Mariah Carey Connection

Wherever we wandered, we bumped into a major schleb or two.

A small intimate gathering of close friends? That’s, of course, if you count a smattering of Hollywood A-listers, one of the world’s biggest music stars and our most famous citizen as your personal buddies.

But then again, when you’re Sol Kerzner — and you’re throwing a little do to celebrate your return to the hotel industry on home soil — you probably don’t do things by half measures, even if the opening of Cape Town’s One&Only comes amid a global economic downturn.

Thursday afternoon found me standing in the lobby of Sol’s six-star establishment and who should I bump into but one of those Hollywood A-listers, Sharon Stone, who might have turned 51 a couple of weeks ago but looks as fresh as a starlet.

Sharon was on her way to the Cape Town offshoot of Robert De Niro and chef Nobu Matsuhisa’s famed eatery Nobu which is located in the hotel. Sharon didn’t have time to chat but she did shake my hand before heading off.

Walking past the entrance, I said hello to Nelson Mandela’s right-hand woman Zelda la Grange and I’d hardly stepped outside before a cavalcade of luxury cars arrived and out stepped Madiba and Graça, welcomed by Sol and his bronzed wife Heather.

Then it was off to check out the pool with my mate Nadia Neophytou, where we met another equally gorgeous movie star, this time Thandie Newton, who had brought along her family to cavort in the Cape Town sun.

I needed a glass of water after all the schleb-spotting so we stopped off at the deck overlooking the pool — where actor Robert De Niro happened to be chatting on the phone at the table right next to us.

And all this within three hours of arriving in Cape Town, and long before the function had even started!

While Oprah Winfrey’s party planner Colin Cowie, who you might remember did Sol’s big Dubai opening, told me the night would feature a “series of surprises”, there were none of those headline-grabbing fireworks that lit up Dubai last year.

So who cracked an invite? People like Sol’s business partner in Cape Town, the pint-sized Moss Mashishi and his wife, Tsholo (who suffered a wardrobe disaster after her luggage didn’t arrive — yes, they did fly SAA), one of my favourite couples, Tiny Mhinga and Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Francois Pienaar and his wife Nerina, Basetsana Kumalo, Vanashree and Anant Singh, Sibongile Khumalo and her daughter Ayanda, Danny K and his fiancée, Leanne Liebenberg, Pam Golding and magazine doyenne Jane Raphaely.

But I suppose you’ll want more international names. There were Eastwoods everywhere you turned: Clint walked the red carpet; his actor son Scott (who’s in the Francois Pienaar movie) burned up the dance floor; and his musician son Kyle took to the stage at the jazz club afterwards.

Marisa Tomei kept a low profile, Matt Damon was all lovey-dovey with his wife, Luciana, and Yasmin Le Bon looked dreamy in a dark Diane von Furstenberg gown.

So what did we do?

This was a sort of walk-about opening and wherever we went we spotted a familiar face or two. We nibbled gastronomic morsels at Nobu and at loudmouth British chef Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant.

By the end of the night we found ourselves at the hotel’s night spot, where we were treated to a mini jazz fest, with performances by Judith Sephuma, Hugh Masekela, Jonathan Butler (his rendition of No Woman, No Cry brought the house down), Bebe Winans, Patti Austin and Diane Reeves.

And what about that famous singer, whose surprise visit set local fans’ hearts aflutter after she Twittered that she was “headed for Africa” a few days ago?

Well, Mariah Carey, who landed in Cape Town on Thursday morning with an entourage of seven, wasn’t quite the belle of Sol’s ball, after she complained of a toothache and had to be rushed to a dentist.

She was probably the last to arrive at the bash (long after midnight) and all she had to offer were a couple of her signature eight-octave raves from her seat in the crowd, after Bebe Winans offered her his microphone.

Mariah’s dress was glittering, but with her hair tied back to show off her formidable forehead, she looked like just another pretty girl from Eldorado Park.

Source: The South African Times