BEST TIME TO GO:
Seat days — it looks (in a good way) like a ’60s hotel, which means it also blends nicely into Sea Point. Inside, however, it is sleek and fresh with the atmosphere of a boutique hotel — lots of wood finishes, a quiet lobby with some deep couches and small but eminently useful bar. The overall feel is that of a beach house rather than a city hotel.
The interactive lobby and lounge area is especially pleasing — there is a long table with iPads where guests can bomb through their free 500MB daily Wi-Fi allocation. SERVICE: Friendly but never intrusive. It felt as if I was being looked after by mates who just happen to have a hotel. Nothing was too much trouble, not even my request for a Steelworks, which was made with just the right amount of bitters. (A good Steelworks may not be the fairest benchmark of service in the world, but it works for me.) HOW’S THE GRUB: A big and hearty breakfast is served in La Cafe, on the terrace or even at the long table in the lobby. For lunch and dinner . . . well, this is Sea Point: what do you feel like eating? There is a Spur right next door and the hotel has a list of places within walking distance that it recommends. ACTIVITIES: The “Continental Orchestra” — which provided the accompaniment for dancing from 8.30pm to midnight at the old hotel — is, sadly, a thing of the past. The Promenade, however, is a wonderful place to spend an afternoon. Check out the white horse sculptures (a memorial to the cargo of White Horse whisky that was lost in the wreck of the SA Seafarer in 1965) or sit on the rocks at Rocklands Beach and breathe in some good air while you contemplate the sea. This is Cape Town: with that climate, any time of year is good. I prefer the winter myself — I like those rainy days by the sea and it doesn’t rain every day. And as anyone who has ever spent time there knows, there are few things in this world quite as lovely as a sunny, crisp winter’s day in Cape Town. FACILITIES: There’s a small gym and an outdoor pool on the rooftop terrace. The hotel is also very pleased with its brandnew conference facilities, which opened last week — the six conference suites retain the bright and breezy beach-house atmosphere of the lobby and that, for those of us who spend time in conference halls, is a refreshing departure. RATES: A test booking on the hotel website for a Friday-night stay in September gave a standard rate of R1 474 per night. The rate includes breakfast. Guests get 500MB of free Wi-Fi access daily. CONTACT:
Arthur’s Road, Sea Point, Cape Town, phone 021 434 3344 or see marriott.com/hotels.