Celebrities, including the likes of Mariah Carey, Naomi Campbell, Sharon Stone, Thandie Newton, Matt Damon and Robert de Niro, flocked to South Africa's V&A Waterfront for the opening of hotel magnate Sol Kerzner's extravagant One&Only Cape Town on 3 April.

One&Only Cape Town will be the first urban resort in the One&Only group of premium hotels, and Kerzner's second South African development, after The Palace of The Lost City at Pilanesberg. Other One&Only hotels are located in the Maldives, Dubai, Mexico, The Bahamas and Mauritius.

South African firms Dennis Fabian Berman Architects and Ruben Reddy Architects joined forces to create the first premium hotel to be built in Cape Town in nine years. Dennis Fabian Berman Architects are behind some of Cape Town's most iconic buildings, like the Two Oceans Aquarium and the SA Jewish Museum, as well as Sol Kerzner's home in Hout Bay, Leeukoppie.

The resort is comprised of Marina Rise and two private islands within the Waterfront Marina. There are 40 villa-style suites on one of the islands and a state-of-the-art spa complex on the other. Villa Island and Spa Island, each set in private waterways and landscaped with lush vegetation, are connected to Marina Rise by bridges for guests and underground tunnels for staff.

The crescent-shaped Marina Rise houses the presidential and imperial suites. They are crowned by three penthouses, each of which has four bedrooms. The first penthouse sold to a South African couple for a R110-million, setting a new benchmark for residential property sales in the country. The view from the penthouse encompasses both a prospect of Table Mountain and Robben Island.

World renowned interior designer Adam D Tihany, the Goodman Gallery and Michael Stevenson were invited to commission the who's who of the South African art world to create works for the resort.

In the lobby guests are greeted by three impressive bronze sculptures by Deborah Bell and screens by Norman Catherine. A Berni Searle work is the showcase piece in maze restaurant (the latest creation of infamous chef Gordon Ramsay), while Nobu (the legendary Japanese eatery) houses a special commission from Brett Murray.

Both the Presidential and Imperial Suite at the resort will house original works by Conrad Botes, Willem Boshoff, Andrew Putter, Guy Tillim, Jeremy Wafer, David Goldblatt, Peter Clarke, Walter Oltmann and Paul Edmunds.