Taj Cape Town

The magnificent Taj Cape Town is set to open in December 2009. This luxury, five-star hotel is set in the vibrant heart of Cape Town, offering guests a combination of refined Indian hospitality and an authentic Cape Town experience.
Occupying two historic buildings, it retains the architecture and many meticulously restored interior features of the original South African Reserve Bank and the old Board of Executors (BOE) building – formerly the Temple Chambers – dating back to 1890. Seventeen new storeys house suites, guestrooms and residences with magnificent views of the Mother City and iconic Table Mountain.
Yolanda Woeke-Jacobs recently visited the property, and rates the accommodation and facilities as among the best available in Cape Town. The hotel will have 166 rooms, and of this they will sell a maximum of 65 rooms for groups/block bookings. This is in order to comfortably facilitate groups for breakfast, check-in, functions, etc.
The lobby and entrance to the Hotel is simply gorgeous and the original pillars dating back to 1910 make this a very unique hotel in Cape Town.

Rooms:

The 166 rooms combine old-world quality and modern amenities. As well as the gamut of facilities that guests would expect from a leading luxury hotel such as a mini-bar, safe, voicemail and international plug sockets, standard features include high-speed wireless internet, an iPod docking station and charger, an internet-enabled television and a work station with a multi-media hub so laptops can be interfaced with the television.
There is a selection of 11 room types. These are:

• A two-bedroom, split-level Presidential Suite;
  
• Heritage Suites;
  
• A Taj Club floor combining exclusivity and convenience. This floor, with its private lounge is served by a dedicated butler team providing breakfast, evening canapés and cocktails;
  
• The restored historic buildings accommodate Heritage Luxury rooms with mountain and city views;
  
• Seventeen new floors offer a selection of one-bedroom and two-bedroom Tower Suites;
  
• The Tower Grande rooms provide panoramic city or mountain views;
  
• The Tower Luxury rooms all have walk-out balconies looking out across the City or Table Mountain;
  
• 24 Superior rooms complete the inventory.

Banqueting and meetings
The banqueting and meeting rooms are on the first floor of the BOE building, with its original large sash windows looking out on St George’s Cathedral, the Company Gardens and the Provincial Legislature.
The magnificent interiors have been restored to their original opulence, which is now complemented by state-of-the-art conferencing technology.
There are eight meeting rooms, the largest of which is able to comfortably seat 110 banquet guests. To others can accommodate up to sixty people each. Two smaller rooms can seat 30 or 50 people respectively. In addition there are two boardrooms and a business centre.

Restaurants, bars and lounges
The hotel has two restaurants and a seafood and champagne bar.
The Grille Restaurant is built on three levels. It is bounded by an open-plan show kitchen, a floor-to-ceiling wine wall and full-length glass sliding doors, giving uninhibited views of St George’s Mall, a pedestrianised artery running from the historic City centre to the Foreshore. It is an all-day informal restaurant and where breakfast is served to hotel guests. Patrons can opt for the intimacy of the wine-tasting nook, the relaxed atmosphere of the contemporary interior or enjoy the sights and sounds of Cape Town at open-air tables under the trees in the Mall. The mezzanine level can be used for private dining.

On the ground floor, the hallowed halls of the Reserve Bank have been restored to house the Indian fine-dining restaurant. The elegant décor and authentic Indian cuisine offer a more formal and exotic culinary experience.
Stepping in from the bustle of Wale Street, the seafood and champagne bar is a relaxed, but sophisticated gathering place, ideal for a fresh seafood snack and glass of excellent South African wine with friends. Local band often provide evening entertainment. It also incorporates a coffee bar, serving light meals.
Leading off the magnificent lobby in the restored ground floor of the Reserve Bank are a formal lounge, cocktail bar and cigar bar.

Spa and fitness centre
The Taj Cape Town houses the only Jiva Spa in South Africa. Jiva Spas draw from Ayurveda, an ancient Indian healing tradition, to deliver a range of signature treatments, yoga and meditation. The spa includes two suites dedicated to skin, nail and beauty treatments, four generously sized massage suites, a double massage suite with a jacuzzi and an Ayuvedic consultation and treatment suite.
The fitness centre offers a fully equipped Technogym, heated indoor pool, two saunas and male and female changing areas.

Besides culture, history and sightseeing, the Taj Cape Town is also at the epicentre of a rejuvenated city centre, where an array of top restaurants offer a smorgasbord of local and international cuisine, nightlife abounds and shoppers can choose from international brands and African crafts.
The real Mother City experience is all here.