Cape Grace

Cape Grace, A Fairmont Managed Hotel is the most recently reinvented grand hotel in Cape Town. It reopened on 1 May 2024 after a nine-month refurbishment by 1508 London, as the first Fairmont in South Africa, and its 112 rooms sit on a private quay between the working harbour and the yacht marina. Two Michelin Keys.

"Reopened in 2024 under Fairmont after a full redesign, on a private quay between the yacht marina and the working harbour."

Aggregate 9.5/10 on our editorial scale (Room & Design, Service, Location). Independently scored; see our methodology. This is our opinion, not an aggregate of user reviews.

Affiliate disclosure: we may earn a commission from bookings at no cost to you. We never accept payment for placement. Hotel status, room product and awards were verified against official sources in July 2026. Michelin does not operate a restaurant guide in Africa, so no restaurant listed here is starred; Michelin Keys are a separate award for hotels.

What makes Cape Grace special?

The private quay is the thing no rival can copy. Cape Grace is the only hotel in the V&A Waterfront standing on its own spit of land, with the working harbour on one side and the international yacht marina on the other, so most rooms look either at masts and Table Mountain or at the harbour itself. The second argument is recency. The hotel closed for a nine-month refurbishment and reopened on 1 May 2024 under Accor's Fairmont brand as Cape Grace, A Fairmont Managed Hotel, the first Fairmont in South Africa, with interiors by 1508 London. That makes it the most recently and most thoroughly reworked of the city's grand hotels. It has traded for years as simply Cape Grace, which is the name most third-party pages still use, so book under the current one. The hotel holds two Michelin Keys from the guide's first South African selection in 2025, the top level awarded to any hotel in Cape Town, and is a Virtuoso and Serandipians partner. The Bascule Bar, a long-standing whisky and cocktail bar on the quay, was refreshed in the refurbishment with locally sourced artwork and a wine cellar.

Which room should you book?

Cape Grace has 112 rooms and suites, and the category you book matters more here than at any other hotel on this list. The range runs Fairmont Harbour View and Deluxe Mountain View rooms, Rooftop Rooms, Junior Suites, One Bedroom Suites and One Bedroom Signature Suites, Rooftop Terrace Suites, Two and Three Bedroom Suites, the Signature Safari Family Room, the Cape Grace Suite and the Waterfront Penthouse Suite. All were reworked in the nine-month refurbishment completed for the 1 May 2024 reopening, with interiors by 1508 London, so the fabric is consistently new across the building. What is not consistent is the outlook. Lower categories look at the harbour or the car park side rather than at the marina and the mountain, and guests who book the lead-in rate expecting the postcard view are the most common source of disappointment. Read the category name literally, ask what the room actually faces, and pay up if the view is the reason you are coming.

Where should you eat and drink?

Cape Grace runs four eating and drinking spaces, and the bar is the one with the history. Heirloom Restaurant is the flagship, contemporary fine dining shaped by South African ingredients. The Bascule Bar and Lounge is a long-standing whisky and cocktail bar on the quay, refreshed in the refurbishment with locally sourced artwork and a wine cellar, and it is the room Capetonians already knew before the rebrand. The Library Lounge serves morning tea and the hotel's celebrated afternoon tea, looking over the yacht marina with Table Mountain behind, which is the best seat in the building for the view that sells the hotel. The Pool Terrace handles poolside dining. One correction worth making, because it appears on a lot of pages about Cape Town: no restaurant in South Africa holds a Michelin star, since the Michelin Guide's restaurant selection does not operate anywhere in Africa. Heirloom has no star and cannot have one. Cape Grace's two Michelin Keys are a hotel award.

What is the spa and pool like?

Cape Grace has a full spa, a gym and an outdoor pool, which is a stronger wellness offer than most of the small houses on this list. The Fairmont Spa at Cape Grace provides signature treatments, massage, skincare and salon services, and has a private dining room attached. Fairmont Fit is the gym. The pool sits outdoors on the pool terrace, with its own food and drink service, so it doubles as a place to eat rather than only a place to swim. It is not a rooftop pool and not indoors, which matters between May and August, when the Cape winter is cool, wet and windy and outdoor facilities go largely unused. The spa is the winter fallback. Guests who want a full spa day should book treatments in advance, particularly over the December to February peak.

Where is Cape Grace, and how do you get there?

Cape Grace stands on West Quay Road on a private quay in the V&A Waterfront, between the working harbour and the international yacht marina. The centre of the Waterfront is 5 to 10 minutes on foot across the swing bridge, and the precinct is privately managed with 24-hour security, so guests walk to the shops and restaurants comfortably by day and in the evening. Approximate off-peak driving figures put the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway about 8 km away at 15 to 20 minutes and Cape Town International Airport about 22 km at 25 to 30 minutes; both can double in the 07:00 to 09:00 and 16:00 to 18:30 peaks. The honest caveat is that this is a tourist precinct rather than a neighbourhood, and the working harbour on one side is exactly that: an operating commercial dock, not a decorative one. Guests who want a residential Cape Town address should look at the City Bowl or Constantia instead.

What do guests consistently say?

Guest feedback on Cape Grace since the 2024 reopening is positive on the product and mixed on the transition. The praise concentrates on the refurbishment itself, the marina and mountain outlook from the higher categories, the Bascule Bar and the afternoon tea in the Library Lounge, and the walkability of the private quay position. The formal recognition backs it: two Michelin Keys in the 2025 inaugural South African selection, the top level awarded to any hotel in Cape Town, plus Virtuoso and Serandipians partnership. The criticism has two consistent strands. The first is room variability. With 112 rooms across many categories, what you see from the window depends heavily on what you paid, and lead-in guests expecting the postcard view are the most common source of complaint. The second is the rebrand. The Fairmont takeover is only two years old, and some long-standing guests compare the new operation unfavourably with the independent Cape Grace they knew.

Honest cons: who should skip it?

Three honest limitations. First, room variability. With 112 rooms across many categories, what you get depends heavily on which category you book: lower categories look at the harbour or the car park side rather than at the marina and the mountain, and guests who book the lead-in rate and expect the postcard view are the most common source of disappointment. Second, the rebrand is recent. Fairmont took over management only two years ago, and some long-standing guests compare the new operation unfavourably with the independent Cape Grace of before. Expect a corporate-group layer of process that the small owner-run houses in Bantry Bay and Gardens do not have. Third, the setting. The position is excellent for walking to the V&A shops and restaurants, but this is a tourist precinct rather than a neighbourhood, and the working harbour on one side is exactly that, so do not book expecting a quiet residential address.