Kensington Place
Contemporary luxury boutique. Think gallery-meets-private-home: bold feature walls, handpicked linens, pop art, and South African artworks. Quietly glamorous rather than flashy. The kind of place where staff know your name by breakfast.
Breakfast runs until 15:00 — there's no reason to set an alarm. Request it on your balcony for city and harbour views.
Why It Matters
Cape Town's original boutique hotel — over 25 years old, Tatler Best City Boutique winner, and still the benchmark for intimate luxury in the city. Owner-operated with genuinely personalised service, all-day breakfast included, and a solar-powered backup supply that keeps the lights on during load-shedding.
Eight rooms in a Victorian-era manor on the quiet residential slopes of Higgovale — that's the whole hotel. Kensington Place is owner-operated and deliberately small, with each room hung with locally commissioned original art and fitted with custom-made bathtubs, heated marble floors, and sprawling king beds. It sits above Kloof Street (a 10-minute stroll) and below Table Mountain's cable car station, with views across Cape Town's harbour and city bowl.
Where You'll Stay
2 room types available
Standard Room
One room in the property — Room 6. Soothing grey palette and a shower bathroom (rather than the bathtub in suites). Still individually decorated and equally well-equipped with Marshall speakers, air conditioning, underfloor heating, and a private balcony. Nothing standard about it except the name and price point.
Queen
Superior Suite
Seven of the eight rooms fall into this category — each one individually decorated with a distinct colour scheme and locally commissioned artwork. Feature walls range from butterfly prints to oversized botanical photography. All have private balconies with city, harbour, or mountain views. Custom-made bathtubs, heated marble floors, and Marshall speakers make these rooms genuinely luxurious rather than just well-appointed.
KingThe Property
Eat & Drink
1 venue on property
Restaurant
Spa & Wellness
Treatment Menu
On Property
How you'll actually spend your days.
Stellenbosch and Franschhoek are roughly 40 minutes from the hotel. The concierge selects estates based on guest preferences — celebrated and lesser-known alike.
The concierge arranges vetted tours including Cape Point and the Peninsula drive, Bo-Kaap and City Bowl, Winelands visits to Stellenbosch and Franschhoek, whale watching in Hermanus (August–November), and private vineyard visits.
Small outdoor pool set into a wooden deck, surrounded by muted curtain panels for privacy. Cushioned wicker lounge chairs. Drinks and food can be served poolside.
The cable car station is a 20-minute walk or short drive from the hotel. Complimentary tickets included for stays of 3+ nights.
Trails accessible directly from Higgovale on foot. The hotel team briefs guests on conditions and the best time of day to go up.
Complimentary day-pass access to a nearby Virgin Active fitness club with aerobics, tennis, squash, and weights facilities. Arranged by the concierge.
Amenities & Practical Info
The details that matter for planning.
Full cooked à la carte breakfast included with every room, served daily from 07:30 until 15:00. Can be served in the dining room, on the terrace, or delivered to your private balcony.
Designer-furnished lobby bar with an open fireplace, curated Cape wine list, and signature cocktail menu.
Yoga mat and hand weights stored in each room wardrobe — easy to miss but worth knowing about.
Smart televisions with Netflix streaming in every room.
In-house DVD and music library available to guests.
Small landscaped garden surrounding the pool deck area.
Small pool on a wooden deck with shaded lounge area and draw curtains for privacy. Candles in summer evenings.
Same-day laundry and pressing. Items collected before 09:00 returned by 18:00. Overnight express option available.
Private airport transfers and chauffeured day-tours arranged on request. Uber also readily available from the hotel entrance.
Solar panels provide backup power — the hotel is unaffected by South Africa's load-shedding power cuts.
Network: 'Kensington Place', no password required throughout the property.
BUILD YOUR KENSINGTON PLACE PLAN
Rooms, dining, spa, and resort experiences — organized into one trip plan.
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