I am re-posting this question. Thanks for the advise I got about what part of Cape Town to stay in and where is not safe.
I have narrowed it down to two places in the Waterfront/Greenpoint area that fit my budget. They are: The Break Water Lodge and The Cape Caste Hotel.
Anybody stayed at either one or have any input?
Thanks.

The Breakwater Lodge is a very b asic accommodation. It's actually a former prison. It is situated about 2 minutes walk to the V&A Waterfront. You will get much more luxury in the Cape Castle Hotel. I would say it depends on how long you plan to stay. If you stay mroe than 1 or 2 nights, I would suggest going with the Cape Castle Hotel, simply because the Breakwater Lodge is too basic for a stay longer than that.

thanks so much!

Trixie,

I agree with Chris80's excellent advice when he suggested to you that the Breakwater Lodge firstly was a prison and these days the rooms are not much bigger than the original prison cells so please be aware of this. The Cape Castle is sort of ok in that it is an average type of hotel which I must mention is safe and clean.

Even though these two venues have nothing that will make your stay a poor one in Cape Town I think that if you want to stay in a hotel you will be better off at The Graeme Hotel. http://www.hotelgraeme.co.za/ This hotel offers fantastic value for money and excellent rooms. The hotel is very close to a lively area where there are good restaurants and lots of local activity. Just like the Breakwater Lodge or the Cape Castle the hotel is within walking distance of the Waterfront however I would not do this walk at night as far as the Graeme or the Cape Castle is concerned.

For good value and excellent accommodation my personal choice would
be to stay in a guesthouse as opposed to a hotel. I say this because owners of South African guesthouses are generally marvellous hosts. The ones that I use definitely are as such. Bear in mind that guesthouses represent excellent accommodation that is much more personalized at MUCH better rates than hotels. Guesthouses are marvelous venues to stay in and their rate also includes a fantastic breakfast. At
most guesthouses you enjoy this meal in the wonderful, friendly breakfast
room. When you are in a guesthouse you have total freedom of movement. It
is a wonderful free and easy style of holidaying. What also is most
important is that because of the size of the guesthouse you will NOT be in
amongst the hordes of tourists as you might only have a couple of other
guests at the establishment while you are there. Thus you get great
accommodation, personalised attention as well as wonderful value in a very
safe place to stay when you reside in guesthouses and that is why I
recommend them so highly.

With regard to where you seem to be looking for places to stay I would recommend the following guesthouses (that is if you can obtain a reservation as they are very popular)

Davids
http://www.davids.co.za/

Wonderful venue with fantastic hosts. Close to city as well as the Green Point strip where there are many restaurants. Walking distance from the Waterfront during day time. Well appointed and has to be amongst the best value in Cape Town. Highly recommended.


Cape Standard
http://www.capestandard.co.za/home.htm

Well located. Lovely guesthouse with super friendly host. Great value for money and certainly not expensive. Rooms are done up in a rustic manner with all conveniences available. Great breakfast area.

Hope that the above helps you enjoy your stay in our wonderful city.

Very proudly part of the wonderful nation of South Africa

Thanks for all of your help. I am looking into those suggestions, have crossed the Breakwater off my list. I will be needing to get to the convention center for a conference the first several days and that is also affecting my decision as where to stay.
Any other suggestions would be great. Also, I am booked in the wine country for two nights at a place called Allegria House. Anybody know of it?

Trixie

I have not stayed at Allegria nor have I visited the guesthouse however a past visitor of mine, who also is a Fodroite (Paloaltotraveler), has stayed there and to my knowledge she enjoyed the stay. She was the sort of traveller who did her pre travel homework thoroughly, is a very giving person and furthermore I would trust her views implicitly.

You can do a search on Fodors for her name and see all that she experienced through her postings. I have checked these postings but could find no report of Allegria and will thus send you her email address per email so as to protect her privacy in a public forum.
You can then write to her personally.

I gather from your email to me that you have tried to book the guesthouses that I have spoken of and I can but only hope that you succeed in obtaining accommodation at these great places of stay.

Hope this will all help make your stay in Cape Town a great experience.

