Cape Grace

Yachts tie up below the windows of Cape Grace, on its own quay at the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront in Cape Town, and beyond their masts the flat top of Table Mountain closes the view. The hotel stands on a spit of land between the yacht marina and the working harbour, with water on most sides, which gives it a calmer address than the busy shopping quays a little further along.

History

The Waterfront takes its name from its two old basins. The Alfred Basin was begun in 1860, when Prince Alfred, the second son of Queen Victoria, tipped the first load of stone, and the Victoria Basin followed later in the century. By the 1980s the old basins were run down, and their redevelopment as a district of shops, restaurants, offices and hotels began at the end of that decade.

Cape Grace opened in 1996, one of the first hotels built on the redeveloped quays. For a quarter of a century it was run as an independent hotel, and it drew a loyal following among travellers who wanted the harbour without the scale of the larger chain properties. In 2021 it closed for a full refurbishment, and it reopened in 2022 under the management of Fairmont, part of Accor, which added its name to the official title.

Architecture and design

The building is low and pale, a few storeys high, and reads as part of the harbour rather than as a tower. Inside, the hotel built its early reputation on decoration that drew on the mixed heritage of the Cape, with antiques, hand-printed fabrics and maritime details. The refurbishment of 2021 and 2022 renewed the rooms and public spaces while keeping the sense of a private house by the water.

Rooms and suites

Rooms face one of two views. On one side lie the yacht marina and Table Mountain; on the other, the working harbour, where tugs, fishing boats and the occasional cruise ship pass. Suites add separate living rooms for longer stays and for families.

Dining

The Bascule, named after the lifting bridge that crosses the channel nearby, is the room most people remember. It made its name with a long list of whiskies, many of them single malts, and a terrace at the water's edge, and it draws residents of the city as well as guests, especially in the early evening when the low sun lights the mountain. The hotel's restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner with views over the marina.

Wellness

The hotel has its own spa with treatment rooms, and an outdoor pool on a terrace facing Table Mountain.

Weddings and events

Cape Grace hosts weddings, receptions, private dinners and small meetings. Its function rooms are sized for intimate events rather than large conferences, and the terraces by the water are used for drinks and receptions.

Location

The Waterfront is the most visited district in Cape Town. Within its boundaries are the Two Oceans Aquarium, the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, opened in 2017 in a converted grain silo, and the Nelson Mandela Gateway, from which ferries leave for Robben Island, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999. The city centre and the beaches of the Atlantic seaboard are both a short drive away. Cape Town International Airport lies about 20 kilometres east, roughly half an hour by car outside rush hour.

It is a luxury hotel in Cape Town for those who want the harbour at the door and the mountain in the window, and who would rather walk to dinner along the quays than take a car.