The Silo

The Silo Hotel is the most architecturally singular hotel in Cape Town: 28 rooms on six floors of a converted 1920s grain silo elevator, directly above the Zeitz MOCAA museum in the V&A Waterfront. Heatherwick Studio's pillowed-glass windows are the signature, and it holds one Michelin Key.

"Twenty eight rooms inside a converted grain silo above Zeitz MOCAA, with pillowed glass windows, a rooftop pool and contemporary African art throughout."

Aggregate 9.5/10 on our editorial scale (Room & Design, Service, Location). Independently scored; see our methodology. This is our opinion, not an aggregate of user reviews.

Affiliate disclosure: we may earn a commission from bookings at no cost to you. We never accept payment for placement. Hotel status, room product and awards were verified against official sources in July 2026. Michelin does not operate a restaurant guide in Africa, so no restaurant listed here is starred; Michelin Keys are a separate award for hotels.

What makes The Silo special?

The building is the reason to stay. The Silo Hotel occupies six floors of a 1920s grain silo elevator that was once the tallest building in sub-Saharan Africa, converted so the hotel sits directly on top of Zeitz MOCAA, the largest museum of contemporary African art on the continent. The conversion is by Heatherwick Studio, and its 56 bulging pillowed-glass window panels were engineered to read as grain swelling out of an opening. From inside, they turn every room into a faceted lens over the harbour, the city and Table Mountain. Nothing else in Cape Town looks like it, and no other hotel here is stacked on a major public museum. The interiors are by Liz Biden, who with Phil Biden founded The Royal Portfolio, the owner-operator, and contemporary African art from the owners' collection hangs in every room, so the museum theme continues upstairs. The hotel opened in 2017, is a member of The Leading Hotels of the World and is listed by Virtuoso and Signature Travel Network. It received one Michelin Key in the guide's first South African selection in 2025.

Which room should you book?

There are 28 rooms and suites across six floors, sleeping a maximum of 68 guests, and the categories differ in shape as much as in size. Eight Silo Rooms are 41 sq m including a balcony. Six Duplex Suites run 76 to 88 sq m with the bedroom on a mezzanine. Seven Deluxe Superior Suites are 60 to 67 sq m and carry the 5.5 m high pillowed glass windows, which is the category to book if the architecture is why you are coming. Four Family Duplex Suites are 111 to 128 sq m with two bedrooms on a mezzanine. Two Royal Suites are 132 sq m, with two bedrooms and a triple aspect, and a single Penthouse of 211 sq m including a 24 sq m balcony occupies the top floor. Interiors are by Liz Biden and every room hangs contemporary African art from the owners' collection. Rates include full English breakfast, a limited mini bar, gym and spa facility access, parking, Wi-Fi and a guest liaison.

Where should you eat and drink?

The Silo runs four dining and drinking spaces, all of them in-house rather than franchised. The Granary Cafe is the all-day contemporary restaurant and the main room for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The Willaston Bar handles cocktails indoors. The Silo Rooftop is the one guests photograph, a rooftop bar beside the pool with views across the harbour to Table Mountain. The Wisdom Room is for private dining. Executive Chef Veronica Canha-Hibbert leads the kitchens. Two honest notes. First, no restaurant here or anywhere else in South Africa holds a Michelin star, because the Michelin Guide's restaurant selection does not operate anywhere in Africa; the Silo's Michelin recognition is a hotel Key. Second, while service reviews are overwhelmingly positive overall, the negative minority cluster on inconsistency in the rooftop bar and restaurant rather than in the rooms, and some reviewers single out the afternoon tea as overpriced. Rates include a full English breakfast; lunch, dinner, beverages and the community and conservation levy are extra.

What is the spa and pool like?

The Silo has a rooftop pool, an in-house spa and a gym, and spa and gym access is included in the room rate. Treatments cost extra. The pool sits on the roof terrace alongside the rooftop bar, looking over the harbour to Table Mountain, and it is the best-known image of the hotel. Set expectations honestly: it is a plunge-scale rooftop pool, not a lap pool, and it is outdoors, so it belongs to the summer months more than to the wet, windy May to August low season. The Silo Spa is in house rather than a licensed third-party brand, and the gym is on site. Because the hotel has no grounds of its own, these facilities are the whole of the wellness offer; there is no garden, no second pool and no space to spread out beyond the roof.

Where is The Silo, and how do you get there?

The Silo Hotel stands on Silo Square in the Silo District of the V&A Waterfront, which makes it the most walkable address on this list. The Waterfront's shops, restaurants and museums are 2 to 5 minutes on foot, and the precinct is privately managed with 24-hour security and surveillance, so guests move around it comfortably by day and in the evening. Zeitz MOCAA is directly below the hotel. Approximate off-peak driving figures put the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway about 8 km away at 15 to 20 minutes and Cape Town International Airport about 23 km at 25 to 30 minutes; rush hour between 07:00 and 09:00 and 16:00 to 18:30 can double both. The trade-off is that this is a tourist precinct, not a neighbourhood, and the hotel has no grounds of its own. Arrival, parking and the ground-floor approach share space with a major public museum, so the entrance can feel crowded in a way that a private driveway does not.

What do guests consistently say?

Guest reviews of The Silo are overwhelmingly positive on service and near-unanimous on the building. Recurring praise centres on the rooms, the pillowed-glass windows and the views they frame, the art in every room, and staff who know 28 rooms' worth of guests by name. The hotel is a member of The Leading Hotels of the World, is listed by Virtuoso and Signature Travel Network, and received one Michelin Key in the 2025 inaugural South African selection. The criticism is consistent and worth taking seriously. The single most common complaint is price against value, with reviewers arguing the rates are hard to justify against other Cape Town luxury options and singling out the afternoon tea as overpriced. The negative minority on service and food cluster on the rooftop bar and restaurant rather than on the rooms. A third theme is the setting: a busy museum below and the city's most visited precinct outside.

Honest cons: who should skip it?

Three honest limitations. First, price against value. This is the most common criticism in guest reviews: the rates are very high and reviewers regularly argue they are hard to justify against other Cape Town luxury options, with the afternoon tea singled out as overpriced. Second, consistency in food and beverage. Reviews are overwhelmingly positive on service overall, but the negative minority cluster on the rooftop bar and restaurant rather than on the rooms, which matters at a hotel where the rooftop is a headline attraction. Third, the setting. The hotel sits on top of a major public museum inside the city's most visited tourist precinct, so arrival, parking and the ground-floor approach can feel crowded, and it is a city hotel with no grounds of its own. Add the pool, which is plunge-scale rather than a lap pool, and there is nowhere to spread out beyond the roof terrace itself.