Having been to Cape Town a couple of times and normally staying in the Newlands / Claremont area we decided to try the city area and after comparing rates decided on The Cape Suites Hotel. The rates were exceptionally reasonable on the Winter Special- R450 per night for the 2 of us in a one bedroom apartment - in pound terms less than 37 pounds per night - would struggle to find a decent B & B in UK for that!

The apartment was much larger than I expected, with an unobstucted view from the balcony looking up onto Table Mountain. The apartment, although not decorated in a sophisticated modern way, was clean and fully equipped with everything we needed - not to mention being by far larger than any normal hotel room!!!

A great drawcard was also that the hotel offers complimentary airport pick ups - which we booked - the driver was very friendly and gave us some great advice as well as letting us know that the hotel offers complimentary shuttle to the Waterfront and around the city - great if you don't want to hire a car during your holiday!

The staff were friendly and helpfull - a big thank you to Hanno, the assistant general manager, who patiently went through the tours and attractions that Cape Town has to offer (again and again) before I made my choice!!!

The bedrooms in this hotel are not as described on the website. The beds are twin beds and very small. During this trip it was in the winter season and the heat in the rooms was not working and several of my other travel partners including myself had to have their rooms changed after several failed attempts by maintenance to repair the problem. The management and staff were not very receptive to our complaints until our tour guide insisted that we be accomdated since we had prepaid for a weeks stay several months in advance and should not be expected to stay in cold rooms. Several individuals in my party were given heaters or either had to turn on the oven in their rooms to be warm. The management was not very receptive to our needs because other groups were booked into the hotel for other events. They seemed to feel as if these peoples needs were more important than our large minority group. They initially did not feel that we should be accomodated until we threatened to sue and also to alert the american embassy regarding their buisness practices.
I dont recommend this hotel because it is also very open and at night sometimes drunks and also homeless people wander around the complex or sleep near the stairs. The food is also not that great either. During dinner on 2 nights the food was served cold and had to be returned in addition to the some of the servers not being very friendly.

We visited this hotel,last week.Room wasa little tatty,horrific noise in the night when apartment above us was using water supply.We were in a one bed. flat at the rear near the mountainside,views around reminded me of a squatter site.Could not use veranda ,noise and family of drunks camping below.Staff were very friendly,and room was well cleaned.Restaurant food was not memorable,breakfast cold.All in all hotel could do with refurbishment,and a good spring clean.O.k for a few nights.

Enjoyed our two bedroom flat at the Cape Suites earlier this month during our recent trip to Cape Town and the Wine Lands. It's no luxury (2 1/2 stars by US standards) but room to strech out and informal, friendly Cape hospitality are what we wanted after days in the Wine Lands or the townships.

I would strongly recommend the flats over the rooms at this hotel, since they cost only a few bucks more, and you get an extra bathroom, living room and kitchenette with all the fixtures, including fridge.

Cape Suites are the only accomodation in the historic District Six. Adjacent to the hotel you can see the outline of one of the streets torn down for redevelopment that never occurred. As a result, the area around the hotel is mostly parklike and open. There is a tremendous view of one of the local mountains to the east.

The hotel is conveniently situated to the regional highways. While the hotel have a free courtesy car for airport runs and trips to the CBD, a hire car is strongly recommended. The front desk will ring you a metered taxi but quality and timeliness is highly variable, especially after dark.

But if you do not drive, many day tours are available from the front desk. We took a tour to the townships and Robben Island, and recommend it strongly.

The compound is secure and Mediterranean-themed. Although newer construction, some of the place is looking tired and could use some maintenance. Our flat was well cleaned every day. They could have been a little more diligent in the public areas, though. I remember a half-eaten apple sitting in the fire hose rack in our stairway the whole week.

A small pool is useful for kids over the Christmas holidays. Only tried one of the bars; it was cosy and pub-like. The hotel restaurant offers room service; both were adequate for evenings we didn't feel like going out on the town.

Hotel is popular with touring musical groups and small groups of university students, along with middle class Asian, Indian and Middle Eastern families with small children.

Service is professional, outgoing and helpful, especially Vincent (based at the front desk but seems to be everywhere) and Billie, the young woman tending bar at the Wild Bar and Restaurant.

Only three small whinges: The double beds are actually two twins pushed together... mind the gap. Breakfast is not included in most rates. And the broadband Internet service is limited: only available in the front desk area, it serves up pages slowly and crashes with travel booking sites, the wireless network is tough to connect to, only one of the desktops supplied is connected to the printer, and at $US 15 per half hour, it is expensive.