Cape Town Hotel – The One and Only
There are a handful of up market hotels in Cape Town, here’s why we think you should choose to stay at the One and Only Cape Town.
Location in Cape Town
The One and Only hotel Cape Town is situated a few minutes walk away from the iconic Waterfront area of town. We felt completely safe walking around this area of Cape Town. There are also a number of very smart apartment blocks in the vicinity, not high rise buildings like Dubai, but low rise style flats set in palm lined avenues and streets. It’s an easy 25-minute car journey from the One and Only hotel. We took the hotel private shuttle service from the airport.
Rooms at the One and Only Hotel
We stayed in a Mountain View King room that overlooked Cape Town’s famous Table Mountain. Our room had a balcony with 2 chairs and a table and was my favourite place to have a cup of rooisbush tea in the morning. Cape Town is 2 hours behind Dubai so you will wake up early, that’s a good thing in Cape Town as there is so much you’ll want to do! Get some Cape Town ideas and facts if you’re planning a visit.
I honestly couldn’t fault my room. It was a very good size, it had a large balcony window so there was a great deal of natural light. There was a sofa in front of the very comfortable bed. The linen I think felt as if it was at least 600 thread count!
The kettle for making hot drinks was filled with water for us and wasn’t hidden away in a cupboard with a difficult to reach plug! The bathroom was particularly well laid out with separate areas for showering, dressing, make up etc
Facilities at the One and Only Hotel – Cape Town
I only used the pool at the hotel, which was filled with natural water and almost seemed like a lake pool. Cape Town can get quite cool in the evenings so despite the pool being heated, us Dubaians may find it a bit cold! So swim in the middle of the day when it’s warm if your schedule permits. I loved all the birds that settled on the pillars at one end of the pool and the backdrop was very natural. The hotel also has a full service spa that I didn’t get time to try.
Restaurants at the One and Only Hotel – Cape Town
We ate dinner at Reubens, then later that night joined some friends for dessert at Nobu. Both restaurants are on the ground floor.
My favourite meal was definitely breakfast at Reubens on the terrace in front of the lake with the agapanthus dotted around the edges. The setting was perfect but do be warned, these tables are very sought after! I loved the proteas (Cape Town’s national flowers) set in bud vases on our table too.
Dubai folks listen up, these flowers are real even though they look artificial. So I haven’t even started seeing what’s on offer for food, but I’m already delighted! If you’d like to buy some proteas to take home then I recommend Caroline Fine Flowers in the Waterfront Mall.
The breakfast spread is outstanding. I particularly liked all the local fresh fruits on offer from Cape gooseberries, raspberries, strawberries and blueberries. There is an emphasis on everything being freshly made. It almost seems like things taste “home made” despite us being at a hotel buffet!
I ordered a decaffeinated soya milk cappuccino thinking that may present an issue, but that wasn’t a problem at all! In fact Cape Town is filled with healthy cafes and restaurants. The breakfast set up reminded me a little of the Broadmoor hotel in Colerado in the States, especially with the mountains at the back.
While Reubens was superb for breakfast, I felt our dinner there could have been improved upon. I don’t eat beef so all the steak options were out for me, but there were too many deep fried items on the dinner menu at Reubens.
Having said that the wine list at Reubens is outstanding. They have 3 areas or wine lofts on different floors of the restaurant that house some incredibly good reds, whites and rosees. We let our sommelier Musa select for us based on our food, and we were very impressed.
Check if you NEED A VISA for visiting Cape Town
We tried dessert and after dinner drinks at Nobu with some friends much later that night. Dessert was very good and our friends (some of whom are strict vegetarians!) were very happy with their food. It was fairly late, around 11pm or so on a week night, and the restaurant was quite quiet, but unlike Dubai, I don’t think Cape Town is a very late night place mid week.
Stand Outs at the One and Only Hotel – Cape Town
I’d definitely stay at this hotel again if I was visiting Cape Town. It’s not cheap, but we found most hotels in Cape Town to be expensive. There were a few stand outs that made this hotel worth it.
- Location and safety
- Room size and views of Table mountain
- Linen quality
- Breakfast at Reubens
Find out MORE about Cape Town
- Find out more about what to do in Cape Town as far as eating and drinking goes. You MUST make time to go to Babylonstoren too.
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