The PortsWood probably deserves a five star rating--for the location and friendly staff. The room wasn't great, but it wasn't bad either. The location is hard to beat--just two blocks from the V&A waterfront.

Cape Town is truly the most spectacular in the world--and the PortsWood is a good place to stay. You can walk around the waterfront without fear of being held up--which is a very real fear in South Africa.

The room was clean, the breakfast was good and, as I said, the location is hard to beat. I would have like to have had a view from my room, but didn't....

The big feature of this hotel is the location - great, just 100 meters from the waterfront area in Cape Town, very convenient for dining in the evening and shopping at the big shopping centre there. (Downtown is not so nice for a tourist stay, very business district). But be aware that hotel prices in Cape Town have gone off the handle over the last years, so the pretty high price you pay at the PortsWood, does not mean "special standard". You would at hotels in other bigger cities matching the same costs of living as in South Africa, have gotten more spacious rooms/extra nice standard, but not in CT. The room at the PortsWood was quite ordinary, pretty small, nothing fancy, but it was clean and the bathroom was ok. Would stay here again, given the great location.

We stayed at Portswood hotel over last X'mas. And even though it is a slightly older hotel compared to many others along the waterfront, it exudes much charm and coziness. The staff were also friendly and very helpful (stark contrast to our experience at Hilton in Joburg)

There was a slight boo-boo when we checked in after a long day of travelling from Kruger - we were given 2 single beds instead of a double bed. We called the frontdesk, and told the manager of the mixed up, and they immediately tried to look for a change in rooms. Although we understood that it is over a busy period (Dec) and we have read so much about how common it is to get rooms mixed up in SA, we were still disappointed, especially when it was X'ms Eve!! Nevertheless we told them we wanted to head out for dinner (we were getting cold, hungry and grouchy), and they could move our luggage if they could find us an alternative room.

After dinner, the shift manager (sorry we didn't get his name!) informed us that we would be upgraded to one of their suites. So it was a nice surprise, especially when we were going to stay there for 3 nights. The suite is definitely much more spacious than the standard room (In the standard room, we had problem opening up our 2 luggages and trying to walk about without tripping over them).

The walk to the Waterfront is also relatively safe. Exit from the main entrance of Portswood, turn left and take the stairs down under the carpark, cross the road, head left, and you'll be at the shopping area. There is a mini security/police post diagonally from the main entrance of Portswood that operates 24hrs, so that gives some assurance of safety.

Aston Martin and BMW showrooms are a stone's throw from Portswood. Also remember to make a trip to Clock Tower, and be dazzled by the Shimanski collection.

Only regret is that we didn't get a chance to try the Cape Malay food in the hotel restaurant. It seemed to be popular.

Just back from the busy centre of the Victoria & Albert Harbour bars and restaurants is the lovely quiet Portswood Hotel. Nice big rooms with great amenities (particularly loved the cooling peppermint foot cream) and an easy walk to the action on the waterfront.

Service was impeccable and the doorman greeted us by name every time we passed. The restaurant was once a part of an old prison and is stuffed full of history. The breakfast is fantastic!

Recommended highly.