A beautiful hotel in the heart of Cape Town (The Cape Grace) (Cape Grace)

Member Name: Pandora321

Product:	Cape Grace
Date:	24/08/09 (52 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Luxurious, facilities galore, short walk to the Waterfront, excellent service and staff

Disadvantages: Pricey

I saw that there was no review of The Cape Grace hotel in Cape Town, South Africa, so although I visited around a year ago, I thought I would add my thoughts on this hotel in case anyone is planning a visit.

~The Hotel - General Info~
The Cape Grace is generally considered to be one of the top hotels in Cape Town. It is ideally located on its own quay in Cape Town's Victoria & Alfred (V&A) Waterfront, easy walking distance to many of the city's restaurants, bars, shops and attractions. The hotel itself is a large, rectangular pink building, with the backdrop of the beautiful Table Mountain and surrounded by the peaceful marina, with smart boats and even seals if you're lucky.

There are 121 rooms, many of which have been newly refurbished since my visit last year I believe. These range from luxury rooms to full-blown penthouse suites - I had a rooftop terrace room, which has a beautiful private terrace. The rooms are tastefully decorated, spacious and have all the mod-cons you could ever need, such as flat-screen TV, telephone, safe, mini-bar, hairdryer, toiletries, iron etc. I particularly liked that they had international plug sockets so I didn't need an adapter to charge my camera.

~Main Facilities~
The Cape Grace has all the facilities you could ever want in a hotel. There are two restaurants, one is the smart, formal 'Signal' restaurant (this has changed since I was there so I can't comment on it) and the second is the more relaxed, pub style, 'Bascule' bar. I have to say that I had the best fish and chips of my life here for lunch - absolutely delicious. For whisky lovers they have the most ridiculous amount of different whiskies, claiming to have the largest selection in the southern hemisphere. The hotel also has a beautiful spa - at the time of my visit guests were allowed to use this for free before 3pm (treatments had to be paid for though); sadly I didn't get to try out the spa, but I did poke my head in to have a quick look. It was fairly small but adequate, with a jaw-dropping view of Table Mountain from the loungers. Other facilities on offer include a library, tour desk, foreign exchange, library, gift shop, medium-sized pool (more for posing than real swimming I think) and free computer usage in their 'communication' room in case you need to check your emails and let everyone back home know how much fun you're having.

~My Thoughts~
The Cape Grace really impressed me. Yes the facilities are 5* and the rooms luxurious, but what actually impressed me most was the service and the staff. Friendly, efficient - for once, 'nothing was too much trouble' rang true. And yet, for all the luxurious facilities, I found I could still relax - this is a hotel with all the luxury but none of the pretention that, in my eyes, can so detract from your stay. The location is excellent as well as it's easy (and safe) just to stroll along the quay to the many restaurants and bars of the Waterfront, and an easy walk/drive/taxi ride to many of the main attractions of Cape Town, such as Table Mountain, the Robben Island departure point and the Botannical Gardens.

Unfortunately, of course, all this sumptuousness comes with a large price tag, but if you want a luxurious stop during your visit to Cape Town you can't go wrong with a stay at The Cape Grace. You get what you pay for in this case, and it's well worth it. Personally, I loved it.

Summary: Something for special occasions or a treat, but well worth the money.