R50m Revamp for Historic Protea Hotel in V&A Waterfront

THE historic Protea Hotel Breakwater Lodge in Cape Town’s premium tourist attraction, the V&A Waterfront, is to undergo a R50m facelift starting in October this year. The hotel forms part of the Protea Hospitality Group, Africa’s largest and leading hotel group, and the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business.

The hotel today still incorporates the Industrial Breakwater Prison, the existing four-turret building that housed white male convicts. It also has what is arguably the world’s last remaining colonial prison punishment treadmill, which was constructed in 1890. The complete refurbishment will not affect the prison itself, though, but concentrate on the rooms spread across the sprawling three-building hotel, as well as the passages and hotel reception. The interiors of the rooms inside the prison, which is the hotel’s Block B, will also be redone but there will be no changes made to the brooding façade and the historic “isolation cells” prisoners’ wall etchings will not be touched either.

The refurbishment is long overdue, according to excited GM Charl van Wyk, who says the rooms haven’t changed much since the hotel opened in 1991. “The Protea Hotel Breakwater Lodge has always been the most affordable accommodation in the V&A Waterfront and this meant the facilities weren’t extravagant. The refurbishment is going to transform the hotel from basic to elegant, modern and sleek, making the most of available space in each and every room. But while the hotel is getting a complete revamp, we’re striving to ensure that it remains excellent value for money in what is a pretty pricey precinct.”

The hotel comprises five room types from studio to deluxe unit and all will receive attention. The biggest changes will involve the business suites and deluxe units. Currently the business units comprise a small bedroom with a separate small lounge. The revamp will see the interior wall being demolished and one large room created. The bathrooms will also be completely overhauled. The deluxe units are arguably undergoing the biggest change. They will be deconstructed and built from scratch with a bath, separate shower, opaque glass walls between the bathroom and bedroom, gorgeous interior décor and king-size beds to round them off.

Another big change is air-conditioning throughout the hotel, an “essential” that will make the premises much more guest-friendly, according to Van Wyk. The rooms are also getting flat-screen televisions and top-end fittings and finishes. “We’re basically starting with a blank canvas, which is extremely exciting. The hotel will be contemporary and sophisticated. The architects and interior designers were told to fix the lack of atmosphere, without sacrificing the affordable rates formula and it’s worked. The designs are fantastic.”

Architects Revel Fox & Partners said: “The main challenge has been to enhance, functionally and visually, (former) student bedroom spaces for suitable hotel usage. In general, the solution has been to incorporate bed and bathroom spaces through the judicious use of glass partitions, and thus to keep the spaces clean and light. The newly-introduced air-conditioning equipment and recessed down-lighters are concealed in an elegant folded floating ceiling. The joinery is white and simple, and generally the finishes are unfussy and durable.”

Gabi Els of Inteco Interior Designs, which is doing the room remodels, said because the hotel ran on a very high occupancy-rate and catered for guests ranging from school/sport groups and holiday makers to business/professionals, various elements needed to be considered in order to maximise the potential of each room configuration.

“Furniture, fittings and equipment was specifically designed to maximize the use of the existing space and most items need to be custom made. Monochromatic, quiet colours frame the canvas of the rooms. I chose to work with monochromatic shades of taupe, silver and brown as the backdrop and therefore the curtains, netting, wallpaper, paint and 100% waterproof lock-in vinyl floors create a restful backdrop. Crisp white percale linen and white high-gloss built-in units provide a fresh contrast to the monochromatic backdrop.

“The introduction of solid oak into a very contemporary concept brought an element of Africa and nature, creating a modern yet comfortable and practical home away from home. Accent fabrics are designed and locally manufactured, which adds to the uniqueness of the room. In supporting local business, we are able to reduce the cost of woven fabrics considerably.”

Renovating a hotel of this size is no mean feat. The entire process is likely to take 13 months and the challenge is to keep the hotel operating and the construction disturbances to the minimum. “It has its challenges, but we’re determined to make it work. The only building we’ll close down entirely is C Block, but otherwise the buildings remain open during the renovation. Guests will be accommodated away from the renovations so they aren’t impacted in any way during their stay” said Van Wyk.

The property on which the hotel stands has an infamous past. The original Breakwater prison was established in 1859 to house the long term male convicts who worked on the construction of the breakwater in Table Bay. The original building had large dormitories that housed 60 men each. Due to a labour shortage in the Cape, convicts were even “imported” from other colonies, but they were eventually racially segregated in a way that would become all too familiar to generations of South Africans.

Familiar to those who follow Cape Town history, black people at the time were seen as less able to respond to rehabilitation and more likely to need punishment. This led to the construction of the punishment treadmill in 1890 – a “staircase wheel” that rotated when prisoners (usually three) stepped on it – which was the customary penalty for laziness and petty prisoner offences. The prisoners had to keep a steady pace and if the men got too tired to walk, the rotating planks would shred their shins. A prisoner being punished could be sentenced to climb the never-ending stairs from 9am to 5pm, with only five minutes rest every half hour. The treadmill can still be viewed today and is located at the end of the row of isolation cells in the upper parking area.

The design of the prison with four castellated turrets and enclosed courtyard was based on that of Millbank and Pentonville prisons in England. The Industrial Breakwater Prison was only used as a convict station for 10 years. It did, however, signal the advent of separated institutions for black and white prisoners in the country and the application in the colony of more “modern” European methods of rehabilitation through industrial training. The Breakwater Lodge further became a part of Cape Town history between 1911 and 1926 when the Industrial Prison housed juvenile offenders and from 1926 until 1989 it became a hostel for black dock workers. In 1991 the building was leased by the University of Cape Town and the Graduate School of Business. Along with the Breakwater Lodge, the doors were opened to what it is today. The Protea Hotel Breakwater Lodge has contributed a great deal to Cape Town history and in a way has played a role in what the city has become today.

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