Where to Stay in Cape Town: Grand Daddy Hotel Airstream Trailer

Grand Daddy Hotel: MacBooks, Airstreams, and Chill Cape Town Digs.
See other featured accommodations in our Where to Stay in South Africa directory.

Where can you find a little piece of Portland in the southern hemisphere? The Grand Daddy Boutique Hotel smack dab in the center of the hipster buzz in Cape Town, South Africa, that’s where!

A million miles from home, we dropped our bags at the Grand Daddy, and felt a vibe that sent us straight back to that beloved city we call home in NW Oregon.

We’ll call it a SE Hawthorne Avenue meets SW Morrison Street: all the funky mixtures of ethnic foods, oddball shops, cafes and curious architecture combined with the classy setting of the Nines, Portland. (Sorry(not-sorry) for the Portland references: they just make the world make sense! If you’ve been, you know.)

Travel along with us, and take a peek at our Grand Daddy digs in the center of Cape Town.

Grand Daddy: The place where style meets soul. If you’ve forgotten your costume, there’s a fine selection of haberdashery arts for sale/display at the welcome desk…Lest you doubt the Portlandia vibe, they put a bird on it.
Shiny Apples in the lobby made for big smiles, quick browsing, and breezy printing……and Apples of our own were happily working away on the wireless network in our Luxury Room overlooking bustling Long Street.

Here’s the real kicker, though. You know how much Ted loathes camping, yes? What if I told you that we found another glorious compromise? This time, it’s not tents in Patagonia, it’s Airstream trailers perched atop the Grand Daddy building for an urban trailer park like nothing you’ve seen before.

They craned these babies in one by one, shutting the streets below to make way for the machinery and shiny steel tubes. (After placing more than a few boulders on job-sites with cranes and straps and huffing-and-puffing and a team of contractors, I can tell you what kind of respect I have for this feat.)

We were shown to our dreamy little abode: the Dorothy Trailer. (Travel Side Note: three cheers for Judy Garland and her role in that colorful, epic journey toward gratefulness for home and the good life with friends and family.)

Ted checked it out: deal sealed.

Now listen, if this isn’t the cutest picture ever of twoOregonians giving camping a whirl, I’m not sure what is…

Feeling quite home: laundry & soccer.


Polka-dots galore and whimsey to the max.

All these details made us think of two very special Heathers: one dear one living in Colorado and giggling over good things like baking and Pushing Up Daisies, and one other dear one living in Oregon and shooting all things whimsical, vintage, and polka-dotted. They’d both be in heaven here, I’m pretty sure.

Oh, and each Airstream is completely different; decorated by all sorts of the city’s top interior designers and creatives. You’ll never get closer to one-of-a-kind.

Trailer views: city skylines instead of wooded forests…a camping compromise Ted’s happy to make.



Working on that double chin after eating at so many delicious Cape Town spots. But nevermind. Look instead at Spot the Dog.

Nighttime drinks: The rooftop bartender at Grand Daddy’s Sky Bar didn’t know my all-time-favorite amaretto sour, but he made a mean strawberry mojito, and comfy outdoor couches, blankets, and twinkle lights propelled the Airstream Trailer park into an atmosphere of pure fun.

Our Favorite Memories: Flashbacks to the good times in Portland, a mini-Nines-Hotel experience with our windows overlooking busting Cape Town Long Street rather than Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse Square. Soaking up recommendation after recommendation from friendly Grand Daddy manager Bryonie, who knew plenty of insider tips on coffee and tasty bites in the nearby vicinity and heading out on our own to exploring the fun in downtown Cape Town.

{Best Downtown Digs Award}
GRAND DADDY HOTEL
reservations@granddaddy.co.za
@granddaddy | Grand Daddy on Facebook 

Wifi: 50MB/per person/per day
Breakfast: Included at their ground floor restaurant, L’Apero; available also as room service delivery to suites or Airstream trailers.
Our Favorite Amenities: We were pretty partial to the Ruby Slippers hanging out in our “Dorothy” Airstream trailer! The rooftop bar and twinkle lights made for a pleasant night out, just a few steps from bed, and shiny Apple computers in the lobby made quick browsing and printing a breeze.
Setting: Walking distance to favorite downtown meals, sights, and touring activities; Airstream trailers perched atop the downtown building and indoor rooms overlooking bustling Long Street, perfectly situated in the heart of Cape Town.
Reminds us of:
the Nines, Portland
Hotel deLuxe Downtown
…with just a touch of the Governor Hotel thrown in for good measure!

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This Grand Daddy Hotel article is part of our €œtwoOregonians Tour the Cape€ series featuring quintessential and offbeat South African experiences, one-of-a-kind accommodations and beautiful B&Bs, respectful wildlife programs, social service projects, and landscape photography from the South African Cape. As always, all opinions, photos, and stories are our own; many thanks to our kind hosts and partners along the way. It was our pleasure to experience such genuine kindness and hospitality!