Very proudly part of the wonderful nation of South Africa

There are numerous hotels close to the Convention Centre. I have stayed in the Holiday Inn which was quite pleasant. But those hotels will be much more pricey than the one in Green Point.
There is a City Lodge close to the Convention Centre as well, which is not that expensive. Have a look at http://www.citylodge.co.za/cl10.htm
But besides that, I also agree that a Guest House or Bed and Breakfast would be a much "cozier" option

Hello Trixie,

I have not stayed at Allegria nor have I visited the guesthouse however a past visitor of mine, who also is a Fodroite (Paloaltotraveler), has stayed there and to my knowledge she enjoyed the stay. She was the sort of traveller who did her pre travel homework thoroughly, is a very giving person and furthermore I would trust her views implicitly.

You can do a search on Fodors for her name and see all that she experienced through her postings. I have checked these postings but could find no report of Allegria and will thus send you her email address per email so as to protect her privacy in a public forum.
You can then write to her personally.

I gather from your email to me that you have tried to book the guesthouses that I have spoken of and I can but only hope that you succeed in obtaining accommodation at these great places of stay.

Hope this will all help make your stay in Cape Town a great experience.

Very proudly part of the wonderful nation of South Africa

The holiday Inn Waterfront would be my suggestion since you could walk to the convention centre from there as well as benifit from free transport to the waterfront. The waterfront area is probably where you would spend most evenings anyway.
This would be the ultimate convenient spot for you to stay.

Trixie,

AfricanJ's suggestion of the Holiday Inn is an excellent one however I noticed in your earlier mails that you seemed to have discarded this option and you more than likely did so because of price.

It also seems to me as if you could be coming to Cape Town for the urology conference and if this is the case I want to give you a VERY IMPORTANT TIP and that is DO NOT LET PRICE DETERMINE your choice because believe me you are not going to find accommodation at all, let alone cheap accommodation, if you hang on for too much longer. Cape Town is filling up, that is if it is not filled already, at a rate of knots while this conference is on. With that said the Holiday Inn is a great prospect
particularly with location in mind.

I could be wrong about your timing in terms of when you will be in Cape Town but if I am correct please take serious heed to all of the above.

Just my twopence worth.

Very proudly part of the wonderful nation of South Africa

I will be in Cape Town at the end of Oct/beginning of Nov. for the Autism Conference.
Now that I am really considering the Greenpoint area there seem to be a lot of nice guest houses in my price range, so I am awaiting emails from them. Can you walk around that area safely? It is about 10-15 minutes from the waterfront, is that correct? And I will probably need to take a taxi to the convention center for the conference, right?
I will look into the Holiday Inn as well. I did want something not too touristy, so guest houses are a good idea.
Does the Greenpoint area have shops/cafe's or is it strictly residential?
Thanks so much for everyone's help. It has been great.
About the wine country:
Paloaltotraveler wrote to me and said she thought Allegria house was just ok. She suggested Akademie guest house in Franschhoek, but that is out of my price range. I just need something nice and simple somewhere in the wine country that is conveniently located. My dad and I will just spend two nights there.
I suppose we will visit wineries, Stellnbosch and Franschhoek. Does that seem doeable in two days?
Thanks again. This is a fabulous tool.

Trixie,

If you stay in Green Point you will have to cab to the Convention Centre. Green Point is mainly a residential area however it has quite a number of restaurants and coffee shops as well as a very small number of shops. You should be able to walk to the Waterfront from Green Point.

In terms of Winelands accommodation go take a look at the Plumwood Inn. http://www.plumwoodinn.com/index.html

Kavey found this place about 3 years ago and since then many Fodorites have stayed at the venue. I have also enjoyed an overnight at Plumwood and would recommend it highly. Safe, clean, spacious rooms and well run by very friendly and helpful hosts in the form of Lucienne & Roel. Location is perfect as you can walk anywhere at anytime from Plumwood to any part of "where it counts" in Franschhoek. Highly recommended.

Also go to http://www.ILoveCapeTown.com/plumwood/plumwood.htm where you can see a website with my own personal comments about Plumwood.

Hope this helps.

Very proudly part of the wonderful nation of South Africa