We spent 6 wonderful nights at the One and Only Cape Town
Some minor negatives to get out of the way - minor, yes - but enough to make it unfair to rate this resort as 5 stars compared to other ones that I have reviewed as 5 stars on Trip Advisor.
WiFi was extremely slow. Even slower than my phone internet connection. If you want to get any work done on a laptop, it takes four times as long as it should take.
The gym was on the 1st floor - there are no bathrooms anywhere on the 1st floor. One has to take an elevator to another level and then walk a ways to the closest bathroom (and don’t forget to take your room key when going from the gym to the bathroom because the elevator requires your key, even to get to the gym level). Bathrooms near the gym would be nice.
The bathroom in the room has a strange design where the distance between the sinks and tub is quite narrow - there are two sinks, but if one person is getting ready (for example, with a hot curling iron doing her hair), you have to interrupt that person (or try and slink behind them) to get to the other sink or shower. And there is a big wooden wall by the tub so it’s not even possible to go around the other side of the tub. Odd design.
Other than those minor negatives, the hotel was very nice. Grand bar at the entrance with a huge picture window. Staff are all extremely friendly and helpful. Check in was smooth and accommodating.
The room - we had a harbor view. I’m glad that we did not pay extra for a Table Mountain View. In winter, it’s often hidden anyway and the harbor is a more interesting and changing scene. You will see plenty of Table, it’s just a big rock. Not sure it’s worth paying extra for.
Room was fine otherwise, adequate size. We did get some really smelly bedsheets on night 1, but on request, they immediately changed them and there was no more smell at all.
The gym was awesome. Large and usually empty. A trainer was almost always present (David mostly during our stay). Every single day, David ran out of his trainer room to greet us and ask if we needed anything at all - even on our 6th straight gym day. By that time, it was probably clear we are gym regulars, but he still checked on us regularly and even noticed when my wife was going for an “extra tough” workout day and came over to offer her extra water. The gym was one of the best parts of this hotel.
Restaurants - we tried both for dinner, Reubens and Nobu. Reubens was very good, definitely worth going to. Nobu was fine. I have been to various Nobu locations in the US many times but my wife had not, so it was a good opportunity to check it out on a lazy night when we did not want to go out. If you have not been to Nobu before, try it for sure. If you have been to Nobu before, skip it, it’s the same as any other.
Location - excellent, short walking distance to V&A, which is nice for all the restaurants and shopping.
That’s about it. We did a lot of excursions so we were not at the hotel all that much.
Overall a nice hotel in a good location. We have one more night in Cape Town on the back end, we chose a different hotel just to be able to compare; we will report on that one soon!
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