This 100-year-old Sea Point hotel is still a timeless icon - even after its R90m refurb

An old ornamental vine in a courtyard isn't the most obvious starting point from which to examine one of the Cape's most revered heritage hotels - at least not one that's just put the finishing touches on a sweeping R90 million renovation.

But then again, the bougainvillea that climbs the north-facing walls of The Winchester's sunny courtyard is no ordinary plant, in no ordinary establishment.

The present-day owner, Frances Wainford, was a young girl when her mother planted the bougainvillea, alongside an ornate fountain transported from the family home, in the courtyard of the then-Winchester Mansions.