
Andy Pietrasik samples penthouse living at guesthouse prices on Cape Town's hippest beach

The Guardian This one stretches the definition of guesthouse, and would more comfortably be described as a luxury guest villa, set in the foothills of the mountains and a 30-minute walk from the beach. But it's well worth the walk. Modern, linear and with every designer comfort imaginable, you feel pampered as soon as you walk through the doors of Atlanticview.
Every detail was designed to maximise the views of the sea and the mountains - from the floor-to-ceiling windows that span the length of the villa to the positioning of the beds which offer dual vistas without twisting, turning or craning. Owners Greg Boki and Rainer Pires even buried telephone lines and planted tropical trees by crane to enhance the views. The Rock Room, for example, incorporates a large boulder that straddles the interior and exterior of the full-frame window.
There's an infinity pool, pool-side bar, braai and pizza oven, and an outside shower. Inside, there's a steam shower with views of Table Mountain, and all en-suite bathrooms are limestone with Philippe Starck-style fittings. The four guest rooms have huge beds with top-of-the-range linens and feature state-of-the art flat-screen monitors with in-house DVD channels showing the latest movies.
While this sounds almost too cool to be comfortable, Atlanticview manages to avoid being cold thanks to the judicious use of local ornaments and colourful art on the walls - there are even zebra-inspired fabrics on the chairs. And then there's cocktail hour. At 6.30pm, guests get together to watch the sun go down over wine and home-made hors-d'oeuvres on the deck. Not just any old plonk and nibbles, mind, but generous amounts of Longridge chardonnay accompanied by foie gras, and on Saturday evenings, champagne with lobster.






























