Derwent House, Tamboerskloof, Cape Town, South Africa - Explore & Book

"Derwent House is a colourful, friendly and light-filled boutique hotel, which consciously embraces the spirit of the new South Africa. The hotel’s muted pale-grey facade looks conventionally Cape-Victorian, but to the rear a spectacular double-heighted loggia, a wooden-decked pool and 2 garden wings of rooms bring Derwent House straight into modern mode. Since our visit, a contemporary self-catering apartment has been added for those looking for a little more independence. Back at Derwent House, high, south-facing windows pour light into the open-plan lounge/diner, where angular leather sofas, kudu-covered chairs, huge Xhosa paintings and signed prints of Mandela’s Robben Island sketches, are juxtaposed with subdued white-and-grey walls and floors of buff sandstone. The brightness of the decoration is matched by the vibrant neighbourhood. Kloof Street is just around the corner, abuzz with cosmopolitan bars and restaurants, making this a fabulous base from which to fall for this fabulous city. Highs This is a great part of town: a stone’s throw from the bars and restaurants of Kloof Street Some rooms grab a view up to Table Mountain and its cable car The garden, with its shaded loggia and decked pool, is a great place to chill out, and the lounge/diner has an instant feel-good factor We loved the homely touches like the honesty bar and complimentary sherry and cake at teatime Lows There's been a change of ownership since our last visit, so we're yet to experience the hotel's latest incarnation first-hand You occasionally hear the comings and goings of other guests from the rooms in the main house Some of the rooms are a little on the small side The continual piped music in the dining area might not be to everyone’s taste No children under 12 are permitted" - Guy Hunter Watts