One of Cape Town's oldest landmark hotels is set for a revamp - with help from France

Being old, or the oldest, is an accolade many hotels in South Africa strive for. And, given the city's landing point for the country's first colonisers, Cape Town isn't short of heritage accommodation.

Many proudly shout their founding dates from their gables, and (decidedly less romantically) on their websites, menus and marketing collateral - but some, like the Lenox, have somewhat flown under the radar for decades.

The Lenox is located in the Cape Town suburb of Gardens, on the rat-run shortcut from the Southern Suburbs to Camps Bay that sees a fair bit of traffic. But you'd be forgiven for never noticing or knowing much about it - particularly in recent years.