Table Bay vs. 12 Apostles Hotel - thoughts?
 

Rocco - found your thoughts on this very useful, wanted some other points of view. Cost not an object for 4 night stay, (husband's work paying for) we are 2 32year olds, want a central location for sites of Cape Town, will have car. I'm leaning towards 12 Aps, as not too keen on a casino hotel (plus Rocco said the rooms aren't THAT amazing at Table Bay). Am concerned that 12 Apostles is too far out of the way (could be compeltely unfounded?) thanks, Julie

jk4

Not only is the Apostles hotel too far out it is miles away from anything relevant to the city centre. Go to http://ilovecapetown.com/12apostles/12apostles.htm to see more

In my opinion there are many, many other much better options in Cape Town as far as accommodation is concerned that simply shade the Apostles but then with that said I am going to stay out of any future debate in this thread about the Apostles because it has been hacked to death on this forum already.

Simply run a search on "Apostles" and I can assure you that you will find all the information you need on this subject jck4.

Just my twopence worth.

Very proudly part of the wonderful ((r)) nation of South Africa

Julie,

If you and your husband are planning on having your own car, I think the Twelve Apostles is the perfect choice. You are 3-5 minutes drive outside of Camps Bay, 15-20 minutes drive from the Waterfront and a reasonable distance from all Cape Town attractions.

The Table Bay vs. the Twelve Apostles is not a fair comparison...no contest, the Twelve Apostles wins hands down for luxury, ambience, view and service. Do you REALLY want thousands of non-guests walking through your hotel lobby each day and night?

There is a reason why the Twelve Apostles was voted the #1 hotel in Southern Africa by Conde Nast Traveler readers. It was voted the #6 property in all of Africa and the Middle East and placed ahead of the Cape Grace, Ellerman House and Table Bay Hotel.

I found the ride to and from the Twelve Apostles to be a pleasure as it is an ocean hugging road and it is nice to escape the crowds. Within five minutes of Camps Bay, the Twelve Apostles is very nicely located...not close enough to walk from the hotel to Camps Bay or anywhere else, but exclusively located within a short driving distance of just about everywhere.

As I have already written in other threads, the buffet breakfast each morning at the Twelve Apostles is to die for...heavenly and with the opportunity to eat on the outdoor patio overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

Also, as I have mentioned, the beds at the Twelve Apostles are amazing...after our initial visit my wife totally redesigned our bed to match the comfort of the Twelve Apostles...I can only imagine thread counts and whatever duvets, etc., but our bed has never been the same. :)

The Table Bay is a perfectly good hotel, just not in the same league as the Twelve Apostles.

If you do decide to stay at the Twelve Apostles, I suggest you try to get a Superior Ocean View room or better. If there is a dollar limit that you may spend, Luxury Link usually has some great four night packages to the Twelve Apostles.

Lastly, the Twelve Apostles has an amazing looking spa within the hotel and hiking trails that start right at the back of the hotel and go up into the Twelve Apostles mountain range. Unbeatable ocean views on one side and the Twelve Apostles mountains on the other side. Absolutely perfect location! :)

Good luck and enjoy your stay in Cape Town.

Somebody has got their knickers into a twist. :) :)

http://www.capegrace.com/mail/mailcontent.asp?ref=242

Very proudly part of the wonderful ((r)) nation of South Africa

http://www.cntraveller.com/ReadersAwards/2005/Hotels/

OVERSEAS LEISURE HOTELS - MIDDLE EAST, AFRICA AND THE INDIAN OCEAN ISLANDS

Ngorogoro Crater Lodge in Tanzania is your favourite hotel in the Middle East, Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands, with the highest scores for location (98.77), service/ staff (96.88) and ambience/decor (98.64). Last years winner, Singita Private Game Reserve in South Africa, did exceptionally well in all criteria, and got top marks for food/restaurants (98) and environmental friendliness (99.98!), while One&Only Royal Mirage in Dubai was singled out for its leisure facilities (94.78) and North Island in Seychelles praised for its standard/comfort of accommodation (96.87).

