The Bay Hotel
Near
Cape Town, South Africa

Coconut palms line the pearly beach that curves around the Atlantic’s southern seaboard. Three of the Twelve Apostles’ forested peaks rise behind. Cape Town’s restored Victoria and Alfred Waterfront and downtown Longmarket Street are a ten-minute drive away. Beach holiday? Mountain retreat? Urban chic? The Bay Hotel on Camps Bay manages a bit of each.

The Bay Hotel’s pristine white is set off by its own dark green roof and the jagged peak backdrop. It rises off Camps Bay’s beachfront road of cafés, bars and restaurants with the pool and its lounging area to the left. To the right, terraced patios favor all the patrons of the hotel’s bar, the Sandy B, with both view and breeze. Sophisticated beiges, bronzes and a dramatic white lily and bamboo flower arrangement decorate the marble-floored lobby.

Wide stairways on either side of the lobby lead to the Traders Lounge. Here, cushioned-wicker-and-carved-wood easy chairs face a wall of glass looking out to the sea—a perfect drinks and sunset-watching perch.

Our first day we give over to a long beach walk followed by a lazy afternoon around the pool. We lunch in situ on salads or sandwiches from the hotel’s Espresso Bar. The staff will carry beach chairs and towels to the beach, if very cold swims or sitting right on the sand is your thing. The Atlantic this far south, however, is too near a polar cap for my blood.

Other days, we’re all action, fired-up on The Bay’s fine breakfast and coffee, we pop between the Apostles into Cape Town. We visit the District Six Museum (recommended) then over to check out the scene at Cape Town’s renovated waterfront chocked with stores, movies and restaurants. Nearby, we grab our boat (reserved ahead) to Robben Island—Mandela’s and fellow freedom fighters’ prison. It’s close enough to The Bay Hotel to return for a rest and drinks before heading back to town for a play and dinner. (NB: a car is nice, but you can manage this with taxis.)

The hotel’s activities desk is up to arranging all the activity we can stand, including my nephew’s hike up Table Mountain and his paraglide down, the trip to Robben Island and theater tickets. Having just come from wine country, we skip the day tour, but it would be a way to see more of Cape Province.

Each afternoon, when I return to my whisper-elegant, two-level room, I lounge on my bed, stare out to sea and fall into a luxurious snooze. The room’s discriminating amenities are likewise luxe, but breakfasts on the balcony—entertained by seagulls and beach-bodies—create my best memories of The Bay Hotel.

By Kate Crawford      May  2005

LINKS WITH ATTITUDE                           

The Bay Hotel on the web.