Cape Town is a beautiful city that seems to have countless natural beauty. Mountains? Yep. Beach? Yep. I quite enjoyed my brief visit there last year, as part of my trip in Qatar Airways QSuites. Being a Hyatt loyalist, I was glad to see there is a property there. Cash rates were around US $76, so I considered this a good value. Note that the Hyatt Regency Cape Town is a Category 2 property, so free nights are around 8000 points per night.
The hotel is located near the city center, in the Bo-Kaap neighborhood, an area originally settled by slaves from what is now Malaysia. Historically this area has has a high percentage of Muslim residents. This hotel is not on the waterfront where many other western hotel chains are located, as is much of the tourist infrastructure, but the location is fine, with easy access to restaurants nearby, and to Table Mountain where I enjoyed some hiking during my stay.
The Hyatt Regency Cape Town is reflagged in 2020 from Hilton Cape Town City Centre, which Kevin reviewed long ago. Definitely have been a lot of renovations since then, although there are currently no suites available, supposedly due to further renovations required. My room was. just a basic room facing the city, and the pool below. Not even a view upgrade, but perfectly fine as I didn’t spend much time in the room.
Another possible negative about this hotel is they are certified halal. So no pork products are served, as well as no alcohol. Certainly not a deal breaker for me, but some thing to be aware of. Upon checkin, I was told I could BYOB for private consumption in the guest room, and was even directed to a local liquor store… (Note, that a commenter reports that the hotel now serves alcohol, including in the lounge, so if true, this is a nice improvement for those who choose to drink which has been implemented since my stay).
Hyatt Regency Cape Town – Public Spaces
The lobby is not very large, but well appointed. A small coffee stand is available all day, and the main restaurant is behind that. I had breakfast here each morning. A diverse buffet spread, with chef making egg dishes to order.
There is an executive lounge (presumably still using Hilton branding) one floor above the main lobby. This was a nice quiet place for people to work or chill out, with coffee, tea and soft drinks available all day, but during my stay there is only food available for a 2 hour window in the evenings. 5-7pm I believe. Remember, no alcohol, so where one might normally have a beer and a light snack, this isn’t available here.
If here on a work trip, this would be a nice place to work outside of ones room. Nice space, but I only rarely saw others here during my visits, partially likely due to what seemed like relatively low occupancy. Presumably this space will eventually be used for a more traditional club lounge as travel returns to something more normal.
Exploring Bo-Kaap and the area around the hotel
The area directly around the hotel isn’t that great. I didn’t feel unsafe, but I’m a 6+ foot white male. Probably not an area for some people to walk around after dark. Uber is cheap, and easy to use in the area.
Just up the street from the hotel are some very colorful buildings, in the neighborhood called B0-Kaap
While walking around the area, I noticed Ahmed’s Tikka House just around the corner. I did some online research, found good reviews, so I ordered a meal via WhatsApp, picked it up, and ate in my room. Cheap and delicious food. Cash only.
In the other direction, towards the city center, there are a bunch of other sit down restaurants and bars. I also found a laundry service, really cheap, fast, and good quality. That was nice find in the middle of my trip. I enjoyed a few meals in the area, many options within a few blocks of the hotel.
Not really in the neighborhood, but well within view is Signal Hill and Table Mountain. Each floor has a small sitting area with views. I really enjoyed this each time I came to my floor. Noticing approaching dusk, I hung out and took many photos of the sun setting over Table Mountain.
Hyatt Regency Cape Town King room
My room was just a typical king room, with a city view, opposite side of the hotel of the views shown above. Somewhat disappointing to only have a basic entry level room, no upgrade even to a view room, but as I said before, it was fine. Didn’t spend much time in the room besides to sleep.
King sized bed was fine, with a couch near the window, and a desk and flatscreen TV. Pretty basic setup. but clearly newly refurbished. The bathroom was spacious with a separate soaking tub and a shower.
I wasn’t too put off by the fact that the hotel is dry, but I did take up the front desk agent’s suggestion to get some drinks and bring them to my room. Nothing too fancy, just basic South Africa macro-brews were available as singles. The wine was fine. I generally like Australian Shiraz, so I’d try the SA take on it. I think I picked Arabella because of the Arctic Monkeys song. Nothing special, but nice to have a drink as a nightcap once back in my room.
Final Thoughts
The Hyatt Regency Cape Town is a newly branded and refurbished hotel in central Cape Town. Decent value to book with points at category 2, or if the price is right, to book with cash as I did. A bit strange to have a halal hotel outside the Middle East, or at least in a non-majority muslim country. Still even in otherwise dry Qatar, getting an alcoholic beverage in the lounge was appreciated. A minor annoyance, but not a reason to avoid the place, at least for me. This is well located to sites in the city center, and Bo-Kaap, along with easy access to the waterfront and natural areas around Cape Town. Nice to have a Hyatt property in Cape Town for loyalists like me.
