Cape Town's abandoned Ritz Hotel set for revival with 44 apartments and a rebuilt hotel
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Plans lodged with the City of Cape Town propose reviving the long-shuttered Ritz Hotel in Sea Point with 44 residential apartments, hotel suites, restaurants and wellness facilities; the application was advertised for public comment on September 18.
Plans lodged with the City of Cape Town have revealed what could be coming next for the long-shuttered Ritz Hotel in Sea Point: a revived hotel, 44 residential apartments, restaurants, wellness facilities and a major overhaul of the landmark tower. The City formally advertised the application on September 18, opening it to public comment until November 2.
The application, submitted on behalf of OKU Cape Town, seeks permission to rezone part of the property, regularise the existing 75-metre tower, create an electrical substation servitude and approve development and landscaping plans. It does not yet amount to approval to redevelop the Ritz, as the City still has to assess the application and consider public representations.
Under the proposals, hotel suites would remain on floors nine to 22, while floors four to eight would be converted into residential apartments. The top of the tower would retain its restaurant spaces on floors 23 and 24, preserving the part of the building known for its views over the Atlantic Seaboard. The plans include a new facade to address structural and fire-safety requirements, new balustrades and screening, an expanded swimming pool, gym and spa at ground level, a covered yoga deck and a larger arrival and forecourt area, with the existing parking structure along Grimsby Road retained.
A separate mixed-use building fronting Main Road, already covered by a land-use approval granted in January 2026, provides for retail space, a hotel reception and lounge, co-working and conference facilities, apartments, hotel suites and a pool terrace with a bar and restaurant. It is not the main subject of the current application.
The application also addresses the property's complicated planning history. The site is split between two zonings, with GB5 covering the footprint of the mixed-use building along Main Road and GR4 covering most of the site where the hotel tower stands. Hotel use is not a primary permitted use in the GR4 zone under the current scheme, and the existing 75-metre tower exceeds the height allowed under that zoning.
The City searched its archives for previous planning authorisation of the hotel's use and height and found no record, according to the application. The applicant argues the hotel use may never have needed separate approval, because "residential buildings" - a category that included hotels - were permitted as of right in the relevant General Residential zone under the old Cape Town Zoning Scheme that applied before the 2015 Municipal Planning By-law. The application therefore seeks to resolve the planning position as part of the revival, including a 75-metre height departure from the 60-metre limit under a proposed GB7 zoning, permission for four existing carriageway crossings along Grimsby Road where the rules provide for two, and a subdivision to create the substation servitude. It places the Ritz among a small group of high-rise buildings developed under older planning schemes, citing Twin Towers, The Towers and Pavilion Place.