Cape Town, South Africa

Kensington Place

Price per night from$194.58

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (including tax) available in the next 60 days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (ZAR3,652.17), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

Style

The city's original designer den

Setting

Foothills of Table Mountain

Kensington Place is Cape Town’s original boutique bolthole, located on the slopes of Table Mountain, a stroll from all the action, and a drive from amazing beaches. Discerning urbanites after a cool city break benefit from its Kloof Street position, but it's removed enough to allow them to enjoy some romance and R&R. In addition to the hotel’s design appeal, superb service makes this sanctuary special, along with all-day dining and complimentary breakfast.

Smith Extra

Get this when you book through us:

A bottle of wine and a welcome glass of champagne; and tickets for the Table Mountain cable car for SilverSmiths and GoldSmiths staying three nights

Facilities

Photos Kensington Place facilities

Need to know

Rooms

Eight.

Check–Out

11am and check-in, 2pm; both flexible on request, depending on availability.

Prices

Double rooms from £175.73 (ZAR4,200), including tax at 15 per cent.

More details

Rates include breakfast.

At the hotel

Plunge pool, in-room pamper sessions, off-street parking and library. Off-site exercise facilities (aerobics, tennis, squash, weights, etc) through Virgin Active. In rooms: free WiFi, Marshall speaker, beach bag and towels, air-conditioning, yoga mat.

Our favourite rooms

Room 1 has wonderfully soothing decor and double balcony, with a fireplace, and excellent views over the city and Table Mountain. Room 7 is the room without a view, but its allure is that it is very secluded and has its own private garden and incredible outdoor-feel bathroom. Note: the hotel will not guarantee a specific room in high season; they'll try their best but need to retain flexibility.

Packing tips

No need to take your towels or beach bags in summer – the hotel provides these, as well as factor-30 sun lotion by the pool. In winter they'll lend you umbrellas. And remember your gym kit to take advantage of the access to Virgin Active.

Also

All rooms are non-smoking; ashtrays are provided on terraces and in the lounge bar. There's a five-night minimum stay for group bookings of four or more rooms between 20 December and 2 January.

Children

No children under 12.

Food and Drink

Photos Kensington Place food and drink

Top Table

Grab a table on the porch – the weather is almost always fair, but even when it isn't entirely lovely, this is a wonderful spot.

Dress Code

Dress up as much as you want if you plan to hit CT's hippest nightspots.

Hotel restaurant

Light, healthy food, using the freshest of ingredients. Lunch is low-key and along the lines of the room-service menu (see below); supper is private-dining style. Our favourite feature is that breakfast is served all day.

Hotel bar

Open 24 hours a day; there’s always a smiling soul on hand to mix you a cocktail. The Kensington Place cocktail is a mix of vodka, lime, soda water and bitters – perfect for balmy summer evenings.

Room service

Pastas, salads, open sandwiches, fresh fruit, cheese and antipasto platters available throughout the day.

Location

Photos Kensington Place location
Address
Kensington Place
38 Kensington Crescent Higgovale
Cape Town
8001
South Africa

Planes

Cape Town's airport is a half-hour drive from the hotel. Private airport transfers can be arranged at an extra cost.

Trains

The hotel is a 10-minute drive from the city’s main railway station. Travel to Worcester, Beaufot West, Kroonstad and Bloemfontein with luxury companies Blue Train (www.bluetrain.co.za) and Rovos Rail (www.rovos.com).

Automobiles

A car will come in handy for reaching nearby Camps Bay and Clifton and off-street parking is provided. From the airport, take the N2 and M3. The seafront is a five-minute drive away.

Worth getting out of bed for

The Table Mountain nature reserve is only a stroll away, so take the cable car to the top for spectacular views, as well as a look around the blooming marvellous Floral Kingdom. Adrenalin junkies can get their fix over and over again, with mountain biking and hiking, boat and kayak trips, sailing, surfing and windsurfing all on tap. Something unique to this city, and which many would argue is unmissable, is a visit to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was held prisoner. The tours of this former prison by inmates are not only fascinating, but also incredibly touching. Drive half an hour north to the lush wine region, where hundreds of vineyards offer tastings and lunch in their postcard-perfect surrounds. At Spier, near Stellenbosch, you can sample five wines for about £2, eat pan-African fare in Moyo, and stroke one of the furry inhabitants of their cheetah outreach. Find your own deserted sandy discoveries and sheltered lagoons among the miles of unspoilt coastline. Be warned though: those Atlantic waters can be icy, even if the sea loses its cool as you head east towards the Indian Ocean. Delightful spots in which to catch some rays are the coves in Clifton, overlooked by Table Mountain; or try quiet Llandudno, a far cry from its Welsh namesake. A 15-minute drive from the city, Hout Bay is great for people- and parasurfer-watching. Locals walk their dogs or bring their broods here at weekends.

Local restaurants

The hotel will make restaurant reservations on your behalf at a number of local spots before you arrive. Popular Kloof Street is mere minutes away from the hotel and options here are endless – The Black Sheep serves up seasonal fare against Table Mountain views; taste buds will tingle (for all the right reasons) at Vadivelu, an Indian street-food spot; or sample South African cuisine on Kloof Street House’s leafy terrace.

