The Taj Cape Town has been called the city’s oldest new hotel because of the two historic buildings it occupies, but its location in heart of the Mother City also sets it apart. It is housed in the Board of Executors (1896) and the original South African Reserve Bank (1932) buildings.

Seventeen new storeys have been added, offering panoramic views of the city and Table Mountain.

It is set in a precinct steeped in history, from the neighbouring Slave Lodge to St. George’s Cathedral, where Nobel Laureate Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu stood against apartheid. The heart of Cape Town with its art, culture, cuisine and entertainment is on the doorstep.

Inside the hotel, the care taken to retain the integrity of the heritage buildings is apparent. The lobby is dominated by a massive skylight, supported by four fluted marble columns, all of which have been meticulously restored. Even the clock, which first kept banking hours in 1932, has been polished and repaired.

The 177 rooms include Heritage Rooms, blending old-world grandeur and modern amenities. The Tower Rooms combine contemporary luxury and exceptional mountain and city views. On the top floor is a two-bedroom, split-level Presidential Suite with its own massage and steam rooms, fully equipped kitchen, office, gym and a expansive top-floor deck for outdoor entertainment.

A Taj Club floor, a feature of all Taj hotels, includes a private lounge served by a dedicated butler team, providing breakfast and evening canapes and cocktails. Conference, meeting and banqueting facilities include seven meeting rooms, the largest of which can accommodate 110 people.

There are three restaurants: Mint, an all-day dining restaurant with a classic grill menu; the Bombay Brasserie, a fine-dining Indian restaurant modelled on its famous namesake in London; and The Twankey, a seafood and champagne bar offering seafood tapas and a selection of top South African wines.

Other facilities include a formal lounge, cocktail bar, cigar bar, a gym and a Jive Grande Spa. The Jiva Spa concept is unique to Taj Hotels and draws on Ayurveda, an ancient Indian healing tradition, to offer a number of signature treatments, yoga and meditation.