No5 Boutique Art Hotel
5 Brighton Road,
Port Elizabeth, South Africa
+27 41 502 6000
We’ve spoken previously about Port Elizabeth’s many art-deco and art-nouveau gems. The city is littered with hundreds of formerly ‘rough diamonds’ that have been spruced up, creating a softer edge to this very industrial hub. The No 5 is one of these incredibly well-preserved relics, heightened by some clever lighting and hidden secret wine cellars and a mini-cinema – why? Because why not, we guess.
As soon as we entered the hotel complex we knew that this would be a very treasured stay (and not only because we were able to unpack for a few nights). As it turned out, it’s become one of our favourite places we’ve ever visited.
Let us say up front that not many etablishments manage to traverse the cocktail bar-meets-hotel mix. More often than not it can try too hard to be cool or quirky or simply ends up leaning to one side over the other. Things felt pretty seamless here.
They’ve put some serious thought into the decoration. Most of it errs on the sophisticated side of modern but with plenty of fun flourishes. Often hotels are called ‘luxurious’ just because they offer plush bedlinen and a pool, so there’s a great deal to be said for a place that aims a little higher than what would constitute a 5 star rating. We were constantly surprised by the little extras at No5. The art on the walls felt lovingly curated, as did the books in the library. Even every zigzag, chevron and geometric panel looked so well fitted with zebra-skinned rugs and local African carvings.
It seems fitting to find such a place in Port Elizabeth, which is a bit of a ‘dark horse’ of the city but one that’s so open to the new.
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