Historical Luxury At The Victoria And Alfred Hotel

If you’re looking for the perfect combination of luxury, convenience and historical beauty – check out the Victoria and Alfred Hotel at the V & A Waterfront in Cape Town.

On our trip to the Cape last month, we spent a night at the Victoria and Alfred Hotel. We’re both history nuts, so the fact that the hotel was actually built in 1904 as the North Quay Warehouse in 1904 was a huge bonus, as we love old buildings. It became a hotel, and was named after Queen Victoria and her son Prince Alfred, as they played a large role in establishing the V & A Waterfront, which was then known as the Breakwater Basin.

The Victoria and Alfred Hotel is located in the heart of the V & A Waterfront – a thriving area with beautiful views of the harbour, table mountain and the cityscape. You have everything at your fingertips, and are close to the huge mall, restaurants, bars and everything you could ever need to enjoy your stay in the Cape.

We arrived at the Victoria and Alfred Hotel after a day spent in the winelands, so we were relaxed and happy in the late afternoon as we checked in.

There is nothing quite like walking into your Mountain Facing room, walking towards your window and looking out into the late afternoon sunlight to see a soft cover of cloud over Table Mountain, with boats on the water below. Absolutely breathtaking!

The view as we walked towards the window of our Mountain Facing Room

VICTORIA & ALFRED HOTEL — Full view from the window

We took some video footage of the room (check out my Road Trip Day #7 Reel on Instagram to see a glimpse of our room, and stay tuned for a full Reel on the Victoria and Alfred Hotel) and then headed down for a walk around the surrounding area of the Waterfront.

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There are SO many incredible restaurants and bars right within a short walking distance, as well as a huge variety of companies that do cruises at various times of the day. Plus, you can walk to different markets or the V & A Waterfront mall too, so there’s shopping and a whole variety of other entertainment all spread out right in front of the Victoria and Alfred Hotel – a tourist’s paradise if you will.

GINJA AT THE VICTORIA & ALFRED HOTEL — The view from our table at Ginja as the sun was going down.

After about 30 minutes of wandering around, soaking up the gorgeous scenery, we headed in to Ginja – the restaurant at the Victoria and Alfred Hotel. We were going to be indulging in one of their promotions, of which they had two running at the time. There was a prawn special (platter for 2 of 1kg chilli garlic queen prawns, fries, toasted ciabatta, table salad & a 750ml bottle of Iona Sauvignon Blanc for R550) as well as a steak special (platter for 2 of 1kg Florentine T-bone steak with herbed butter, creamy parmesan truffle risotto, brioche bread, fries, warm vegetable salad and a bottle of Niel Joubert Grenache Blanc for R550).

Both looked (and sounded) amazing, but we decided on the steak special – and were OVERJOYED at our decision when the food arrived at our table. The meat was perfectly cooked, juicy and tender, the risotto was divine, the warm salad perfect for the chilly winter weather, brioche warm and inviting, and the fries perfectly crispy. And that wine! Probably one of the best white wines I’ve ever had the pleasure of tasting – I just wish I could find somewhere to purchase it by the bottle (or someone to spoil me with a whole case *hinting at Hubby).

Our exceptionally busy day meant we headed up to bed early, and enjoyed a fantastic night’s sleep, as the following day was our last full day in Cape Town, and we wanted to be well rested. Our room at the Victoria and Alfred Hotel was exceptionally comfortable, and we slept like babies.

An early start, hot shower and a cup of coffee as we watched the sun coming up from the window, and we headed back down to Ginja for breakfast. We honestly were just expecting a selection of hot breakfasts, as Covid has ruled out the enjoyment of the classic buffet – but lo and behold, Ginja had made a plan to keep the buffet Covid-friendly!

With a plastic screen separating you from the mountains of glorious meats, fish, cheeses, baked goods, fresh fruit, yoghurt and cereals, a kitchen staff member stood waiting to see what you’d like to choose, and would dish it up for you. Hubby tucked into the meats and cheeses, while I opted for some smoked salmon, cream cheese and a croissant. We also picked up a Maple Bacon muffin to share after our hot meal, that was an explosion of contrasting flavours.

Hot breakfast was still an option, but on a more limited scale. This made it much easier to choose though, and Hubby selected the Avocado on Toast (smashed avo, feta cheese and poached eggs) with a side of bacon. I saw Turkish Eggs (eggs of your choice with yoghurt flatbread, chilli butter, chimichurri and labneh) and could barely squeak out how I preferred my eggs (soft poached) to the waiter as I’ve recently discovered the delight that is labneh, and couldn’t wait to try this combination. Both meals were perfect, with our eggs done exactly to our liking.

Our stay at the Victoria and Alfred Hotel completely blew our expectations out of the water. The hotel is luxurious without being pretentious, and the rooms are so comfortable and clean, with everything you need for a short or long stay. Being so central is definitely the key attraction, as are the views. A place we’ve been eyeing up on previous visits to the Cape, and somewhere we’ll DEFINITELY be staying again!