Walking into Urban Chic, a new boutique hotel and café, on the corner of Long and Pepper Streets, Cape Town, is a sensory delight. One's first impression is of warm, honey-coloured travertine floors, and a sweeping Bottocino marble staircase that is offset by a stainless steel, wood and glass balustrade. These contrasting elements provide an exciting mix of warm and cool, natural and man-made, classic and modern that is the hallmark of this fine establishment. Urban Chic's 20 bedrooms and luxurious en-suite bathrooms offer everything that an overseas tourist or corporate client could want, in the form of comfort and state-of-the-art amenities. The well-appointed rooms all have air-conditioning, and wireless communication ensures instant internet access for laptop users. The bedroom décor, which features African mahogany furniture, is elegant and understated. King-size beds, with goose down pillows and comforters, invite a good night's sleep, while for the insomniac, there is an excellent variety of satellite television channels to watch. Original artworks grace the walls of each bedroom, and the large corner windows offer breathtaking views of Table Mountain, Lion's Head and Signal Hill.Urban Chic also provides a visual feast of Long Street, with its vibrant eclectic influences. African murals painted onto building walls, an elegant cupola clock tower, quaint old buildings with broekielace, sidewalk cafés, bead shops and second-hand book stores by the dozen - all contribute towards the inimitable and much-loved character of Long Street.