Thursday, 05 March 2009

Rooftop Airstream

Today, our features editor Louise McCann (currently on sabbatical) tells us all about... what? A penthouse trailer park, did you say? Tell us all about it, Louise!

In my time, I’ve caravanned on coast and cliffside, veld and forest, but a newly opened trailer park on the rooftop of the Grand Daddy Hotel in Cape Town's Long Street was pioneer territory. Born-and-bred trailer park trash, I was the perfect candidate to test it out. It was a Saturday night, deep in the nicotine-clogged heart of the city, and it was fabulous.


Of the seven Airstream trailers decorated by talented local designers, we were booked into ‘Love of Lace’ - the masterpiece of our very own ELLE DECORATION stylist, Tracy Lynch. It is, in trailer park lingo, a Passion Wagon.

Complete with a plush bed large enough for the entire Walton family, a sexy little bathroom and dimmer switches on the oh-so-pretty chandelier, this little gem has to be the sauciest boudoir in Cape Town’s skyline.

The ‘Pleasantville’ caravan was put together by furniture designer Liam Mooney. This little slice of life will have you living out your fantasies of the 1950s American Dream. Very, very pleasant indeed…


The blue-and-white splendour of ‘Dorothy’, the cool and crazy creation of art lecturer Sarah Pratt, will drive you dreamy rather than dotty.

The tiniest trailer of all is ‘The Ballad of John and Yoko’, created by Chloe Townsend of Missibaba, her partner in Twine, Cara Rosa and artist Tamsin Relly. This threesome has created a space that invites you to bed in and beatle away the hours, playing through the collection of 60s and 70s LPs. And a nice treat for caravanning veterans of communal ablution blocks - this one has a built-on bathroom!


The best parts of this inner city escape? I loved cocktails at the sky bar, lounging around the caravan, popping out to Long Street for supper and vino, with bed just a short walk away. But best best of all? Waking up to a trailer-window view of the slumbering city on a Sunday morning. Unbeatable.

Visit the Grand Daddy to make your booking.

6 comments:

kat said...

How serendipitous, we stayed there last night!

TERI REES WANG said...

This is a departure from the old Ralph Lauren version of the Airstream sitting out in the pasture. Roof top trailer, sounds like living on the edge. I still want my own little Bambi sitting on my own front lawn as a get away office.

Denise Kiggan said...

Oh I would love to stay there some time!

Rikke said...

WOW!!!
great styling:)
Hav a great weekend!!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the fab review. My appetite has been whetted -- definitely going to spend a night in trailer park heaven.

Anonymous said...

nice review. did you bend a couple of fags so they'd hang at the approprate angle, thus complementing the pink curlers and foul language? it's an important if underrated step to achieving maximum trashiness.