One&Only Hotels in Cape Town

One&Only Resorts strive to offer “unique experiences that guests were looking for, but didn’t know they were looking for.” Indeed. I knew this stay was going to be special the moment my designated host presented me with a notebook imprinted with a single word and definition: “Ubuntu. I am because we are.” I don’t speak Zulu nor presume to understand this philosophy after a few days but I am intrigued. It seems to turn the foundations of centuries of western thought defining individualism on its head. Instead of Descartes, “Cogito, ergo sum,” it’s “I exist as a person through other people.” Mind blowing! And yet ubuntu suffuses the One&Only Cape Town experience, manifesting in exceptional personalization, caring, generosity of spirit, respect, teamwork and service with alacrity. The hotel promises rooms and suites that are “the largest in the city.” I believe them. Perhaps I was confused with a VIP, but I received an unexpected upgrade. I did receive a puzzling note from the Guest Experience Manager welcoming me as “a guest of ******* Incorporated” (I have no affiliation with ******* and don’t believe I have ever even used *******… and I certainly didn’t stay as their guest). Regardless of the reason, my one-bedroom Island Grand Suite was enormous. The hotel website indicates a size of 1948 sq ft. but it seemed even larger to me. Spotless, stylish bedroom, bathroom with freestanding soaking tub and dual sinks on opposing walls, walk-in closet, built-in dresser, powder room, living room with fireplace, dining for six indoors and four outdoors, pantry and full kitchen with a professional range and appliances, fully stocked complimentary (except for alcohol) minibar and refreshment center. It made me wish I had some friends in Cape Town to invite over. The suite was not only larger than my first apartment, it was larger (and much more opulently appointed) than my first house. If, like Winston Churchill, you’re a bath enthusiast, there’s no need to choose among bath foam, salts or oil – you have your choice of all three. One fun quirk was that the taps in the bathroom had the cold on the left and hot on the right. In the hall powder room this was reversed with hot on the right and cold on the left. I don’t know if this is a South African tradition or just a technique to distinguish between the two facilities. Then there are the birds. This is not an issue for the Marina Rise main hotel rooms, but only the “Island Suites” surrounding “the largest free form infinity pool in the Southern Hemisphere.” At the far end of the pool there is a waterfall where various ducks, geese, seagulls and other waterfowl splash and preen their feathers. Most of the time this is creates a peaceful, bucolic scene. But then there are other times when the birds go full send Hitchcock in a Hobbesian war of all against all, battling each other with an ear-shattering cacophony of screeches, cries and general divebombing mayhem, all of which comes to a head in the hours immedia