CAN anyone truly call themselves an adult until they can master all the light switches in a hotel room? Well, I’ve got news for you: there are no light switches in the super modern Halyard Apartments. Not one.
All the lighting throughout is controlled by smart touch screens. There is one in the open plan kitchen/living area (which provides weather information and can control the volume of the music or television), and in each of the bedrooms. And beautiful lighting it is too, from spots to recessed strips, and it can all be adjusted to suit your mood. Bright in the kitchen and soft in the lounge? No problem – once you’ve figured it out.
The panel is motion sensitive too – it “wakes up” when you approach it. The bathroom lights also come on automatically when you enter, which required some experimenting to ensure middle-of-the-night trips didn’t result in invasive illumination that kill the sleepy.
The Halyard is on the Foreshore and I hadn’t been there long before I realised there wasn’t a single spot in the entire apartment that didn’t have a view. We were on the 23rd floor (which is not even the top floor), on the corner, which meant a wraparound balcony with close to a 180 degree panorama, stretching from Woodstock and beyond, across the harbour, the city with Green Point Stadium in the distance, and around across to City Hall, Lion’s Head and Signal Hill, and the right-hand half of Table Mountain.
The exterior walls are floor to ceiling glass, with sliding doors leading from the lounge and both bedrooms to the balcony, and sliding windows alongside both deep tubs so you can wallow while contemplating the city lights. To say it is spectacular is an understatement, and although I tried my hardest by taking dozens of pictures in the ever-changing light, photographs simply do not do it justice.
Let me walk you through it. From the undercover parking, you take the lift to the ground floor and transfer to the one what will whisk you skywards. When you exit on the 23rd floor, you’ll walk along wide tiled corridors with blonde wood features. Inside the apartment, there is a guest loo, a dining area with glass table, a desk, and a magnificent kitchen.
Everything, including the fridge/freezer, is behind or inside doors and drawers and cupboards that open with a flick of a finger, and close silently with a gentle nudge. There are two sinks and a dishwasher, and a washing machine/dryer. You are politely requested not to hang laundry on the balcony; not only because it will look common but because of the wind that can wreak havoc, not only with your unmentionables but it can take furniture clean over the edge – which is why that is forbidden outside too.
The stove is flush with the pristine white counter and there are two ovens. These require greater knowledge than ours to operate so I’m glad the food we planned had no need of them. The sexy toaster and kettle (Morphy Richards, white and rose gold, and about the same price point as SMEG) were put to good use though. Tea, coffee, sugar, water and milk are provided, and the apartments are refreshed daily (except weekends).
The giant television mounted on the wall in the living room area was a joy; I could log into my own Netflix, which is so much easier than having to search for something to watch from scratch, or be at the mercy of whatever is on DStv. Lawdy, how privileged. There was an L-shaped couch and a sweeping standing lamp which accosted Sexy Deborah every time she stood up, even though she knew it was there.
Of the two bedrooms, one (mine, I got there first) was slightly larger than the other, and on the corner of the apartment so it had windows/sliding doors on two sides. The beds are super comfy and the pillows squishy but firm; I slept brilliantly on both nights, always a massive win. My bathroom was also bigger and just in case you missed the memo about the view, a mirrored wall reflects the vista back at you. There are Charlotte Rhys toiletries and heated towel rails. The bedrooms are located on either side of the kitchen so they’re suitably far away from each other to guarantee privacy and quiet. Heavy block-out curtains keep the morning sun at bay until you are ready to face the world.
The wifi was great, and in better days, there will be a wine and snack bar for which you can use Snapscan or Yoco to pay. To take the sting out of lockdown regulations, there was a bottle of Windfall’s Mendola Blanc de Blanc (perfectly legal, as a gift and not transported) and some scrumptious nibbles. I cannot think of a better brand name for the dry-roasted chickpeas than Grumpy, because we all know how being hungry can make a person a bit irritable.
The Halyard’s location is convenient for exploring the city and the V&A Waterfront, but you cannot go for a walk in the area. Being adjacent to a freeway in and outbound, the traffic can be a bit noisy when all the doors are open. And I would be remiss if I did not share that we noticed, from our ivory tower, people living in makeshift shelters under the overpass.
Reality check.
Here’s a bit of PR for background.
The Halyard encompasses 19 beautifully designed self-catering apartments in one-, two- and three-bedroom configurations featuring future-proof tech home automation systems, contemporary furnishings, a full complement of modern conveniences, as well as wrap-around balconies and floor-to-ceiling windows that make the most of the building’s exclusive vantage point.
This is self-catering accommodation reimagined. Whether you choose to stay in a voluminous one-bedroom apartment or a generous double-storey three-bedroom penthouse, there’s a size, style and vista to make your visit to South Africa’s Mother City luxuriously comfortable, incomparably stylish and definitively memorable.
The booking link is here.
PHOTO CREDIT: Bianca Coleman ©