1 Ngorongoro Crater Lodge, Tanzania 96.86%
2 Singita Private Game Reserve, South Africa 96.76%
3 Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at The First Residence, Egypt 91.86%
4 North Island, Seychelles 91.76%
5 One&Only Royal Mirage, Dubai 91.11%
6 The Twelve Apostles Hotel & Spa, Cape Town 87.53%
7 Ngala Private Game Reserve, Kruger National Park, South Africa 85.43%
8 Ellerman House, Cape Town 85.06%
9 The Chedi Muscat, Oman 84.92%
10 Ulusaba, South Africa 84.78%
11 Burj Al Arab, Dubai 83.91%
12 Cape Grace, Cape Town 83.63%
13 Al Bustan Palace InterContinental, Oman 83.55%
14 One&Only Le Touessrok, Mauritius 82.42%
15 Madinat Jumeirah The Arabian Resort Dubai 82.35%
16 The Table Bay Hotel, Cape Town 82.22%
17 Londolozi Private Game Reserve, South Africa 81.76%
18 Four Seasons Resort Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt 80.43%
19 The Residence, Mauritius 80.19%
20 The Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Dubai 80.03%

Selwyn,

My knickers are doing just fine, thank you. I have not reverted to talking about your knickers, so whose knickers are really in a twist here, yours or mine? ;)

I do thank you for bringing up the Conde Nast Traveler awards in the first place, a couple days ago, but which one do you think has more relevance...the newsletter from the Cape Grace's website or the direct link from Conde Nast Traveller's website which shows the Twelve Apostles as the best hotel in Cape Town?

I am very pleased to see that the Crater Lodge is #1 since I booked this lodge a few months ago. Heaven knows how expensive it will get know, if it can possibly get anymore expensive than it already is!

Singita at #2. Hmmmm...for my money, I would much rather stay at Simbambili where I stayed for half the price in nearly equally luxurious accomodations and could see the spotlights from the Singita vehicles at night. It is not as if the Sand River is the Zambezi River, so the fact that Simbambili has the Sand River is not that big a deal.

#3, #4 and #5...don't know them but I am sure they are great.

#6 Twelve Apostles Hotel. Wow, talk about a strong entrance into the polls, and deservedly so! :) With two visits now, I absolutely love this hotel. It is small enough to offer the best service and exclusivity, yet just large enough at about 70 rooms to offer all the necessary comforts, including the best spa in Cape Town! :)

One word of advice...book your spa treatments before you arrive. For the entire three days that we were at the Twelve Apostles this year, my wife could not get a reservation at the spa.

http://www.12apostleshotel.com/defau...Id=22&sc=1

whoa, thanks guys, put your pistols down!

We WERE booked at the Cape Grace, who emailed up yesterday to say they are overbooked for our stay and are shifting us to the Table Bay. Not sure we want to be shifted, though! As nice as 12 Apostles sounds, not sure we want to be so far out of town. any other suggestions?

I have no horse in the seemingly endless Selwyn-Rocco tussle, but I have recently stayed at the 12 Apostles and found it a terrific place to stay.

I did like the location. It's at the ocean, a short (and spectacular) drive from the Cape Preserve and Simon's Town, with easy access to Cape Town city (though, frankly, I found more places that appealed to me on the outskirts of Cape Town than in the city itself). Sunsets at the 12 Apostles are fantastic, as the sun sets over the Atlantic -- you get a perfect view from the bar, from the restaurant's patio, or from any of the ocean-view rooms.

The restaurant at the 12 Apostles absolutely exceeded all my expectations. Service was perfect: neither stuffy nor sloopy. And the food was out of this world, prepared with the freshest ingredients and obviously with great care. A wine-tasting table lets you sample some gorgeous wines before you order them, and the sommelier is absolutely helpful without putting on airs. In short, I loved the restaurant.

