Glamour couple give new spin to old Cape landmark
HIGH-FLIERS: Lee-Ann Liebenberg and Nicky van der Walt aim to make The Ritz hotel in Sea Point a ’crown jewel’ of local hospitality MODEL Lee-Ann Liebenberg has swapped her stilettos for a work suit and joined forces with her businessman husband to turn a dilapidated Cape Town hotel into a crown jewel.
Liebenberg and Nicky van der Walt, CEO of the luxury hospitality group Shimmy Luxury Collection and owner of the popular Shimmy Beach Club, have pumped R110-million into glamming up The Ritz hotel in Sea Point. Capetonians generally steer clear of the hotel with its revolving restaurant — once described as a stranded UFO — on top of the building.
Van der Walt has vowed to “bring back sexy to Cape Town hospitality” with the 220-room hotel, originally built in the ’70s. The couple have secured Black Coffee as resident DJ.
“If you go into some of our competitors’ rooms there is no personality. Basically their idea of entertainment is DStv and a minibar . . . We want to appeal to all your senses.”
The hotel has been redesigned as a “destination within a destination”.
Van der Walt said: “Our dining will compete with all the trendy restaurants in Bree Street. When you walk into the lobby it is going to be a combination of people finishing gym and guys in suits.”
The polo player founded his first restaurant at the age of 20 in Rosebank, Johannesburg. The couple recently settled in Cape Town.
Liebenberg has put her modelling career on hold. “We spend time between building a hotel, developing SLC and having children. There is not much time for modelling. This is far more exciting for me.
“The Ritz is our baby. I will be doing the flowers. I have always wanted to be a florist and this has given me a chance to start my own business.”
The redesign was inspired by their travel experiences. “When we walk into a hotel room we say: ‘We would have changed this and that’. Now finally we have a chance.”