Get a room: the InterContinental Table Bay Cape Town

It was The Table Bay for decades, but now the V&A Waterfront hotel has had a gigantic 10-month-long revamp (R1-billion gigantic, that is) and reopened as the very swishy InterContinental Table Bay Cape Town. Here’s what to expect.

The vibe 

Out goes the dated colonial look and in comes a sensibility that’s lighter, softer and not competing with the spectacular view. From here you see the harbour, ships and shops, and the city itself. Holding it all down is the majesty of Table Mountain as the backdrop. With 306 rooms and suites (a few less than before the billion-rand renovation but with more suites) it’s still one of Cape Town’s largest luxury hotels, and hosts corporate travellers or families wanting all the amenities and comfort with ease.

The backstory

The V&A Waterfront doesn’t hand out partnerships lightly, and for its flagship hotel it chose InterContinental, a brand built on international scale and a loyalty programme spanning more than 130-million members. For guests in that programme, the upside is late checkout, the possibility of a room upgrade, and access to that sixth-floor Club lounge without reaching for a credit card.  

InterContinental has long been the brand of diplomatic missions. A case in point is the former Kabul InterCon which was recently bought to life in The Finest Hotel in Kabul: A People’s History of Afghanistan by journo Lyse Doucet, which just scooped the 2026 Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction. The brand epitomises international business travel and chooses landmark properties that need to feel both prestigious and practical for hosting dignitaries and returning families alike. The price point fits that brief.

Your stay

Rooms lean into a marine-inspired palette of sand, stone, soft greys and softened edges. The finishes are top-tier without being showy, and yes, there’s a bath – a treat that’s increasingly rare in hotels. A nice touch for the technologically weary: ordinary switches and taps. No panel to decode, just light switches that work like light switches. 

Expect walk-in rainfall showers, brushed metal fittings, double vanities. In two words – subtle luxury.

If you find yourself on the sixth floor, you’ve landed near the InterContinental Club, the members-only enclave (or pay R1,800 a day) built for privacy and quiet. Expect drinks, high tea and canapes drifting through at intervals, plus a bar. Guests reportedly include business types and politicians keen for some quiet or alone time. 

Drink and dine

Breakfast and dinner happen at Flint and Fennel, a polished, all-day brasserie complete with windows that curve up into the ceiling. Breakfast runs 7am to 10am (you can linger until 11), then the kitchen pivots.

Dinner for us started with tasty burrata and cauliflower, and on the menu were options such as 28-day aged Black Angus beef, generous sharing plates of meat and chicken, and what sounds like the real draw, the Cape seafood platter. Our mains of chops and fillet were tasty picks.

Breakfast is where you really get to soak up the views and get stuck into an impressive buffet that includes some interesting extras alongside the traditional items such as falafel balls, hummus, chakalaka, and sushi. There is an à la carte option if a smorgasbord isn’t your style.

Across the way sits Le Bistrot de Jan, run by Michelin-starred Jan Henrik van der Westhuizen, a name that has immense star power, and rightfully so. The deep blue space is elegant and the food is more comforting than complicated. There is Jan’s signature chicken pie with truffle sauce, worthy of all the praise, as is the sole meunière. 

Anchoring the lounge of the hotel is the Botanist’s Table, a curved central bar that keeps what could be a cavernous space feeling intimate and easy. 

What we really like 

Location, location, location. Step outside and the entire V&A Waterfront unfolds: shops, restaurants, and the harbour itself is a particularly appealing space to explore – especially before the day starts. There’s the Oranjezicht City Farm Market if you’re staying over on a weekend, and you get to beat both the crowds and traffic.

The Solandra pool deck is compact but full of personality. Pick a striped candy-red lounger or one of its siblings half-submerged in the pool, settle in and order a cocktail from a rooftop bar. This space has the energy of a resort pool but is likely to morph into something more urban, especially with all the development rising around it. We predict it’s going to be a big winner come the summer season. 

Find out more about the InterContinental Table Bay Cape Town here.

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