Century City is all about a change of pace to Cape Town’s bustling and sometimes stifling inner city.

Different faces. Different lifestyles. Different temperaments.

But grounded under one clear vision: Life in grander spaces.

From the expansive mall, clean and glittering with the trendiest of retail offerings at varying price points, to the monoliths towering along perfectly paved roadways and filled with business professionals at work, Century City is a testament to the old age adage of ‘bigger and better than ever’.

And if leaving this developed community seems a mammoth undertaking, I’ve uncovered an even better bolthole to call your own for a day or more, and it’s now owned and managed by the hotel brand that brings you one of my favourite budget Cape Stays, Century City Hotels.

Welcome to Axis Luxury Apartments

Self-catering has never gone out of style in travel. Aside from families, travellers at every economic level also want options that work with their current lifestyle interests – whether that’s accommodating fitness, meeting facilities, a need for strong coffee early morning, fast Wi-Fi, or accessibility needs.

Hotel rooms and their basic and traditional accoutrements aren’t cutting it for those who wish to store their dietary and medicinal essentials, for example, as well as preparing and consuming them in specific sequences.

Juicing, cutting, Collagen pouring, steeping, braising etc. There’s a medley of food and beverage habits alone that travellers can’t kick just because they’re far from home.

And so wherever these people travel to, needs to become a worthy facsimile of home
…and therein lies the bread and butter of the self-catering leg of hospitality!

Axis Luxury Apartments are the kind of seductive getaway that encourages you to get out of the inner city for a bit…but not too far!

The modern building is on the northern route of greater Cape Town that looks only regularly accessible by private car, but in reality, it is rather well-connected to public transport such as the MyCiti bus route.

Getting there by UberX will also cost less than ZAR120 on a busy day, from the central business district.

CHECK-IN PROTOCOL & SECURITY

Check-in, once you’ve arrived, can be a bit of a dance for the unknowing, between the actual entrance of the luxury apartments, and the office space that checks in guests – but luckily only a few steps separate the two on the ground floor.

A quick check-in with the reception office team involves one form, identity document scans, and a very short briefing that welcomes guests, who then together make their way across the ground floor to the building security for key activation and quick guidance on leaving keys for check-outs.

Security affirms the luxury aspect of the apartments with individualized facial scans loaded into the system, and floor-specific keycards allowing you access to your floor and suite alone.

It’s a measure ensuring no random stroll-ins meander where they aren’t meant to, and it’s peace of mind for solo travellers wanting to feel safe.

Hygiene protocols leftover from the early Covid-19 pandemic rules & regulations are relaxed here, and there exists no decals to welcome guests, nor are there any mask mandates, or hand sanitiser stations.

I kind of lamented that. I rather liked the availability of hand sanitiser everywhere in the world!

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APARTHOTELS WIN – WHY?

Anyway, if you’re smart enough to pick the swanky mountain-facing apartments, prepare for a view that sets the tone for your stay: stunning and scaled wide.

“Ranging from spacious one bedrooms, to luxurious three bedrooms, there is an apartment to suit every need.”

Axis luxury apartments. (2023).

Axis’s 26 luxury apartments show they meet aparthotel requirements and surpass them, as they are:

• Spacious
• Sleek – including polished, modern bathrooms that come with hotel-brand toiletries.
• Regularly Serviced
• Accompanied by 24-hour building security
• Allocated basement parking
• Fully furnished with a contemporary style sensibility – Spot the:
  • SMEG stove near
  • the shiny Nespresso Machine
  • microwave
  • washing machine and more.
• And offer a good price-to-quality ratio suitable for both business and leisure travellers coming weekdays or weekends!

There’s nothing gaudy in the interior design and decor at Axis – Century City Hotel erring on the side of youthful design trends and flocked-to Airbnb crash pads with their light and simplified choices that aren’t minimalist by any means, but favour careful plant placements, lighting fixtures, and clean lines, and with only the barest of ‘dead’ spaces – as seen in the master suite of my three-bedroom apartment.

Wooden floors pair with the rustic brown jute lounge carpet, worn grey couch, and elegantly patterned throw pillows, to warm the apartment up. It’s a pleasure to throw yourself on the sturdy seating that fits 5 and work or relax in a space curated with pretty and pleasing textures, colour palettes and overall good ambience in mind.

There is also no need for earplugs at Axis apartments.

There’s no noise in the halls, and barely a whisper from neighbours above you – just the occasional car whizzing by, so rest easy! The bed is firm enough to support, but soft enough to be cosy. And both the lush duvet and extra throws and blankets around the apartment warmed me right up in the night.

There is no pillow menu like some upmarket hotels offer up these days, but the pillows available on the bed match the comfortable energy of the matters – and this is in all the rooms, so everybody is sleeping good!

It’s a good space to feel somewhat at home, as guests can take in the panoramic Table Mountain view from the lounge or balcony, as well as take in the open-floor kitchen plan with its discreet off-white cabinetry and contemporary kitchen appliances perfectly stored to blend between the kitchen’s clean lines and the cool breakfast bar.

Mood lighting is a big thing in an apartment like this, though it likely was second to the utilitarian need to illuminate the apartment’s corners which can get very dark very quickly.

The light pollution of the inner city doesn’t exist all that much here, so the bedside lamps, floor lamps, and cabinetry lighting in the kitchen are elegant solutions that happen to also set a great, mellow mood!
Luxury indeed.

WHERE TO EAT & WHAT TO DO?

If a luxurious bubble bath can’t occupy you for every free moment of your stay, as it did me, then there are several things to enjoy around Century City:

• You’re in an area with buzzy neighbourhood restaurants so check out the Axis Building’s downstairs Akiya Sushi Axis, or take a quick walk across the way to Square Cafe and its hearty breakfast, lunch, AND dinner menus (definitely give their Set Winter Menu a try!)

*NOTE: There is no stylish and stocked bar in your room, nor an in-room dining service.

• Catch the fun vibes and game nights of the ever-hip Tigers Milk also located on the square
• Hit the gym with Virgin Active also a block or two away.
• Less than 15 minutes walk from the apartments, is also Canal Walk – one of the city’s largest malls and chockful of entertainment, including cinemas, fashionable stores like ZARA, and even perfume experiences at Jo Malone.
• Easily book a spa treatment nearby at Life Day Spa Century City which is a walk away
• Or take a drive beyond, to one of the wine estates in Durbanville.

If you are adventurous there are tons more experiences to get up to, including helicopter rides, seeing a cheetah in person, and hiking one of the World’s Wonders. Contact me to find out more!

VERDICT?

If the views don’t get people booking, the value for money at this luxury apartment complex is sure to tempt more than a few travellers.

They’re a good example of what levelled-up glamour in self-catering can be.

Business travellers can work uninterrupted thanks to the relative peace and power source staving off blackout inconveniences. And families, as well as solo travellers, can also enjoy amenities right along with them that allow options to stay in and feel at home (in front of a smart TVs if need be), or head out and be a tourist for the day, or roam & shop like a local.

The proximity to the inner city also means the commute is pretty pain-free even during peak times, and you can avoid hotel price tags that dig into your spending money, with this recently refreshed aparthotel.

One last thing that makes them great: There is only a 2-night minimum-stay requirement over weekends (Friday-Sunday)!

By My Recommendation: Axis Luxury Apartments

9 Bridgeway, Century City, Cape Town, 7441

Tel: (+27) 021 202 9143

Email: reservations@axisluxuryapartments.co.za

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