I had a massage at the spa, and it was pretty good but maybe not great. The communications between the spa and the hotel were not perfect, and the massuer had a bit of trouble getting used to the room's setup. That said, the facilities are lovely.

I'd also commend the staff at the 12A. They have very clearly been trained well, and the service approached the level of some of the great 5* resorts.

If you are staying there over the December period the 12 Aps has some advantages as well is disadvantages.

That coast line is stunning, consequently draws a lot of traffic over the December holidays, getting to and from the hotel from the city, particulartly in the vening can be frustrating. The Cape roads are narrow and beach goesr park on the verge.

the advantage is that you are already "out-there" and if your goal is to explore the peninsula and beyond you are in a prime sight to achieve this.

With all that has been said, you certainly will not be dissapointed with either hotel, they are both five star and meet this standard with aplomb! Cape Town is also a small place making most attractions, retsaurants etc an easy ten to fifteen minute drive. Even from the 12 A's.

Has anybody on this board actually completed a survey for CN or Tvl and Leisure? Readers choice? You have to wonder!

We stayed at the Table Bay hotel one August and it was lovely and very well situated if you like to be able to walk a lot of places. The rooms are very comfortable and we had an end room with a wrap-around view of the harbor and Table Mountain. There certainly were no crowds there in Dec.(although it was busy) and the breakfast buffets were fantastic and we enjoyed 3 dinners in their award winning restaurant with views of the mountain. Supposedly, they also have a wonderful spa but we had no time to use it. It was big plus for us to be able to walk and do some shopping, and walk to the ferry to Robben Is., etc.

jck4

It's been 3 years since our stay at the Table Bay Hotel. I was very pleased with all aspects of the hotel. The service for us was top notch, the room was very comfortable and well maintained and we enjoyed a number of meals in the hotel restaurant. If they still have the mushroom soup on the menu it's very good and done in a puff pastry. My spouse still remembers it well as he had it more than once.

I also liked being in close proximity to the waterfront and all the activities. We too had a room with a wrap around window to view the mountain and harbor area. During our stay there wasn't a casino in the hotel so can't comment on that.

I didn't experience any crowds during our stay which was in the month of July. The lobby lounge area is a spacious and attractive area to sit and enjoy afternoon pastries etc. or evening drinks and also offers fabulous views of T. mtn.

If you enjoy good seafood I can recommend La Baia restaurant which is right in the Waterfront Mall.

Enjoy your time in beautiful Cape Town.

Roccco -

Well, if you're unfamiliar with #3 The Four Seasons in Cairo; #4 North Island in the Seychelles; #5 One&Only Royal Mirage in Dubai - you've got to find out.

You can always combine Kenya with Egypt; a good extension from Kenya is North Island in the Seychelles (this would definitely be my choice); and another from Kenya is Dubai (believe there are 4 flights daily to NBO) - oh so many hotels (One&Only Royal Mirage... one of many) to check out here with the largest 24/7 shopping mall/airport in the Middle East and their Gold Market. Once Palm Island is finished...the American's will be flocking. When you have so much money why not just reclaim the sand from the ocean and build your own island with lux hotels built on it. You're missing out on so much... better get on this island before everyone else find the place.

In the end whether it's Conde Nast or Travel & Leisure - US or UK editions, it's all subjective. That's why we have so many choices. And, remember - as soon as a hotel, B&B, safari camp or restaurant finds their name on one of these lists - the prices increase and when it comes to restaurants especially, service often suffers.

Take it all with a grain..... Find your own great place and don't tell!

Thanks for your help everyone; we are going with Table Bay, partly because I don't want to spend TOO much time in the hotel (as I think I would be tempted to do at the 12 Apostles!!) but rather getting OUT to see the sights. The central location is def. a big plus too. Hopefully they will give us a decent room.

Julie

Regardless of where you stay, you are going to LOVE Cape Town. It is one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

jck4,

Have a great time at the Table Bay. However, before you actually book the hotel, have a look at this:

http://www.luxurylink.com/auctions/a...380&save=1