karn

We will be in Cape Town on May 16 for several days. Don't know where to stay. Am thinking of the waterfront, but seems very pricey for me. Would like to keep in the $200/nite range. Any suggestions on locations or hotels? Any suggestions much apppreciated!

Selwyn_Davidowitz

Kam,

The answer to good accommodation at good prices in Cape Town and for that matter the whole of SA is guesthouses, guesthouses, guesthouses! Unless one wants anonymity I really dont understand why people who visit SA dont seem to understand that guesthouses beat hotels hands down when it comes to accommodation.

Owners of South African guesthouses are generally marvellous hosts. The ones that I use as a tour guide definitely are as such. With that said bear in mind that guesthouses represent excellent accommodation that is much more personalized at MUCH BETTER rates than hotels.

I must add that besides the fact that guesthouses are marvellous venues to stay in their rates also include a fantastic breakfast. This is very important relative to your question as many forget about this in the TOTAL price. At most venues one enjoys this meal in the wonderful, friendly, guesthouse breakfast room. Guesthouse rooms generally are much better than hotel rooms when it comes to size and facilities and please bear in mind that unlike the crazy notion that some people have about guesthouses EVERY ROOM in a respectable guesthouse has its OWN PRIVATE en suite facilities such as a shower or bath + toilet. When one stays at a guesthouse one has total freedom of movement and generally every guesthouse has some special attraction such as a fantastic view etc. 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 guesthouse while you are there. One also generally gets to know these fellow travellers and many travel tips are shared over the breakfast table. Thus you obtain great accommodation, friendly 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.

All in all staying in a SA guesthouse is a wonderfully free and easy style of holidaying.

Another important point is that is as absolute myth to want to believe that for a great Cape Town stay one has to be located near to the Waterfront. The Waterfront is nothing other than a big shopping mall. If one falls for this type of need then you will more than likely miss out on some of the other great accommodation which is much better located in Cape Town.

In terms of good guesthouses at good prices may I suggest that you look at the following sites:

<b><u>
Craigrownie Guesthouse
</u></b>
http://www.craigrowniehse.co.za/

Wonderful venue. 50 yards from the Sea Point seafront. Well appointed. Friendly staff. Reasonably close to all. Away from all the action yet close to it. A facility at the guesthouse is a free broadband internet connection.

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<b><u>
Avanti.
</u></b>
www.avanti.co.za

Tried and tested ranking amongst the best value for money in Cape Town. Also 50 yards from the Sea Point seafront. HIGHLY recommended.

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<b><u>
Davids
</u></b>
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. Well appointed and has to be amongst the best value in Cape Town. Highly recommended.

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<b><u>
Cape Standard
</u></b>

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.


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<b><u>
Cape Codogan.
</u></b>

http://www.capecadogan.com/

Fabulous venue with wonderfully spacious and beautifully decorated rooms. Close to city and well located relative to some fabulous restaurants that are all within walking distance. Slightly more expensive than the average guesthouse but certainly worth the money.

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<b><u>
An African Villa
</u></b>

http://capetowncity.co.za/villa/

Fantastic place to stay that is relatively close to city centre. Guesthouse is superbly run by wonderful hosts who offer great value for money, is beautifully decorated. Close to many restaurants by foot. Internet facilities available. Simply a wonderful place to stay.

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<b><u>
Redbourne Hilldrop
</u></b>

http://www.redbourne.co.za/

Great venue. Very well appointed. Wonderfully friendly staff and hosts. In upper part of Cape Town meaning that you will need a car to get around or otherwise you could quite comfortably use taxis. In actual fact the venue is a short taxi or bus ride away from all. Away from all the action yet close to it. Excellent prices and great value for money.

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<b><u>
Camps Bay Terrace.
</u></b>

http://www.campsbayterrace.com/

The website to this venue says it all. This is what I believe is the finest place to stay in Camps Bay. The establishment is meticulously run. I would suggest that one should stay in the penthouse if you are 4 people and in the suite if you are two people. The views at this guesthouse are amazing to say the least. One is a walk away from the beach and close to many of the local restaurants in Camps Bay. Please note that this is a self catering venue but one is very close to many coffee shops as well as a supermarket where you can buy anything you need for eating purposes that can be made in the wonderful kitchens in the penthouse or the suite. VERY VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

VERY IMPORTANT. There is construction taking place around Camps Bay Terrace at the moment and will probably be continuing till the end of this year (2008) so if you are looking at visiting us before this period, as wonderful as this guesthouse is, it could be somewhat noisy in the day times.

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<b><u>
The Village Lodge - De Waterkant
</u></b>
http://thevillagelodge.com/

These are fantastic self catering cottages at excellent rates. Very quaint, fabulously furnished with huge, huge, huge amounts of space. The cottages are also extremely well maintained. The cottages are right in the middle of where it is all happening near the city centre (10 minute walk away) as well the Waterfront. (20 minute walk away). The cottages are also close to many great little coffee houses where you can have breakfast as it should be noted that these venues are all self catering.

