This is how much Oku Hotels finally paid for Sea Point's Ritz Hotel

OKU Cape Town forked out R368 million to acquire the iconic Ritz Hotel in Sea Point: a building condemned and declared unfit for humans a few years back. While so many numbers had swirled around, leaving it at anything between R240-R300 million, registration records show the building exchanged hands at a much higher R368-million. 

The international Oku Hotels group - known for its mainly adults-only laidback luxurious hotels - is likely to retain the 23-floor building and local developers say this makes sense as it is unlikely the city will ever again allow such high rises in the area.

Piers Bradley, CEO of OKU Hotels, said in a Press statement that it would honour the building’s heritage while "introducing our signature blend of hospitality and lifestyle concepts, from serene spa rituals to vibrant dining and lifestyle spaces". 

It was reported that the acquisition marks OKU’s move into Africa with The Ritz as the group’s first urban hotel. The group also confirmed to Travel News that a safari project is being developed in South Africa.

On the Ritz Hotel, Bradley said: "We’re excited to restore this iconic property with care and creativity, bringing OKU’s laidback luxury and soulful design to Cape Town."

But it is unikely to happen any time soon as OKU's current focus is on launching two new hotels - one in Andalusia, which marks OKU’s first family‑friendly resort concept, and another in Bodrum.

Once those are off the ground it is expected that OKU Hotels will start the process of reimaginig the old Ritz Hotel. It is not known if it will become Oku Cape Town, although this is the most likely name, or whether it will be one of their family-friendly hotels or an adults-only affair.

This is not the first round of hope for the iconic building whose sale earlier this year garnered national interest.

A few years ago, before Covid, the who's who of Cape Town were welcomed to a soft relaunch of the Ritz Hotel. Sadly, the whole deal to jhooz up the hotel again and let the rotating restaurant turn on its charms, came to nought.

Mired in long court battes, it saw successful restaurateur Nicky van der Walt, at the time responsible for the re-opening, being ordered by a judge to vacate the premises after things turned sour between him and the owners. The promised reviving of the hotel and its revolving hotel did not materialise.

The late Barney Hurwitz - who owned the hotel before his death in 2017 - insisted the Ritz deserved “a brand, not just some fly-by-night operation".

Since then, however, the Ritz faced years of abuse: abandoned, hijacked and condemned, It took lawyers for the Hurwitz families years to get control back of the building from the hijackers who took occupation around about Covid time. Hijacking buildings is a multi-trillion rand "industry" in the country and the hotel fell foul to this at the time.

A swirl or rather a heavy walk up 23 flights of floors (no electricity, no lifts) this year by Independnet Newspapers revealed the chaos, broken furniture, lack of water, in the condemned building. It was by condemning the building as unfit for humans that the owners finally legally got the hijackers out.

But European-based Oku Hotels saw past the destruction. Many site visits later and a long negotation, it is firmly in their hands and OKU Cape Town is named as the new owner in documents.

It had been a long negotiation between owners - the company of the Roffey Hurwitz families - and OKU Hotels.

It is reported that OKU’s future plans include a safari project in South Africa and an island resort in the Indian Ocean.

OKU's style is consistent: relaxed luxury, wellness focus, design‑driven, local integration.

The OKU Hotel group has been on an international aquisition journey. Most well-known for Oku Ibiza (opened in May 2021) with rooms, suites, ocean-view penthouses, a private villa, a spa, pools, and Oku Kos (opened 1 July 2020) - an adults-only beach retreat with a private beach, spa, 100 rooms and other amenities.

Let's see what they will do in Cape Town.