Extreme Hotels: Anything But?

It’s not just a sports drink marketing scheme anymore: Slap the word “extreme” onto anything, and you’re automatically hip and cashing in on that coveted 24 – 38 demographic. At least that’s the logic behind the branding, it would seem, of Extreme Hotels, a London-based company, that purports to deliver “affordable, high value, entertaining, active, cutting edge sports based Hotels located in the finest extreme sports and urban destinations around the world.”

The first extreme hotel just opened in Cape Town, South Africa, and the reviews are already beginning to come in…

My comrades at SouthAfricaLogue have given a tentative thumbs up, with a bit tape around the joints and some chalk on the tips:

“…it boasts a five storey climbing wall, a restaurant that looks into a glass walled swimming pool and a private sound room for screenings or rocking out. The elevator is a shark cage and the men’s urinals seem to jut out from the building on scaffolding. The most original feature is the “smoking room” in which puffing outcasts (like me) sit on white coffins, whilst being taunted by pictures on the walls of deceased fellows peering down from the heavens.” 

According to the NY Times: “The extreme theme is a bit silly in the execution, but the staff is friendly and eager to be a part of something different.”

“The hotel may be targeting adventurers, but its aim is slightly off the mark. On a recent evening, the lobby bar and lounge was an incongruous mix of decidedly nonadventurous Europeans, middle-aged couples and lots of families with children (some with grandparents along for the ride).”

“A fun, affordable change of pace for a place to stay, if you don’t take it too seriously (for 1,000 rand a night, or about $132, for an executive room, you don’t have to). Though the appeal may be lost on people who are old enough to have moved out of their parents’ home, it’s a safe bet that there’s no hotel in town more entertaining for the 13- to 21-year-old set.” 

– Visit the Extreme Hotel Cape Town’s Website.