Hope the above helps to make your Cape Town stay a great one.

Very proudly part of the wonderful nation of South Africa

Poppins

Hi Karn

If you are set on staying at the Waterfront and don't mind self catering, then you should check the African Elite apartments. They are superbly decorated and definitely 5 star, and well situated with views of the harbour. And prices are low. Their website is http://www.africaneliteproperties.com/

I agree with Selwyn though that a guesthouse is probably the answer for you. You really don't need to be at the Waterfront to enjoy Cape Town.

karn

Thanks everyone for your responses! You just may be right-I think we will indeed look at guest houses. They all look fantastic and several have received awards.

Celia

Karn, we stayed at Avanti a few years ago, based on Selwyn's recommendation. It was great!

Celia

gard

Hi

We booked very late when we went there in March and we ended up at the Mandela Rhodes Place. It was a very nice hotel but it was more than 200$ I'm afriad. But maybe you can find some useful info in my Cape Town trip report with pictures: http://gardkarlsen.com/Cape_Town_trip_report.htm

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

africanj

Have a look at this site for any accommodation:

http://www.tourismgrading.co.za/tgcs...n/page437.html

The garding criteria is going to change and be reviewed in the near future, so this is a good site to refer to.

Good Luck

Viksy

Karn : We are planning to go to cape town and garden route in october with our children. Please recommend where you finally decided to stay and what you liked exceptionally.

jenwo

I appreciate all of you that responded to karn with lodging suggestions--I'm going to check them out myself! I had found one place in De Waterkant and was curious if that's a good area? safe to walk around at night? By any change, has anyone stayed at the Loader Street Terraces?

Thanks!
Jenwo

lincasanova

these guesthouses look great. Does one need a car at most of them or only at the one in the upper part of capetown? No mention of public transportation. are taxis the only other ( or safest) solution?

My kids will be there and hope not to have to rent a car.

sunsetrocks

I can only talk of what I have suggested, i.e. Llandudno and a car is a definite essential, eventhough there is a bus that goes to / from CT on a regular basis every day, but it is from the top of Llandudno and the apartment / house is at the foot of the mountain +/- 2,5km away and therefore you'd require a lift up / down, especially seeing that it will be the begining of our rainfall season. I do have the bus timetable / schedule should you wish to have a look at the times though, hope this is of some help, all the best from Ian.

lincasanova

please, locals, which of the mentioned guesthouses will be closest to the marina where the volvoo ocean race boats will dock in november?

thank you

Selwyn_Davidowitz

licasanova,

Unfortunately none of the above-mentioned guesthouses are anywhere close to the Royal Cape Yacht Club where the boats for the Volvo race will be moored. The unfortunate situation is that to my knowledge there are no guesthouses, or hotels for that matter, that are near to the yacht club. By using the word &quot;near&quot; I am talking about within walking distance. Taxis are very efficient, cheap and safe in Cape Town and you could always use this form of transport to travel to the yacht club. The closest of all of the above accommodation suggestions would then be the self catering cottages at De Waterkant.

Hope this helps

Very proudly part of the wonderful nation of South Africa

lincasanova

thank you so much. my daughter and her friend ended up booking an apt. they found online at a nice condominium complex they found at very reasonable rates.

i will have her give me a review for the board when she returns.

ctlocal

Viksy,

You will find lots of family-friendly holiday info on this site:
http://www.cape-town-family-holiday-magic.com

Post back here if you need specific advice and recommendations, people are always happy to help.

FoggyEthan

Bringing back an old thread: I'm facing the choice of whether to spend two nights on the water front, or back in the Tamboerskloof. Living in a city with a very touristy waterfront (San Francisco), I feel no need to feel like I'm in tourist-land, somewhere without any locals.

Tam sounds like an interesting neighborhood, and I enjoy walking around lively real neighborhoods, but I'm concerned that I'll feel very isolated.

Can people share some views about the tradeoff between interesting neighborhood and location?

Thanks!
-- Ethan

ekscrunchy

I stayed at Kensington Place which is not far from Kloof Street. The area is lovely, but we were cautioned by several locals not to do any walking around at night. So while there is a lot of local activity along Kloof Street--restaurants, bars, shops, local life in general--we could not really enjoy it without taking a taxi. Perhaps those that cautioned us were being overly protective, I do not know. Having said all of that,I would still prefer to be in that area rather than around the Waterfront, which seemed to be a bit Disney-fied to me. The activity of Kloof Street would be nearby and you could decide whether to walk or take a very short taxi ride.

Cape Town is marvelous!! Enjoy!