A $1.2m renovation at the Orient-Express Hotels-owned Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town, South Africa, has seen the inclusion of a new champagne bar where customers can sit back and stare at the stars – inside.

Planet, which opened last month, is Cape Town’s first champagne bar selling wines and champagnes by the glass and its design – by South Africa-based Graham Viney, who has worked on several other Orient-Express hotels and trains – has been inspired by the history of Mount Nelson.

The hotel has been a port of call for ocean liners in the 1950s and a sister property to the Hotel Capriani in Venice and features 1950s-style Union Castle shipping line chairs as well as an underlit onyx bar and white patent leather banquette.

The centrepiece of the Planet is a huge orrery – a clockwork mobile showing the movement and positions of the planets in the solar system, while the ceiling of the bar features a fibre-optic lighting system designed to represent the Milky Way and stars of the southern hemisphere.

The bar opens out into Mount Nelson’s gardens for those who want a glimpse of the real thing.

The renovation project also included refurbishing the lobby of the hotel. Details: www.orient-express.com