We’re only spending ten days in South Africa – and four of them are going to be in Camp’s Bay. Even more vital to get our choice of hotel just right!
Our guest contributors Olly & Ruth share their experiences of Camps Bay.
You might think that wall-to-wall sunshine, beach, bed and a good restaurant is all you need to escape from grey skies – but we want our stay to be special, without breaking the bank.
Our final choice – Atlanticview – ticks all of the boxes for us.
There’s quite a variety of options in Camps bay; from the Ibiza style beachfront hotels up to the ‘POD’ at nearly £1000 a night. We love five-star luxury but don’t just want to hurt ourselves financially to achieve it.
What tips the scales for Atlanticview is its position up in the hills, overlooking the beach – and the accolades and images on their website, of the room that we’re offered.
Whereas normally, website images can be really misleading, it’s a welcome surprise to see that Atlanticview’s website doesn’t do anywhere near enough justice to their lovely property.
In fact their website, as we publish this, is completely out of step with the presentation of this lovely five-star hotel – probably the only fault we can find during our stay!
Having driven from the wine region of Franschhoek, we’re ready to rest and relax. A delicious chilled lemon juice on our arrival is a much appreciated welcome to the hotel.
We’re shown to Room 4, which is on the lower deck of the hotel and just five steps away from an amazing infinity pool.
The hotel lives up to its name – the views from the room are stunning; we’re looking straight out across Camps Bay, with Table Mountain just to our right.
We’ll soon discover that it’s not even necessary to leave our bed to soak up the magnificent views!
Room 4 is a large bedroom with a king size bed, a small hallway for our luggage and a bathroom with a lovely waterfall shower and bath – but it’s the balcony outside our bedroom that captivates us and which we absolute make the most of – along with a nice cool beer!
What stands out most during our stay at the hotel are the little touches that create a feeling of wellbeing and mark out Atlanticview’s attention to detail and concentration on hospitality.
We soon discover that each night, from 7pm to 9pm, they host drinks and canapés at the bar for all their guests, who congregate to share stories of their day’s activities.
In all our travels it’s the first time we’ve come across a hotel that freely makes such a generous gesture. As we introduce ourselves and speak to other guests, we realise that most have been coming back to Atlanticview for many years – simply because of the small touches, which make all the difference to their overall experience.
Beyond the simple gesture of drinks and nibbles, the hotel cleans and replenishes our room twice a day, offers lifts into Camps Bay and provides strong Wifi, which is always a winner for me!
Atlantic View manages to recreate the atmosphere and ambiance of staying with a close friend, who is generously hosting you at their summer house, such is the extent of the warmth and friendliness the staff and hotel impart.
I am a fan of Uber and as it’s here and so cheap, it’s easy to get into Camps Bay and the surrounding areas to explore.
The Camps Bay stretch itself is relatively short and a day’s exploring will suffice – unless you want to simply lay in the sun, which doesn’t keep us occupied for long.
We do, however, constantly venture back and forth to test all the best eateries and bars! Perhaps we’re spoilt by our wonderful balcony and Atlanticview’s facilities, so that we usually only visit Camps Bay itself for light lunches and drinks before returning to the hotel to make use of our balcony and the pool.
That said, the Chinchilla Rooftop Bar is a great place for lunch, as well as soaking up the sun but it’s worth venturing further outside the main Camps Bay stretch to find dinner spots such as the famous Codfather.
We mix up our evenings, spending two in Camps Bay and the other two at Atlanticview – opting for the bar snacks – if you can call Oyster Burger a snack!
For us it’s a great mix. With the great position of the hotel, the friendly staff and the hotel’s relaxed atmosphere, we want to really enjoy the hotel rather than go out every night.
Breakfast is another treat waiting in store; all guests being served around a single large table where we come and go as we wish. We’re offered a selection of items from the buffet bar, accompanied by the ‘juice of the day’ and any cooked breakfast that we select.
It’s another great example of the family-friendly atmosphere we’ve come to enjoy and within a couple of days we know most of the other guests and their plans for the day.
Atlanticview is a really welcome and pleasant surprise – even better than we could have hoped for. There’s certainly a unique feel to the hotel, with its simple touches, staff hospitality and lovely position.
Definitely set Atlanticview aside from your normal expectations of a conventional five star hotel. You’ll never feel like ‘just another guest’ and there’ll be nothing ordinary about your stay.
Memorable!
Olly and his partner Ruth are continuing The Luxury Couple tradition by travelling extensively and reporting on their experiences as part of our team of guest contributors.
We hope that you’ve enjoyed their insight into Atlanticview – there will be more reviews to tempt you from these two!
If you’d simply like more information about the unique luxury Atlanticview that Olly & Ruth stayed in then click here – but why not ask us to arrange your own tailor-made travel throughout Africa?
Let us plan your own inspiring journey throughout Africa
Why not download the TLC World guide brochure or give us a call today on 01202 030443, or simply click ‘enquire’ to submit your own personal itinerary request
