Table Bay Hotel Cape Town Review in 48 Hours.
A SELECTION of international glamour and fashion magazines and well-thumbed paperbacks makes pool-side life at The Table Bay Hotel especially rewarding. Hotel visitors who, rather than soak up the luxuries on offer and rush out to explore the city, miss out on the enjoyment of lazing while others are working – an ultimate luxury.
I loved life at the pool, rather than the pool itself, which is disappointingly shallow. For a splash though, that’s if you don’t want to sit in the spa-pool overlooking the Atlantic, it is perfectly adequate.
The Table Bay hasn’t been a favourite hotel of mine until this most recent visit. I’ve considered it gauche and overdone. On this trip though I realized that while it is grand and larger than life, the equally large staff provides an intimate level of service that mitigates against the oh-so-grandness of it all.
The Table Bay Hotel has a total of 329 rooms which include single, double, luxury rooms and suites. Rooms are comfortable with a day bed, desk and walk-in cupboards. Most appealing are floor-to-ceiling sliding door windows. There are beautiful bed linens and large robes and slippers. The marble-clad bathrooms are wonderful and enjoyable with Crabtree & Evelyn Jojoba Oil range of amenities. The phones in the room didn’t work despite me calling technicians in twice. It seems that the phone in the loo wasn’t perfectly in its cradle.
Dinner at The Atlantic Grill is divinely theatrical.
Again, it is the service staff that make it a memorable experience. It is enchanting to be the centre of a service ballet where the waiter who pours your water is gracefully replaced by another offering bread and yet another enquiring about the wine order. The wine list is notable and oenophiles will have an opportunity to enjoy a tasting with the sommelier in the temperature-controlled restaurant cellar.
Our starters – a grilled calamari salad and citrus-cured salmon were perfect in every way. Had our meal not dipped south with poor main courses (a tuna dish and monk fish wrapped in pancetta that were both overcooked) our culinary experience could well have been exceptional. Main course service with a cloche revealing the dish is flourish.
Breakfast made up for any disappointments. Here, The Table Bay leads the pack. I can’t think of another that comes close to what this hotel offers in terms of variety. Breakfast is also the opportunity to experience the hotel at its busiest. Despite the jostle for guacamole and oriental noodles (yes, for breakfast) coffee and toast service was fast. This is a well-run hotel.
For non residential guests, The Union Bar is an elegant spot for an after-work drink. It reminds me of the bar at The Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York – very chic. Sunday Jazz brunches are legion and Afternoon Tea in the Lounge is a wonderful distraction from the buzz of the adjoining Victoria Wharf shopping centre at The Waterfront.
For all my snobbish objections, this hotel is very well supported and frequently rated best on guest-populated websites (the only ones that really matter) such as TripAdvisor where they’ve been awarded a “2009 Winner Travellers’ Choice” accolade.
www.tablebayhotel.co.za 021-406 5000.
[23-Apr-09]
Brian Berkman
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