Review: Cape Grace: First In

Why book? For a first-timer in Cape Town, there’s perhaps no better place for a soft landing in the city: a private quay on the edge of the V&A Waterfront district, with sweeping views over Table Mountain and a working harbor, where plenty of shops, restaurants, and museums lie within striking distance.

Set the scene Given the Cape Grace’s central location, this has long been a go-to for first-timers in Cape Town, families, and large safari-bound groups (hard to miss as they plod around Cape Town in their khaki gear).

The backstory For nearly three decades, the Cape Grace has been a fixture in Cape Town’s hospitality scene, drawing guests like the Clintons, Clint Eastwood, Matt Damon—from presidents to A-list stars, chances are if they came to Cape Town, this is where they touched down between meetings and filming schedules. But while the grande dame had her share of devoted followers, she had begun to show her age—colonial-leaning, stuffy interiors that were dated and out of touch. So when Accor acquired the property with plans to reimagine it as a Fairmont hotel, it was time for a much-needed face-lift. No surface was left untouched after the hotel shuttered last May, and this spring it was reborn as Cape Grace, A Fairmont Managed Hotel, with a fresh look rooted in contemporary South African art and design.

The rooms The room count has dropped from 121 to 112 following the extensive renovations, resulting in more spacious offerings across 12 categories. I was relieved to see how much more contemporary and stylish the rooms now look—gone are the wall-to-wall carpets, fussy light fixtures, and chintz fabrics. Instead, my ground-floor one-bedroom suite had sleek marble-topped tables, a rattan vanity in the bathroom, contemporary art, and dark wood floors livened up with gorgeous plush rugs with vivid blue and burgundy patterns. Local touches were everywhere, from an extensive collection of books ranging from South African chick-lit to memoirs of Nelson Mandela, Trevor Noah, and Siya Kolisi to a mini-bar stocked with gin, rum, and brandy made with Cape Fynbos plants. While the view from my balcony, overlooking yachts bobbing in the marina and Table Mountain further beyond, was lovely, nothing compares to the two-bedroom Cape Grace suite, with its panoramic perch over the mountain and harbor.

Food and drink The hotel’s Signal restaurant is now replaced by a sleek new venue, Heirloom, where the menu has been masterminded by acclaimed chef Gregory Czarnecki—he previously led the kitchen at the award-winning Cape Winelands restaurant Waterkloof and was a judge on Masterchef South Africa. The French-born Czarnecki’s culinary pedigree is apparent in the restaurant’s tasting menus, where dishes like lobster Dugléré and quail egg with onion soubise shine. The beloved Library, long a favorite for locals converging for book club meetings, coffee dates, and afternoon tea, is back with a fresh new look, and Bascule, a popular subterranean bar with the most extensive whiskey collection in the Southern Hemisphere—more than 420 types—will return after some light touch-ups in June.

The spa A brand new Fairmont spa on the first floor will officially open in June—and much of the original Cape Grace spa team is returning with it—and until then, guests can book a smaller range of treatments in a smaller temporary space next to the gym on the ground floor.

The neighborhood/area Savvy visitors often prefer to stay along beguiling Atlantic Seaboard neighborhoods like Bantry Bay and Clifton for their stunning water views and endless sunsets, or in the lively Gardens or Seapoint areas with their hip cafés and boutiques. But the V&A Waterfront, where Cape Grace presides over a private quay—slightly removed from the hubbub but also steps from it all—has so much to offer, especially for visitors passing through Cape Town and pressed for time. The property is right by the buzzy new Time Out Market that debuted in the city in 2023 with outposts of popular restaurants like Ramenhead, Carne, and How Bao Now, and the stylish design market Watershed door, where some of Cape Town’s most coveted fashion, accessories, and housewares brands maintain stalls under one cavernous roof. A few steps beyond is the recently revitalized Alfred Mall, a petite arcade with trendy boutiques like Mungo & Jemima and Hannah Lavery as well as the Aafricaa concept shop, which carries a sharp edit of designers from the continent (look out for earrings by Pichulik and ceramics by Chuma Maweni). Also nearby are the Robben Island ferry gateway and the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, not to mention plenty of popular restaurants—so even if you’re short on time, you can easily tick off key cultural and historical landmarks, pick up some stylish souvenirs, and sample Cape Town’s best flavors within a few minutes’ radius of your room.

The service The Cape Grace has always been synonymous with sublime service, and little has changed on that front—which can be credited to the fact that the Fairmont group retained the majority of the original staff, many who have been with the hotel for over a decade, throughout the duration of the eight-month closure. So while there may be new management—and Fairmont is well known for service in its own right—returning guests will be comforted to find familiar faces among the staff along with the attentive service and thoughtful touches they remember well.

Accessibility There are ramps at the entrance, and four accessible rooms—one on each floor—that have been tweaked and updated with help from outside consultants.

Anything left to mention? While the dramatic changes will likely draw a newer, younger crowd to the storied hotel, they might be jarring to longtime loyalists. But fear not: the hotel has a warehouse brimming with the original furniture and antiques, and will be layering in select pieces over the coming months to infuse a sense of history in thoughtful ways.