Best hotels and hostels in Cape Town

Imagine you’ve been invited to stay with an immensely rich, art-collecting Capetonian friend – that's what the vibe is like at the Ellerman House, an elegant mansion overlooking the Atlantic. The rooms are...

The only hotel in Table Mountain National Park has been rebuilt with its secluded seaside charm intact following a disastrous fire in March 2015. Luxurious Tintswalo hugs the edge of Hout Bay beneath Chapman's...

A world apart from the rest of the city, sitting in three hectares of gardens, the sugar-pink-painted ‘Nellie’ is a colonial charmer with its chintz decor and doormen in pith helmets. Rooms sport elegant silver...

Based in the grand Earl’s Dyke Manor (dating from 1929), this splendid place is set in a secluded nature reserve a short walk from the Camps Bay strip. Rooms range from those with dark wooden furniture, Turkish...

This is one of Cape Town’s slickest backpackers, with much of the action focused on the lively bar and deck that overlook Table Mountain. The beautiful old house, decorated with a tasteful collection of...

It's easy to see why the self-proclaimed 'greenest hotel' in Africa has won sustainability awards. Rooms are comfy, with creative design, and local arts and crafts abound throughout. Solar panels and wind...

Silky wallpaper, piles of pillows and the owner's art collection bring a refined atmosphere to this seaside option, which, having happily survived a veld fire in 2017, perches in splendid isolation between its...

Little expense seems to have been spared creating this luxury resort. Choose between enormous, plush rooms in the main building (with panoramic views of Table Mountain) or the even more exclusive island beside...

Smitswinkel's six bright and spacious permanent tents, each sleeping two in single beds, are the only ones within Table Mountain National Park with en-suite bathrooms, as well as kitchenettes. There are also...

Offering a waterfront location (you’ll pay extra for sea-view rooms), this elegant Sea Point institution dates to the 1920s, but adds contemporary appeal to its historic home with a spa and 50-sq-metre pool....

This Fair Trade in Tourism–accredited operation offers affordable style, a buzzing vibe and fantastic staff. Its dorms may not be Cape Town’s cheapest but they’re among its best, while the private rooms and...

This Bauhaus–style villa has been converted into a quirkily decorated boutique hotel. The seven guest rooms have bold, retro-design papered walls and furniture accented with furry pillows and shag rugs.

India’s luxury hotel group has breathed new life into the old Board of Executors building. There’s plenty of heritage here, but a new tower also houses the chic contemporary-styled rooms, many offering...

This delightful hotel's rooms have a contemporary look and are decorated in soothing natural tones. Built around the 1799 home of Lady Anne Barnard, it’s surrounded by lush gardens with Table Mountain views,...

Perhaps the best of the Table Mountain National Park tented camps, Orange Kloof is tucked away in a beautiful area near Constantia Nek and provides direct access to the last strand of Afro-montane forest in the...

The designers clearly had a lot of fun with this place, just a short stroll from the Old Biscuit Mill. One dorm is Barbie-doll pink; a romantic double has a swinging bed made from a suspended fishing boat;...

Once has a great vibe and location, and every room has its own bathroom. While the rooms are pretty compact, they are all pleasantly decorated. There's a courtyard to chill in and a big kitchen for self-catering.

Nothing seems too much bother for the staff at this knockout property, decorated with stunning pieces of contemporary art by local artists. The eight guest rooms are decorated in different themes. Its high...

Expat couple Maxime and Mélodie ladle on the Gallic charm at this imaginatively renovated former stables, where the ancient stone walls are a feature of the rooms. The garden planted with fruit trees is a magical...

Each of the 19 rooms at this elegant boutique hotel, part of the Heritage Sq redevelopment of 18th-century buildings, has its own character. Some have four-poster beds and all have modern conveniences such as...