Getting into the Picture
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The boys stopped off for a play at Heathrow, before we flew on to Cape Town. Included in the cruise was a "free" night in Cape Town at the Westin Hotel. The hotel, one of those anonymous 5 star American hotels, was about a 10 minute walk from the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront. Given South Africa's problems. the hotel advised us not to walk after dark - we ended up taking their shuttle bus in daylight and walking back at night.
We had been to the V&A Waterfront a couple of times recently, so this was really just a quick walk round to look at the sights again, and check where we had booked for dinner, the Signal Restaurant in the Cape Grace Hotel on the waterfront. The boys saw a effelump, we saw the swing bridge working, and a seagull sat on a Nobel Laureate's statue's head (They are the central characters of Nobel Square, dedicated to South Africa’s four Nobel Peace Prize laureates: Albert Luthuli, Desmond Tutu, FW de Klerk and Nelson Mandela.)
We only had the one night at the Westin, and were picked up the next morning, and taken to the ship, the Regent Mariner.
Next morning we had an excursion on the funicular up to the top of Table Mountain, before the ship left in the late afternoon. The weight of tourism on the funicular is heavy, so queues are long, and on a four hour tour, the time we had to admire the view from the top was about half an hour. An interesting cable car, it moves very quickly so that the journey takes less than 10 minutes. En route, the actual floor of the cable car rotates, so that everyone gets an all round view.
What a view there is from the top. There is a circular path round the top of the mountain, with breath-taking views in all directions. Even spotted some rock climbers. The geology of the mountain means that clouds waft in and waft out on a regular basis, and sometimes the city of Cape Town disappears from view. We all enjoyed this trip, but would have liked more time at the top.
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The Cape Westin hotel is not distinguishable from Sheratons, Intercontinentals, Marriotts, Hiltons, etc. I find them soulless, but they do offer a certain standard of accommodation and service. The good boutique hotels that we have found in foreign cities have always appealed more. A large glass building set back 10 minutes walk from the waterfront, was not in an ideal position, but for one night and us not having to pay, who could complain. They do not recommend that you walk (security) but do provide a free 30 minute scheduled shuttle bus that does run to schedule.
They appear to try to get you on their favoured guests list with extras like an executive floor & if you don't have the club card, you don't get the perks. I can see that business travellers get locked into one group and go with that group everywhere they travel.
Views from the rooms are not great, if you are into views as I am.
There are 2 pools, one indoor near the top of the building, and one (I thought a bit scruffy) on the ground floor outdoor.
Breakfast was nothing remarkable (for a hotel of this class) and I thought that the restaurant for breakfast was a bit cafeteria like.
The Concierge should be mentioned as being particularly good
Personally if I were to be choosing a hotel in Cape Town again, I would choose one of the more interesting hotels like Cape Grace or Belmond
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Dinner in Cape Town had us at the Signal Restaurant in the Cape Grace Hotel, right on the waterfront. The Signal is not your average hotel restaurant, it is a restaurant in its own right. The restaurant was full and we were handled very well by the staff.
Although a new building, it had been designed as an "authentic" old colonial hotel inside, and this actually came off. We opted for their tasting menu, washed down by a bottle of Klein Constantia. A very pleasant evening in a nice ambiance.
For foreigners like us, South Africa offers very good value for money, and I felt we got good value here.
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We left our moorings in the late afternoon, and headed, via a day at sea, for Luderitz, in Namibia