floridagal23

We are flying into Cape Town prior to going on safari and now that we are finalizing our lodges, Cape Town is next.

How long do you recommend we stay in Cape Town? We presently have allotted 2 full days, but we can add a day easily.

We tentatively booked a room at 12 apostles through Amex FHR - rate was hovering around 300 per night and other FHRs were nearly double. This can be changed easily.

Thoughts for restaurant recommendations? We have an email in for dinner at test kitchen.

DrGiggles

Mrs. Giggles and I did 4 days in Cape town of which 1 day was relaxing/sleeping post flight, 1 day was wine visits in Stellenbosch, 1 day was a table mountain hike and 1 day driving to cape point, etc. That said, I think 2 days is fine if you can power through the jet lag as i wouldn't say that any of those were must-dos.

Loved test kitchen (try the tea pairing); though in a different way our favorite restaurant was codfather in camps bay (we went twice during our trip). While the decor is dumpy to put it mildly, the food we thought was excellent; think of it as the poor man's estiatorio milos (though i'd venture to say i liked it just as much as milos).

Wasn't sure if you were asking for hotel recommendations (and a realize this is a different price point) but we absolutely loved ellerman house.

have fun!

floridagal23

Thank you. We'll either fly out on a Friday and spend 3 days or a Saturday and spend 2 days so the third day is an easy add-on. Codfather looks right up our alley. How did you get around? Car rental? Taxi? Guide? We are especially interested in a day of the wineries (I gather we will want a guide or organized tour) and we wanted to see the penguins which I gather are nearish to cape point, so potentially a driver for that day. The following day we will take a very early flight to JNB and then on to Singita.

We will look at Ellerman house, the rate for a classic room was in line with One and Only and other FHR hotels.

Michael82

My favorite Hotel right now is: POD

Test Kitchen - when are you flying? I just enquired, theyre fully booked till April for lunch and June for dinner.

Id spend 3 days in capetown, i love it there and so much to do...

KI-NRT

We split our time between Ellerman House and 12 Apostles. We were underwhelmed by the latter. The property is in need of a refurb. Even then, I think the layout is confusing and claustrophobic (narrow hallways with low ceilings, as an example.) The majority of rooms do not have views of any sort.

Food at Azure Restaurant was highly overrated as well, in our opinion.

It's in a nice location, but there's a major flaw... the main road along the coast is BETWEEN the ocean and 12 Apostles. Nice view from the restaurant/bar patio, as long as you don't look TOO far down.

Also, while we were in Cape Town for the Winter holidays, but Ellerman House never felt crowded, whereas 12 Apostles did.

I don't consider 12 Apostles a luxury hotel, but rather a decent high(er)-end property that's overpriced for what it offers.

Ellerman House was fantastic and we loved the location (your mileage may vary, especially if you prefer to be closer or at the VA Waterfront.) With far less rooms than 12 Apostles, it is much more intimate and far less hectic. It's meticulously maintained, and service is impeccable. The guests tended to be on the older side and more well heeled than the people at 12 Apostles, but service was not - thankfully - snobby in any way. Refined yes, but the staff treat you like you're staying in your own house.

F&B was also top notch. Not only that, but they have a "pantry" near the kitchen where guests can help themselves to various snacks throughout the day (and night.) Everything from sandwiches to cakes and delightful little treats.

Be aware, however, that Classic Rooms don't have any views whatsoever. In fact, the view you get might be of the parking lot if you're unlucky. It's not very roomy either (my guess is it's about 40 square meters.) I realize that Ellerman House is pricey, however, so if that's all you can afford, going with a Classic Room wouldn't be a bad choice overall.

floridagal23

Not until Sept, Amex Concierge set a reminder to call on the day the booking window opens for us.

Pausanias

Is the Mount Nelson still totally off the radar? The gardens look fabulous and while I know it's quite a distance from the V&A Waterfront, I do think the V&A area looks a bit touristy, rather like Covent Garden in London if you get my drift. I just think the 'Nellie' offers a lot of character and space.

I've been booked three times to Cape Town within the last three years and each one was a no-show. One day I'll probably get down there

floridagal23

It's available through Amex FHR.

wripro

I still love the Cape Grace.

How long depends on the rest of your itinerary. If you're not going to the winelands I'd suggest an extra day in Cape Town for a visit there. Three to four days is the minimum.

I love Test Kitchen too but it's so hard to get into.

bhrubin

Just returned from Cape Town a few weeks ago. If you like bigger hotels, I'd recommend the Cape Grace or One & Only, or even the Mt Nelson if you don't mind being in the more business center. If you prefer smaller boutique properties, then Ellerman House or the Dock House are your best bets--depending if you want to be near the V&A waterfront (DH, CG, O&O) or Camps Bay/Clifton (Ellerman). We love the Dock House Suite and stayed there on our last 2 visits.

I'd recommend to stay in Cape Town as long as you can--it is one of the only cities in which I stay longer than 3 nights, though our last stay was for just 3 nights (and 4 nights in the winelands).

