My husband and I stayed at this hotel on our first trip to South Africa 11 years ago and have used it on several trips since. We recently stayed for one night and once again we could not fault it. It has recently been refurbished and the rooms are very comfortable, clean and well equipped and offer views to Table Mountain or over the City towards the Waterfront. The staff were extremely helpful and pleasant and the breakfast is very good. It also has a nice outdoor pool, not huge but great to relax by if you have a spare minute!! The hotel itself is not by the Water front but they do offer a shuttle bus which can take you to the Waterfront day or evening. It is also in walking distance of the Company Gardens which are very pleasant and the Mount Nelson Hotel, where the afternoon tea (a buffet and eat as much as you want ) is a real experience! There is also an excellent Italian restaurant Nonna Linna just down the road - can highly recommend it. From our own experience we find this hotel perfectly adequate for our needs. It is ideal if you want a reasonable hotel in Cape Town and don't mind not being right in the hub of the Waterfront the De Waal offers excellent value for money. We would definitely recommend it.

I stayed at this hotel for 6 nights in late November 2007. It was my first time to South Africa, so I cannot compare it to any other Hotel in that country.

Hotel/Service/Amenities etc
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The Hotel itself is a decent and clean place. For the nightly price of about 849 Rand (129 USD), it was a good quality hotel. The room was quiet, clean, well serviced. The lobby is small but efficient and staff is helpful and available.
Even before I arrived, I was communicating with them via email and they were very responsive, friendly and informative.

There is a small pool is the back and some room for Sun bathing...though not many guests (myself included) used this.

There is NO GYM here and NO 'Complimentary' Transportation to/from the Airport or anywhere else. Shuttle to the Airport can be booked about 4-6 hours in advance and costs 200 Rand one way.

The front desk can accept Credit Cards, but all cabs and other shops prefer CASH.

The rooms do NOT have an alarm clock, so you either have to use your own clock/watch/cellphone or ask for a wake up call.

The rooms have limited wireless access and it has to be paid w/ credit card. The business center downstairs is quite lame. It is nothing more than a booth with 1 computer and a SLOW connection. You purchase internet time from the front desk and use credit at this computer.

Breakfast: This was one of the better things about this hotel. At the lobby level, there is a large dining area that serves breakfast from 6 to 11 am. They have a Full (HOT) Breakfast and a smaller (Cold) breakfast option. Both are buffet/all u can eat.

Full breakfast consists of Eggs cooked to order...cooked in front of you on a grill-stove plus porridge/oatmeal, bacon, sausage, ham etc...plus the Cold Breakfast below.

Cold breakfast consists of FRESH SQUEEZED OJ or GUAVA juice, fresh cut fruit (melon, papaya, pineapple. orange), cereals, yogurt, breads, croissants, jams, honey etc.

The FULL breakfast runs about 84 Rand per person...came out to about $12.50.

I am a big breakfast guy, so this was well worth it. Plus the food options were very good. I'd rather pay than eat the 'free -day old danish' that is served at other hotels.

Location/Transport/Nearby
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The Hotel is reasonably close to Long Street which is the main shopping/bar/eating/restaurant scene. About a 10 -12 minute walk. Walking is only recommended in the day time...at night you can take a cab. Cabs to Long St from the hotel run about 30-50 Rand.

Also nearby...about 5-7 min walk....is a small Shopping Center/Mall that has some basic stores, a Pick N Pay (local equivalent of Vons/Ralphs Grocery Store) and a bank ATM to get more cash.

Cabs are easy to get in Cape Town...both at the Hotel and most major hangouts. The Hotel is also a 40 Rand cab ride to the International Convention Center and about 50 Rand ride to the Wharf area. We were fortunate to know a local who had a car so we were able to explore the outlying areas of town as well.


The hotel was picked by a company that I was consulting for..and it was pretty last minute. I think that, if done with adequate time, it is quite possible to get a really good hotel/deal in an even better location.

Just back from holiday in Cape Town staying at this hotel. What a fabulous hotel. Guests comfort is an absolute priority. The staff were wonderful - genuine friendliness. So helpful.

Rooms were very comfortable - two large double beds in ours and a terrific view of Table Mountain. They will arrange tours for you but you have to request them - they are not in your face about them. Best Tour Guide by far -Saali. We shall never forget him. If you visit be sure to ask Francisco (barman) to make you one of his cocktails - I sampled a few and they were all delicious.

Places of interest nearby are the SA Art Gallery, Holocaust Museum, Jewish Musuem. Mount Nelson Hotel (afternoon tea here is a must). Walking through Government Gardens is a delight - take some nuts and feed the very friendly squirrels.

Also pretty decent shopping centre only 200 yds approx. Lots and lots to see and do but it was wonderful to come back to this hotel in the evening knowing that everything would be just right.

We have travelled the world and stayed in wonderful hotels but I can honestly say that the beds in this hotel are the best ever.

The de waal hotel in cape town is a decent enough hotel, although somewhat lacking in character. It's quite a plain hotel and much like many other hotels around the world.

The rooms were nice enough rooms - modern and spacious with linen changed daily. Our room looked out toward the city, which was a decent view, although would have preferred to have been on the other side of the hotel which looks out onto the impressive table mountain.

The location was OK in that it's a 5-10 min taxi ride to the V&A Waterfront, but the hotel itself sits near a busy main rode, which is a slight drawback due to some noise. Whatsmore, there is nothing of any interest within walking distance as the hotel is set in a more residential part of town.

Pool is slightly on the small side, and sits in the shade for the latter part of the afternoon, which can leave the water very chilly! Although we were there in the South African summer, the pool area was very quiet, which was nice if not slightly strange. Maybe other new something about the water we didn't...

The staff were excellent. Never met such a friendly bunch of hotel staff in my life. They were not only very polite and helpful, but were also happy to chat away to you (ask you how your day was, what you'd seen, recommended good restaurants etc.). What's more, the customer service came across as if they were honestly meant what they were saying, as opposed to the often fake "american - style" customer service.

There's an irish style bar as part fo the hotel which is nice enough. Quite a pleasant place to have a quiet drink. Met a couple of drunk Icelandic pilots on my last night there, who were apparently flying out to LA the next day... glad I wasn't on that flight!!

Overall - nice enough place, with excellent staff, although somewhat lacking in character.