Stay, dine, unwind: Plan your perfect escape at the V&A Waterfront

Sometimes you want the feeling of a getaway without the hassle of booking flights, creating a packing list or spending hours on the road. Fortunately, a change of scenery can be much closer to home.

Check into a beautiful hotel in your own city for the night, soak up some me-time at the spa, take your time over afternoon tea, lose yourself in art or head out onto the Atlantic with a glass of Cap Classique in hand.

At the V&A Waterfront, the escape can be as little or as much as you want it to be. Steal away for a few indulgent hours, let a date stretch well beyond dinner or pack an overnight bag and give yourself the whole day to enjoy.

Here’s some inspiration to get you started.

Packing an overnight bag for a sneaky night away in your hometown is enough to make the weekend feel a bit different. Check in, drop your bags and leave the laundry pile and half-finished weekend projects at home. Stay for another drink after dinner, sleep in the next morning and take your time over breakfast before your to-do list has even crossed your mind.

The InterContinental Table Bay Cape Town has recently reopened following its transformation, giving one of the Waterfront’s best-known hotels an elegant new look and feel. Over on the other side of the neighbourhood, One&Only Cape Town offers a resort-style stay with marina views and its very own private island, while Cape Grace, tucked into its private quay, and The Silo Hotel, rising above the Silo District, offer two very different and very special ways to wake up in your own city.

An overnight stay isn’t the only way to get some distance from the everyday. Cross the bridge to the private island at One&Only Cape Town, where the tranquillity of the spa gives its surroundings a distinctly South African sense of place. The African Journey begins with a rooibos and rock-salt scrub before a Rungu Stick massage and tea ceremony, while the Essence of One&Only Cape Town combines sea-salt exfoliation, a heated kelp wrap and a full-body massage.

At the InterContinental Table Bay, Spa InterContinental offers another way to slow things down, with massages, facials and body treatments alongside time in the sauna.

Take an hour or block out your whole afternoon. Put the phone away and let someone else worry about the time for a change.

deciding where to eat is part of the fun.

At One&Only Cape Town, ROOI puts fire at the centre of a distinctly South African menu, while over at the InterContinental Table Bay, Le Bistrot de JAN brings Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen’s take on French bistro dining to the Waterfront.

Elsewhere in the neighbourhood, COY explores overlooked African ingredients and culinary storytelling through its menu, while Marble is one to arrive early for. Start with a drink at the rooftop bar and take in the views across the harbour and city before settling in for dinner, with an extensive wine list to work your way through.

Not much of a night owl? Make afternoon tea the order of the day instead.

At The Silo Hotel, Royal Tea begins with a welcome drink and tea tasting before the sweet and savoury treats start making their arrival. Served Thursday to Sunday, it makes a pretty convincing case for clearing a few hours in the calendar in the afternoon.

And until 13 September 2026, Cape Grace and The Savoy Hotel are bringing a little taste of London to the Waterfront with From London, With Love. The limited-edition afternoon tea combines Savoy-inspired pastries with seasonal South African ingredients, alongside savouries, scones, loose-leaf teas and live piano at Heirloom Restaurant.

If you haven’t ambled through this part of Victoria Wharf lately, you might notice a few new names. The new Lux Wing now has six of its eight stores open, with Versace, Burberry, Rolex, Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Zegna already trading and Dolce & Gabbana and Amiri still to come.

There’s no need to arrive with a shopping list (that would defeat the point of taking it slowly). Browse the latest collections, take a closer look at the craftsmanship of a piece you may want to add to your wishlist, or give yourself permission to splurge on something exquisite.

At the Cape Town Diamond Museum by Shimansky, follow South Africa’s diamond story from rough stone to polished gem and get a closer look at the craftsmanship behind cutting and polishing.

From there, make your way to the Silo District and disappear into the Zeitz MOCAA for an hour or two. And don’t stop at the museum doors. Galleries, exhibitions and creative spaces are scattered throughout the V&A neighbourhood, so an afternoon spent looking at art can easily stretch a little further than planned.

Then spend the afternoon out on the water aboard Mirage. Choose a daytime sail or head out later for sunset, grab a glass of Cap Classique and enjoy seeing Cape Town from a different angle for a while.