Cape Town: Hotel Guides

Sarah Khan

Travel writer

Thanks to a glut of openings before the 2010 World Cup, there's no shortage of hotel options across the city. Whether you’re looking for a stunning view over the tumultuous Atlantic Ocean, a convenient bolthole in the city centre or a luxe retreat amid the shops and restaurants of the V&A Waterfront district, you’ll find it here

Best for… Spa: The One&Only

The OneOnly

While best known as a super-luxe hideaway for A-listers descending on Cape Town – Mariah Carey, Justin Bieber and everyone in between make the One&Only their city address – this swanky V&A Waterfront resort is also a hit with Capetonians looking for some serious pampering. Locals love checking in to the hotel’s ‘Spa Island’ for detoxifying scrubs, deep-tissue massages and regional treatments laced with ingredients like baobab and rooibos, followed by a mani-pedi at famed French podiatrist Bastien Gonzalez’s in-house studio. Throw into the mix a 200-sq-metre fitness centre, yoga classes and a picture-perfect infinity pool, and you’ve got an unparalleled wellness oasis.

Dock Road, V&A Waterfront, 8001

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Best for… Romance: Cape Grace

Cape Grace Cape Town

When you’re looking for a romantic place to stay, you want somewhere that ticks all the boxes – prime location, cossetting rooms, attentive service and great facilities. The Cape Grace delivers on all fronts. Just steps away from the heart of the V&A waterfront, yet nicely secluded on its own private quay, it’s relatively new but channels old-school elegance and charm, throwing in welcome little luxuries such as fresh flowers and personalised book selections in the bedrooms, free chauffeur transfers within a six-mile radius and complimentary port and sherry in the Library each evening. Come sunset, the hotel’s Bascule Bar is the place to be, with marina views, top-notch tapas and an impressive choice of tipples, including more than 400 whiskies from around the world.

West Quay Road, Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, 8000

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Best for… Food: The Cellars-Hohenort

The Cellars-Hohenort

Driving the 20 minutes or so from central Cape Town to The Cellars-Hohenort takes you from busy city streets to semi-rural idyll. This five-star hotel in the leafy Constantia Valley is set in nine acres of glorious gardens, including rose beds, vineyards and a protected grove of ancient camphor trees. It’s also one of the jewels in Cape Town’s foodie crown, with a host of gastronomic awards under its belt and a flagship restaurant, The Greenhouse, that’s consistently ranked one of South Africa’s finest. Its tasting menu introduces indigenous ingredients and flavours, accompanied by excellent Cape wines. Other attractions include a second restaurant, two bars and assorted leisure facilities, from pools, gym and tennis courts to a spa, hair salon and boutique.

93 Brommersvlei Road, Constantia, 7806

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Best for… Family: Belmond Mount Nelson Hotel

Belmond Mount Nelson Hotel

The pink-painted Mount Nelson isn’t just a hotel – it’s a Cape Town institution, with a distinguished history, a legendary afternoon tea, and a best-of-both-worlds location – in the city centre but surrounded by nine acres of gardens, where children can safely play. Interiors put a modern twist on period glamour and while everything is luxurious and high-end, it’s also family friendly. The kids’ club offers educational games, toys, storytelling and organised activities for younger children while the spa menu includes treatments for teens, and facilities in the grounds include two heated pools, one of which welcomes junior swimmers and can even lay on a swimming coach to give them a little extra help.

76 Orange Street, Gardens. Cape Town, 8001

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Best for… Business: The Westin Cape Town

The Westin Cape Town

As well as being directly linked to the CTICC (Cape Town International Convention Centre), the Westin Cape Town also has impressive conference facilities of its own, along with a full-service business centre. The clean-lined bedrooms are business-friendly, too, with a modern work desk and comfortable chair, free high-speed internet access and round-the-clock room service. Upgrade to Executive Club and you’ll get access to the lounge as well. Downtime options don’t disappoint either: there’s a choice of restaurants on the ground floor and, up on the 19th floor, an excellent spa, where you can book a range of treatments, work out in the gym, relax in the sauna or put in some laps in the indoor infinity pool, soaking up fabulous views over the city at the same time.

Convention Square, Lower Long Street, Cape Town, 8000

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Best for… Design: Gorgeous George

Gorgeous George

Step through the front door of this arty urban hotel and you’re greeted by a ceramic wall map of Cape Town, created from 1,800 tiles hand-painted by artist Lucie de Moyencourt. Bedrooms, too, showcase the work of local and international designers, against a backdrop that marries modern industrial influences and vintage-style glamour – there are raw concrete beams and exposed metal pipes alongside velvet sofas and bold Mooi carpets. In fact, everywhere you look, there’s some kind of visual impact, especially up on the 6th floor, where the indoor-outdoor Gigi Rooftop is a playful, zoned space that takes in a library-lounge, cocktail bar and restaurant, plant-filled conservatory and a little jewel of a rooftop pool.

118 St George’s Mall, Cape Town City Centre, 8001

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Best for… Conscious: Taj Cape Town

Taj Cape Town

The luxurious Taj Cape Town enjoys a metropolitan location in the heart of the CBD, close to a number of restaurants and attractions, which you can quickly discover by joining one of the hotel’s free daily walking tours, designed to introduce guests to this historic neighbourhood and its heritage. Such community-supporting initiatives are a key part of the Taj philosophy, as is working to reduce the hotel’s environmental impact. In recent years, old light bulbs have been swapped for energy-efficient LEDs and single-use plastics replaced by more eco-friendly options. There are natural paints on the walls and a guiding principle in the spa is that everything that touches the body should also be entirely natural, from the organic cotton towels to the botanical ingredients in many treatments.

1 Wale Street, 8000

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Best for… Views: The Twelve Apostles Hotel & Spa

The Twelve Apostles Hotel  Spa

A bit of a drive down the coast along the Atlantic Seaboard will deposit you at one of the most romantic hotels in Cape Town, with dramatic views over the temperamental Atlantic Ocean on one side and the grand Twelve Apostles mountain range on the other. To take in the ambience, have a late afternoon cocktail or high tea at the Leopard Bar: the terrace might be home to the best sunset view in the city. In fact, everything here is geared around those incredible vistas; accessible mountain walks come with the offer of a cliff-side picnic spread, most rooms enjoy a mountain or sea view, and spa treatments can be taken overlooking the Atlantic in an outdoor mountain gazebos.

Victoria Road, Camps Bay, 8005

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