travelexpert

Looks amazing!

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...tern_Cape.html

Here is the press release:

Hilton to reflag Coral Cape Town hotel

By HOTELS Editors on 3/8/2011

CAPE TOWN

Hilton Worldwide has signed an agreement to flag the 137-key Hilton Cape Town, its first property in the city.

The property, formerly known as Coral International Cape Town Hotel, will debut under the Hilton Hotels & Resorts brand in April. It is the third Hilton-branded property in South Africa and the first in Cape Town.

"Cape Town is an exciting place to be and an important leisure destination—not just for South Africa, but for Africa as a whole,” says Patrick Fitzgibbon, Hilton Worldwide’s senior vice president of development for Europe and Africa. “It's a strategic location when it comes to building our portfolio of brands and growing our African footprint. It also provides a key link to our hotels in Durban, Johannesburg and the upcoming Hilton Windhoek, Namibia.”

The hotel is located in the Cape Town central business district and will feature two restaurants, a bar, meeting facilities, a business center, a gym and an outdoor swimming pool.

"This hotel is an important addition to our offering across the region. With its excellent location, in an area renowned for its cosmopolitan atmosphere, we anticipate attracting both local and international tourists who visit the area for business or leisure," says Dave Horton, global head of the Hilton brand.

Hilton Worldwide has two other hotels in South Africa—Hilton Sandton and Hilton Durban—and 26 hotels in total across Africa. The company has another 14 in the development pipeline, including Hilton Windhoek in Namibia, Hilton Lagos Airport in Nigeria and Hilton Kampala in Uganda.

JDiver

Allright! This should be a nice gain, and gives a lot of us a Hilton property in CPT!

Thunderroad

I get a bit suspicious when so many Tripadvisor reviews for a given hotel are by people whose review of the property is their only contribution to the site, and when most such reviews are very short.

Still, this doesn't mean that Hilton won't maintain the hotel's high standards (if the reviews are accurate) or raise them (if some of the reviews are phony).

Anyway, nice to see Hilton establishing a presence in a great city.

flo0816

That was my exact reaction reading the tripadvisor reviews. But pictures look nice. Unfortunately no word about an executive lounge. You can also check out the hotel on street view.

Firewind

Ohhhhh, this is nice.

And while there's the widespread TripAdvisor game played by one-off staff (and former staff!), I'd suggest that reviews of a property under one brand offer only general takeaways of what will be under the new one -- even if refurbishment takes a while. Particularly in this class.

exree

Have any FTers stayed at this property yet? I'd prefer a review here rather than relying on Trip Advisor.

Jamjaw

Still no stays here yet?

JDiver

I'm dying to know! In the meantime,


Hilton Cape Town City Centre hotel
126 Buitengracht Street, Cape Town, South Africa 8001
Tel: 27-21-4813700 Fax: 27-21-4813701
General Manager: Andre Bossard
(N.B. The property's link does not work for special offers, as it goes to "hilton.coom" - I e-mailed the hotel.)

and

"Relax in a bright and airy Executive Guest Room at the Hilton Cape Town hotel, which offers stunning views of Table Mountain. Refresh in the stylish bathroom, stay connected with complimentary wireless internet access and enjoy access to the stylish Executive Lounge where you can take advantage of complimentary breakfast and a range of sweet and savory snacks throughout the day..."

and one of the better, more trustworthy posts on TripAdvisor26 Aug 2011:

"The Executive Lounge is not fully functional at the moment, it appears to have been a conference room which has hastily been turned into a Lounge, it is on a lower floor with absolutely no view..."

An interesting IOL property May 20 article here states the property is ex[periencing a 30% occupancy rate, that CPT has a huge oversupply of upper tier hotels. It also mentions that as a Dubai-based Coral hotel in the old Muslim quarter and designated to be Muslim-friendly, alcoholic beverages could only be served in the Exectuive Lounge and guest rooms at the time - licensure for bars and restaurants was well under way, and hopefully will be resolved so FTers can drink some wine!

(Bossard joined Hilton Brussels in 1975, and in 1989 became GM at Hilton Seoul, Korea, followed later as GM for Hilton hotels in Kuala Lumpur, Sydney and Brisbane. Some of you may know him, or at least of him.)

thetenken

I'm waiting for the Q4 promotion to book a room at the Hilton...

BLazarus22

I was just recently in SA on leisure. Stayed at the Hilton in Johannesburg which was amazing.

