt look down from the walls of Saskia's Restaurant (named after the artist's wife and muse,) which will soon be filled with the contented chatter of the black diamonds who so love this place. They're fake paintings, I may add, not that that puts anyone off the Fusion Boutique Hotel, undoubtedly Polokwane's most luxurious, and in parts, outlandish. Try the Hollywood or Bollywood suites if you’re feeling fanciful.www.fusionhotel.co.za.

Zen Bush Chic Deliciosa I love the simplicity and modernity of the tents at King Lewanika Lodge all the way out in the Liuwa Plains National Park in western Zambia. My intrepid compatriot Sally Young and I are the only guests in camp for three days. It's a real tough job but we feel we must do it. Designed by South African architects Silvio Rech and Lesley Carstens, this is my Soul Space of the year so far. www.timeandtideafrica.com

Nautical Kitsch Pool I confess that I fall in love this with this pool at the Boardwalk Hotel in Port Elizabeth. It’s so determinedly old fashioned, so nautically kitsch, it could be straight out of a colonial yacht club. The Boardwalk is a big, busy hotel right in the middle of the beachfront hub, with lovely views of the Indian Ocean. www.suninternational.com/boardwalk/

So Long Ethno Bongo Loving the clean Swedish lines and cool colours at the Park Inn by Radisson Polokwane of all places. A gal gets tired of all the ersatz animal prints, wooden carvings and horns. I trawl around Polokwane, there are more trendy place than I realize, although many decorating atrocities continue to be committed in the name of the province’s signature safari style. www.parkinn.com/hotel-polokwane

Latitude with attitude

This is one of a series of images that greeted me when I walked into Latitude 15, a hip hotel in the Zambian capital of Lusaka. Insouciant if not downright subversive, these images were taken by Zambian-based French photographer Francois d’Elbee as part of a calendar produced by the hotel. I wanted to applaud, salute, break into song or do a little jig of joy. At last, style with content. A hotel that gives the middle finger to dull décor, regulation-issue melamine, old-fashioned hospitality attitudes and the homophobia so often sadly associated with Africa. Sigh. The Ministry of Fabulousness found its soul home. 

Love this x

Everything from the architecture to the appetizers is a distillate of Zambian homegrown with an international twist. Along with the delightful calendar series, there are paintings and photographs by Zambian and South African artists, like Greg du Toit and Dave Ballam. Dyed ostrich feather hats line the corridors, the lounge features eclectic furniture and fireplaces, stylised wooden benches, recycled glass chandeliers, wooden doors turned into coffee tables. The bedrooms are spacious and sumptuous with privacy and connectivity, never mind the mini bar. Oh bliss.

“Latitude 15 was designed for travellers by travellers”, says James Lightfoot, one of the directors of the Latitude group. “And artwork is one of our defining concepts”. They saw a gap in the market for hip and happening boutique hotels in Africa, he says, and first started Latitude 13 in Lilongwe, then Latitude 15 in Lusaka; both renovated houses resplendent with funky décor and dynamic, spirited hospitality. “The brand”, he says, “is all about social engagement and meeting people”. They also own Kaya Mawa on Likoma Island in the north east of Lake Malawi, one of the sexiest places I have ever visited. And the group has bought properties in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia and Nairobi in Kenya. 

Kaya Mawa, Malawi 

There’s a frenzy of building activity next door to Latitude 15 where the hotel is shortly opening a club called The Other Side, which is a first for Lusaka – a collaborative and dedicated office space offering pods with hot desking and bean bagging, similar to Soho Works in London, or We Work in New York. The idea is for professionals, entrepreneurs and freelancers to be able to work in a private club with high speed Wi-Fi, healthy food and spa and gym facilities.

That's me in the wedding dress 

I wasn’t in the mood for work however. I just wanted to hang out in the lounge and bar, watch the people meet and drink and engage. I went back into the reception to study the calendar photographs. They really are cheeky, ripping off everything from the ad industry, the Mafia and Father Xmas to colonialism and conservatism. There’s even one that has Oscar Pistorius’ blades sticking out of a bathroom door as a Reeva lookalike lies happily in bed reading and the chamber maid cleans up the blood. Oh yes, this is latitude with attitude. Bring it on.

 

Subversive photographs by Francois d'Elbee