Taj Cape Town, South Africa

Taj Cape Town

"Located in the historic city center on the pedestrian St. George’s Mall, this architecturally striking hotel is ideally suited to travelers wanting to tap into Cape Town’s cosmopolitan culture—shops, street markets, art galleries, restaurants, and bars are all within walking distance, as are the city’s legal and business districts and Company Gardens (part of the city’s original fresh produce garden planted in the 1650s). The Taj occupies two restored landmark buildings on the lower floors, of which the central hub is the former South African Reserve Bank’s marble-columned main hall (now the lobby, lounge, and bar areas). Atop this rises a new ultra-modern 17-story tower where most of the hotel’s 176 rooms and suites are positioned to take advantage of the views of the city and Table Mountain. The lower, historic floors of the hotel house elegant rooms (with limited views and non-opening windows, alas), an Jiva Spa, and a fitness center with an indoor lap pool (the hotel’s sole pool). The best of two restaurants is the fine-dining Bombay Brasserie, modeled on its London namesake, focusing on regional Indian specialities carefully matched to local wines. Service here is also the most professional and confident, whereas elsewhere at the hotel staff seem more tentative."