Reviews

Photos Kensington Place reviews
Lyndsey Steven

Anonymous review

By Lyndsey Steven, Jet-set editor

It's the fourth day of our honeymoon and for the first time Mr Smith and I find ourselves alone. Having temporarily lost my sanity I’d concocted some hare-brained scheme to take 30 of our closest friends on a whirlwind trip of the Western Cape directly after our wedding, and so my new husband and I find ourselves chaperoning, directing and pandering to a big bunch of badly behaved adults. Instead of newlyweds we feel like schoolmaster and matron responsible not only for everyone’s safety and wellbeing but for ensuring that a jolly good time is had by all. We’ve played with the penguins on Boulders Beach, ticked off the Big Five at Aquila Game Reserve and drunk Zevenwacht Wine Estate dry. But there is no way in hell that this crew are encroaching upon our sanctuary at Kensington Place. Looking over our sleeping quarters and winking at each other smugly, we wordlessly agree that this fine establishment is far too special to share.

A steel spiral staircase has secreted us to room 8 – our ritzy tree house in the clouds. The crisp linen on our huge bed is whiter than an Emirati man’s dishdasha, the freestanding bath comes equipped with coconut shells filled with soothing salts, and our private balcony overlooks the cyan-coloured pool and the twinkling sea. Now what? Not used to being on our own, we’re not sure what to do next. Usually we’d crack open the complimentary bottle of sparkling South African wine that is chilling on ice, but yesterday’s marathon Sauvignon Blanc session means our stomachs churn at the thought.

So, after testing the magnificent power of our rainshower, and admiring the pop art on the walls, the checked suede mats on the floors, the oversized ostrich feather lampshade and the seascape painting alongside the bath, (strategically placed so that it is eye level once you’re seated in the tub), we descend our rungs to flop by the pool. Gloriously we are the only one’s here. The brisk water contrasts deliciously against our searing skin and I allow myself a little moan of content.

Capetonians refer to the majestic Table Mountain as ‘our mountain’ and it’s easy to see why every one of them would try to lay claim to one of the country’s most revered treasures. Nestled in the trunk of this flat-topped beauty, Kensington Palace is perfectly positioned. We can practically see the faces (excited/stirred/puce) of the tourists riding up in the cable car from our deck chairs. It’s lofty location is in one of the leafiest and poshest parts of town – Higgovale – but it’s only a 10-minute drive over Kloof Neck to the ridiculously ravishing beaches of Camps Bay and Clifton and the same distance again in the other direction to the town centre and the V&A Waterfront.

For those who shy away from the sun but who still revel in the great outdoors, there’s a saucy covered alcove with plumped cushions and animal hide throws, while billowing white sheets alongside the terrace theatrically offset the lodge’s clean lines. Ultraviolet-indigo jacaranda trees peak over the wall at us as I cast aside the book borrowed from the hotel’s liberal library and become engrossed by two tawny sparrows playfully splashing each other on the urn-shaped water feature.

They really have thought of everything at this boutique hotel. With no onsite recreation centre, guests are given free access to the nearby Virgin Interactive health club and, while grabbing a pre-prepared basket with beach towels and sunscreen from our cupboard, we discover a Pilates kit and free weights. Of course we don’t make use of either – now that I’m married I can let myself go, right? – but it’s still comforting to know that they’re there. You’re better off going for a jog or a walk in the neighbourhood. Having huffed and puffed for the first five-minutes, Mr Smith’s scowl transforms into a reluctant smile as he admires the magnificent glass and teak mansions on a walk I’ve imposed.

We are also tickled by the little red ‘emergency box’ on our nightstand, equipped with, among other items, peppermints (fresh breath being essential on a honeymoon), Rennies (heartburn is not sexy), headache pills (we managed to force that bottle of vino down after all) and accoutrements that ensure our honeymoon doesn’t turn into a babymoon. With all this romance, we’re not ready quite yet to give up our time à deux.

Kensington Place also takes breakfast in bed to the next level. While there’s nothing better than rolling over to the sight of freshly brewed coffee and buttered toast, strewn crumbs can be scratchy. So if you can handle the exertion of walking five paces to your balcony, the rest is all done for you: fresh-fruit smoothies, homemade honey-toasted muesli and fluffy filled and folded omelettes gracefully laid out against a soundtrack of birdsong; or, if you happen to be sharing with this Mr Smith, Faith No More care of the iPod dock. Still overloaded from the previous evening’s dinner, the pastries defeat us. (The general manager had the foresight to pre-book us into the city’s latest, hottest and most inventive restaurant Bizerka – and the caprese salad with watercress and pea sorbet proved a triumph.)

Not willing to call time on our brief but beautiful relationship with Kensington Place, my satiated husband and I agree it would be the ideal place to celebrate our one-year anniversary. We churlishly admit that it’s too good not to share. There are only eight rooms, so we head home to crack open the wedding gifts before deciding on who scores an invite.

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Price per night from $194.58