The Best Hotels in Cape Town
Cape Town is the rare city that mixes urban pleasures with natural wonders. Hotel rooms here generally include special amenities like stellar views of Table Mountain, the spectacular coastline, or the charming V&A Waterfront. The city's recent recognition as a World Design Capital was not a fluke—in addition to all the trappings of luxury hotels worldwide, Cape Town accommodations offer beautiful views inside, too: elegant furniture that harkens back to South Africa's colonial era or colors and patterns that nod to the surrounding landscape and tribal traditions. Here's our curated list of favorite hotels in Cape Town.
76 Orange St, Gardens, Cape Town, 8001, South Africa
The Belmond Mount Nelson is a window back to South Africa’s colonial era, but only its finer aspects. A statue of Mahatma Gandhi presides over the entrance; the service is oh-so-proper; and guests enjoy a lavish, quintessentially English...
W Quay Rd, V & A Waterfront, Cape Town, 8002, South Africa
There’s a reason Cape Grace always tops the list of Cape Town’s best hotels. Everyone loves a classic, particularly the kind where the service might lull you into thinking you’re the only one at the hotel. That’s no small...
90 Bree St, Cape Town City Centre, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa
The word “heritage” need not evoke a stuffy yesteryears vibe. At this intimate boutique hotel in the Central Business District’s Heritage Square, owners Johan and Victoria Nel have lovingly restored a 1780s building into a...
47 Main Rd, Green Point, Cape Town, 8005, South Africa
There’s a touch of Old World glamour to the Cape Royale—the imposing facade, the dramatic lobby, the bellmen in top hats—but just when you start to wonder if the whole experience is going to be resolutely old-school, you’ll...
232 Kloof Rd, Clifton, Cape Town, 8005, South Africa
This exclusive hotel perched high above popular Clifton Beach sits on some of the country’s best real estate, nestled between mountains and the Atlantic Ocean. Part of Rare Earth’s Beach Portfolio of properties, it’s an airy...
Moorings 5 & Portswood Ridge, 5 Portswood Rd, V & A Waterfront, Cape Town, 8001, South Africa
Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront is a fairly modern affair of shiny shopping mall, behemoth Ferris wheel, and massive harborside restaurants, to name a few highlights. Which is what makes the stylish Dock House stand out from its overly...
180 Kloof Rd, Bantry Bay, Cape Town, 8005, South Africa
Surrounded by bold artwork inside and magnificent ocean views outside, guests are never quite sure where to direct their gaze when they arrive at Ellerman House. A stay here is a bit like visiting an elegant and attentive friend, starting with the...
Baviaanskloof Rd, Scott Estate, Cape Town, 7806, South Africa
Hout Bay Manor embodies that quirky charm, but with impeccable taste—eclectic furniture straight out of Alice in Wonderland finds a home alongside traditional African fabrics and motifs, all beneath the eaves of a classic Cape Dutch home...
Dock Road, V & A Waterfront, Cape Town, 8001, South Africa
Hands down, this is Cape Town’s most glamorous hotel. The Adam Tihany–designed interiors were unveiled just in time for the 2010 World Cup, and the celebrities haven’t stopped coming since. The rooms are spacious and mellow,...
38 Long St, Cape Town City Centre, Cape Town, 8001, South Africa
You might hear Long Street before you see it—this bustling artery is the heart of Cape Town, home to some of the city’s most popular restaurants, bars, and boutiques, all within a few blocks’ radius of the Grand Daddy Hotel. Built in 1895, this...
Silo Square, V & A Waterfront, Cape Town, 8801, South Africa
The new crown jewel of the Cape Town hotel scene, The Silo is housed in an old grain elevator, perched above 42 cement silos on the V&A Waterfront. The silos, which extend outward below the hotel, are home to the world-class Zeitz Museum of...
-34.088639, 18.359575, Noordhoek, Cape Town, 7979, South Africa
Cape Town already feels like it’s at the tip of the world, but the sensation is magnified at Tintswalo Atlantic, where guests get cozy in suites just a few feet from the ocean. Park in the lot just off famed Chapman’s Peak Drive and...
