Mount Nelson, A Belmond Hotel, Cape Town
A city-centre garden icon with afternoon tea and marble bathrooms
About this hotel
The garden estate is the property's defining trait, a tranquil pink-walled icon set in the middle of a bustling city centre rather than tucked away in the suburbs. The famous afternoon tea on the terrace is as much a Cape Town institution as a hotel amenity, and a swim in one of the pools rounds out an afternoon alongside the tennis court and wellness facilities. Each accommodation wing carries its own character with private gardens and facilities, and marble bathrooms with specially designed furniture finish every room as a genuine retreat after a day of sightseeing. Company Gardens sits a stone's throw away, and the multilingual concierge team is built to handle everything from Table Mountain logistics to a Robben Island booking.
- City-centre garden estate
- Multiple swimming pools
- Famous afternoon tea
- Tennis court
Our take
This suits travellers wanting a genuine Cape Town institution, garden estate, afternoon tea and multiple pools inside the city centre rather than a modern boutique stay. The private-garden accommodation wings reward booking a higher category. Anyone chasing a minimalist, low-key hotel should book a smaller boutique property instead. Special-occasion travellers marking an anniversary or milestone will find the private-garden wings and afternoon tea genuinely worth the higher room category.
- Book the afternoon tea on the terrace even if not staying multiple nights, it's the property's signature
- Ask the concierge to arrange Robben Island and Table Mountain logistics together, they handle both routinely
- Walk to Company Gardens in the early morning before the city centre gets busy
Why we love it
- The famous afternoon tea on the terrace
- Multiple swimming pools on a garden estate
- Marble bathrooms in every room
- A stone's throw from Company Gardens
Why guests love itI would choose the Mount Nelson, A Belmond Hotel for a five-star, historic-feeling stay on a garden estate in the city centre. It has multiple swimming pools, a tennis court and marble bathrooms, and its afternoon tea on the terrace is famous. Company Gardens is a stone's throw away. A 9.7 from 182 reviews is exceptional, though I would expect a traditional rather than a modern style.