If you have 3 nights, you will have 2 full days to explore. I'd recommend a day tour around the Cape peninsula--it's spectacular. I'd recommend the second day to be either (1) the winelands, just 45-60 min drive, assuming you love wine or wine country, or (2) Robbens Island or Table Mountain. If you like wine or wine country, I can assure you the South African wine country of Stellenbosch, Paarl and especially Franschhoek is the most beautiful anywhere I've see in the world (far prettier than Napa, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Australia, etc.; only Waiheke Island off Auckland and maybe Mendoza even come close).

Dining is extraordinary. We just ate at the Test Kitchen for lunch so that's a great option, too. We also had a great dinner at Aubergine and wonderful lunch at Sevruga. The wine country is also easily done--since it's just a 45 min drive--and Camphors at Vergelegen was incredible, our second favorite meal after the Test Kitchen. There are a dozen great restaurants in wine country--Tokara, Rust en Vrede, Piernief a la Motte, le Petite Ferme, Rubens, The Tasting Room, Delaire Graff, etc. La Colombe in Constantia is easily accessed from Cape Town, too, though it's not as good as it once was and some don't like the new location.

DrGiggles

We used a guide/driver for Stellenbosch and Cape Point. Otherwise we used a taxi. Given your interests, i'd recommend tacking on the 3rd day. Wineries and Penguins would each involve a full day's investment if i recall correctly. I was under the impression that Franschoek would be difficult to do as a day trip though i may be wrong. It may not have sounded like this in my initial post, but I too absolutely loved Cape Town (though I'd agree with the other poster who said that they thought the V&A was a bit touristy). In Ellerman we stayed in a deluxe room because of the lack of a view in the others. That said, I would probably go Ellerman entry-level room over something at the O&O b/c while I think the O&O is a fine hotel, it seems like it could be carbon copied from any other resort/city hotel--its nice but not particularly memorable imho (we stayed at both).

DrGiggles

You may want to ask them to add you to their waitlist for the time that you're there. I'm fairly certain that's how we got in.

quitecontrary

Definitely at least 3 nights - we've been twice and I think both times we stayed in CT for 5 or 6 nights with the rest of our time spent in Franschhoek (3 or 4 night) and the rest of the time on a road trip (hire car) across the Little Karoo to Oudsthoorn and back along the coast to CT. Next time we must go further afield!

Last time we stayed at the Mount Nelson and loved it - we booked through Virtuoso ( the rate was less than that on the hotel website) and got a lovely upgrade and of course the amenities. Not sure if you'd call where the MN is the business district - that is more down towards the waterfront. There's a nice street (name escapes me) with restaurants and small shops nearby where you can easily walk to. We walked down to the waterfront during the day too (taxi at night)

Must dos in CT are Table Mountain, Robben Island, a drive to Cape Algulas/ Cape Point and the wine lands if you're not staying. Franschhoek is only about half an hour further than Stellenbosch so doable on a day trip.

ThudAndBlunder

Twelve Apostles is too out of the way for a short trip, in my opinion.

Definitely, if you can tack on an extra day, do it.

I would rent a car, since part of the pleasure of Cape Town is the driving vistas, and you miss a lot of that in a taxi taking the shortest route from A to B. But obviously that's down to personal preference.

Another shout-out for The Codfather. Unassuming spot in an unprepossessing location, but amazing seafood; no bargains, though, once you get stuck into the shellfish...

bhrubin

We rented a car in Cape Town (had it delivered directly to our hotel on our final day there) and drove to Franschhoek after our lunch at The Test Kitchen--about an hour drive at that time of day. If you get GPS in your rental car, it's quite easy to get around on your own without a guide--the GPS in the BMW actually had all of the wineries programmed in already. (Just make sure they show you how to use it!). If you do a guided tour, be very careful--A&K and some of the other "guided wine tours" seem to more often than not visit the pretty wineries instead of the wineries with the best regarded wines.

My suggestions for the best wineries (with the best wines) include (in no particular order):

(1) Kanonkop (Stellenbosh district)
(2)Tokara & Thelema--also amazing Tokara restaurant (between Stellenbosch and Franschhoek)
(3) Delaire Graff (right across highway almost from Tokara)--little corporate, but also great restaurant, between Stellenbosch and Franschhoek)
(4) Boekenhoutskloof--one of the best (in Franschhoek)
(5) Chamonix--one of the best (in Franschhoek)
(6) Vergelegen--amazing Camphors restaurant (south of Stellenbosch)
(7) Jordan--their restaurant is amazing, too (near Stellenbosch)
(8) Meerlust--one of oldest estates (near Stellenbosch)

You can stop off at many other wineries near those as you like. If you decide to do an organized tour, make sure you direct them to the wineries you prefer or give them some sense of quality/varietals that most interest you, or you will be at the mercy of their rote itineraries.

If you do your wine touring day, it is a full day--and you won't regret it.

If you do your Cape peninsula touring day, it is also a full day--and you won't regret it. On our first visit, we did the Cape peninsula and winelands, and we missed Robbens Island and Table Mountain, which we did on our second visit. I still think (for us) that was the right priority. But everyone likes what they like. The Cape Point is spectacular, and on your way there or back you'll visit Boulders beach with the penguins, along with some amazingly scenic seaside towns and vistas along the way.