However everyone I spoke to there said the Hilton in Cape Town was not a good place for those visiting. It's in the heart of downtown which is really just the business hub. It is not close to the waterfront which I must say is worth being near. I'd stay away from it until someone proves me wrong.

skrosvik

Passed this hotel a couple times...not the best location, might be a little bit boring to stay here. Would prefer to stay further down by the sea or at the harbour. That said - it might take you 15-20 minutes to walk down to the harbour. But, unfortunately, CPT is not the best town to venture around in. Was walking around downtown in broad daylight and was approached by a couple of (term deleted by moderator) "undesireables" Don't want to experience that again! Would recommend people to stay at the V&A or at the Westin - which felt very safe and pleasant!

BTW - I also read in local newspaper about that alcohol "scandal". That the Hilton had served alcohol, against the wishes of people in the neighbourhood. The hotel is located in Bo-Kaap, which is a muslim neighbourhood, and they do not want to see alcohol served whatsoever in their hood. I think the hotel owner suspended alcohol in response to demonstations, etc.

Kantab

In cape town at xmas to visit the inlaws, we're doing a points night at the Hilton Cape Town for my birthday and leaving the kid with ohma and opha.

Website looks really good, but the Coral was not a renowned hotel, I suspect the location is not too hot and as previously mentioned, cape town is not a walking city. Taxi to the restaurant/waterfront.

However, better than nothing....Holiday Inn have a rubbish hotel and until now Hilton had nothing

JONNYBOY

Stayed here when a points promo was on in August (not worth points otherwise as rates are pretty reasonable). Hotel is a good 15 minute walk from the Waterfront, complimentary shuttle van will take you were you want to go. Surrounding area seemed safe enough during the day, but would keep your wits about you in the evening as I would in any big city. Hotel itself - great room, good service and facilities, and friendly if not always efficient staff. Has an Exec Lounge and most definitely serves alcohol in the lounge (between 6-8pm), and when the Signal Hill Bar & Terrace is open. It still shows some deference to either its former Middle Eastern owners and concomitant Islamic clientele base or the local community (the mosque is literally 20 metres away - but then so is an Evengelical Church) so no alcohol in other restaurants or in mini-bars and most disappointingly no bacon for breakfast!!! They told me slowly slowly they are 'internationalising' the f&b offer and working to better establish the Hilton way through the hotel. It is a nice place to come back to after a day sightseeing so that makes it a place I'd recommend.

colpuck

Hilton.com wont let me book the hotel.

SOBE ER DOC

Just got back from a long trip to South Africa. Spent 7 days at the Hilton City Centre Cape Town. The following is my take on the hotel:

ARRIVAL:

Flight landed in CPT at 10:30pm local time. I had called the hotel 3 hours prior to my arrival to arrange transportation. Concierge took care of my needs and there was a driver waiting for me in the arrivals hall and a Mercedes sedan to escort me to the hotel. Cost was reasonable.

Arrived at hotel. Bell men offered to take my bags but I was happy to do it on my own. Check in was very fast. Arrived to my room to find a fruit plate and bottle of wine.


ROOM:

Upgrades to a two-room suite on the top floor. The views of Table Mountain were just stunning. Room was very comfortable. Closets a bit on the small side. Small vanity bathroom in living room. Main bathroom was huge was two sinks and separate shower and bath tub. Bed was comfortable.

Hotel used to a hotel that catered to the Islamic community so there is an arrow pointing to Mecca in the guest rooms and the bathrooms are fitted with the appropriate amenities for Muslim guests.


EXECUTIVE LOUNGE:

On the mezzanine level. Small. Consist of one room that is pretty much filled with tables and chairs. TVs on opposite walls. There is a small outdoor area with a couple tables and chairs. Food is a little uninspired and didn't change in 7 days. Full open bar from 6pm - 9pm. Liquors, wine, champagne, cordials.

My main issue with the lounge was the inefficiency of the staff. They were not on top of ensuring beverages were restocked. They kept running out of diet coke. Once when I asked the attendant said "sorry, we're out." When I asked him to go look a can mysteriously appeared.

You are able to order dinner from the hotel restaurant in the lounge. There are two restaurants: a bistro and an Indian eatery. The Indian food was excellent. Both eateries were very reasonably priced.


INTERNET:

Slow but not the worst I've encountered at a Hilton.


NEIGHBORHOOD:

The hotel sits at the edge of the central business district next to a historic neighborhood. The neighborhood was fine in the day time but felt really sketchy. Streets were desolate and, as someone who is very street savvy, I decided this was not a good idea so I either stayed in or ordered a cab to get me around. The historic neighborhood is very questionable and folks from the area that I knew all advised me to stay out of it after dark.


OTHER:

Hotel runs a shuttle on the hour until 6pm over the the V&A waterfront. Its about a 10 minute drive (walkable in the day time).

The hop-on hop-off tour bus stops 2 blocks from the hotel. Very convenient.

Hotel is about a 15 minute walk from the convention center.


OVERALL IMPRESSIONS:

Great hotel, excellent value, not-so-good location. That said, I would stay there again.