One&Only Cape Town

One&Only Cape Town sits inside the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront. Table Mountain is visible, in fact, from a large share of its rooms. The property spans two distinct settings: a seven-storey crescent building called Marina Rise, and a pair of landscaped islands within the Waterfront’s own canals. Bridges connect both sides. As a result, the choice between them is really a choice between two different kinds of stay under one roof.

Marina Rise or the Island Wing

Marina Rise holds 91 of the hotel’s 131 rooms and suites. These are the rooms to book if Table Mountain is the reason you’ve come. Nearly every category in this building has a private balcony angled toward the mountain. Higher floors, in addition, get an increasingly clean line of sight over the marina rooftops. The island side, by contrast, trades the mountain view for water on every side. Forty rooms and suites sit there, wrapped around a 350-square-metre infinity pool. Bridges lead back to the main building and out to the hotel’s own Spa Island. Families or anyone wanting a quieter, more enclosed feel will find the island rooms the better fit. Guests prioritising the mountain should take Marina Rise instead.

The location does much of the work here. Cape Town’s Waterfront is, in fact, a genuinely good base. The aquarium, the craft market, the harbour walk and a long run of restaurants and shops all sit within a few minutes on foot. The city centre, meanwhile, is a short drive or a five-minute cab ride away. It’s not a hidden retreat, and it doesn’t try to be. Instead, the hotel functions equally well as a city base for exploring Cape Town and as a self-contained resort for days when guests would rather not leave. Few properties in this city, indeed, manage both as comfortably.

Dining and Wellness

Dining is one of the property’s clearer strengths. Nobu’s first restaurant in Africa operates here. Reuben’s, the Cape-focused restaurant from South African chef Reuben Riffel, sits alongside it, with a name that carries real weight among local diners independent of the hotel. Isola serves a Mediterranean-South African menu poolside. Guests who haven’t yet made it out to Stellenbosch or Franschhoek will find a dedicated room for Cape wine country at the Wine Loft. A sundowner with a view of the mountain, meanwhile, draws most guests to the Vista Bar & Lounge regardless of where else they’ve eaten that day.

Ten treatment rooms and two vitality pools fill the hotel’s spa, set on its own island and reached by a short bridge. This gives it proper separation from the rest of the hotel, rather than a spa wedged into a basement. Booking ahead is worthwhile during the December to February peak season, when the hotel runs close to capacity and treatment slots go quickly.

Families and Service

Families are genuinely well catered for here, which isn’t always true of city hotels at this level. The Kids Only Club runs a full daily programme for ages four to eleven, with its own clubhouse and garden. A separate programme for teenagers, in addition, includes penguin swims and a planetarium visit — both popular Cape Town excursions the hotel arranges directly rather than leaving guests to organise themselves. Two-bedroom suites and interconnecting rooms exist, too, in both Marina Rise and the island wing. As a result, a family doesn’t need to compromise on the view to get the space.

Service runs through a 24-hour butler model across the property. In practice, this means most requests — restaurant bookings, excursion planning, transport to the Winelands — get handled without much back-and-forth. Guest reviews are consistent on this point, though service quality can vary slightly by department, a fair characterisation, generally, of most large resort-style properties this size rather than a specific flag against this one.

Architecturally, the hotel doesn’t try to be a landmark. It’s a well-built, contemporary structure rather than something with its own distinct silhouette. The interior design, however, does more of the visual work than the exterior — warm tones, African-inspired textiles, and hand-painted detailing in the refurbished rooms. Travellers choosing a Cape Town hotel purely for architectural character will find smaller properties in the city with more of it. For the combination of location, room quality, dining and family infrastructure, however, One&Only is one of the stronger arguments in Cape Town’s luxury tier.

Why Stay Here

A genuine Table Mountain view from the majority of Marina Rise rooms, not a partial or angled glimpse
Two distinct settings under one roof — mountain-facing rooms in Marina Rise, or the quieter, water-wrapped island wing
Walking distance to the V&A Waterfront’s restaurants, shops and harbour, with the city centre a short drive away
Nobu’s first African restaurant, alongside a strong local-chef restaurant in Reuben’s
One of the more genuinely family-capable luxury hotels in central Cape Town, with separate kids’ and teens’ programmes

Accommodation

Marina Rise holds the bulk of the property’s 131 rooms and suites. Categories run from the 63-square-metre Marina Harbour Room up to the 383-square-metre Presidential Suite, with most including a private balcony facing Table Mountain. The island wing holds 40 rooms and suites, starting at 73 square metres and extending to 254-square-metre two-bedroom suites, all facing the surrounding waterways rather than the mountain. Family-friendly two-bedroom configurations exist in both wings. Two penthouse suites, including the Devil’s Peak Penthouse with its own rooftop pool, sit at the top of the property for guests wanting the most space available.

Dining

Nobu Cape Town brings the brand’s Japanese-Peruvian menu to the Waterfront, the first Nobu restaurant on the continent. Reuben’s, run by chef Reuben Riffel, focuses on Cape-influenced cooking with a reputation that extends well beyond the hotel’s own guests. Isola serves Mediterranean and South African dishes poolside. The Wine Loft, in addition, offers a dedicated tasting room for Cape wine. The Vista Bar & Lounge is the property’s main spot for a sundowner, built around uninterrupted views of Table Mountain.

Experiences

The hotel’s Spa Island holds ten treatment rooms and two vitality pools, reached via its own bridge from the main resort. A fully equipped fitness centre runs classes including Pilates, yoga and boxing alongside personal training. The Kids Only Club offers a full daily programme for ages four to eleven. Teenagers, meanwhile, have access to their own activities, including penguin encounters and a planetarium visit. The hotel can also arrange excursions into the Cape Winelands, sunrise hikes up Lion’s Head, and tailored exploration of Cape Town’s surrounding sights.

Best For

Travellers who want a central Cape Town base with genuine resort facilities, couples and families wanting a Table Mountain view without leaving the city, and anyone planning to combine time in Cape Town with the nearby Winelands.