Our central location and family friendly approach ensures that we are ideally situated to cater for families with children of all ages.

At the Taj Cape Town, families can stay in inter-leading rooms or book one of our one bedroom or two bedroom suites.

For those looking to experience Cape Town as a family Robbin Island day trips, Table Mountain hikes or cable car trips, beautiful picnics in the Company Gardens, breathtaking beaches, Cape Town open-top bus tours, fantastic monuments, art galleries and museums; summer music concerts under the stars in the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens and internationally-acclaimed cuisine are just some of the excellent family orientated adventures we can organise for you.

While those with younger children, staying at the Taj Cape Town, can make use of a professional (and fully certified) Holiday Nanny Service with extensive child care experience.

Staying in? No problem – Nintendo Wii, Sony Play Stations and a kids DVD library are available on request.

At the Taj Cape Town the entire family can enjoy a real holiday and experience everything the exceptional Cape Town city centre and surrounds have to offer.

To book the Taj Cape Town Family Getaway Package click here.

*Our family package includes (among other things) daily breakfast, taxes and airport transfers.

Take for example the Iziko Slave Lodge. It is located just opposite our main entrance and it is one of the oldest remaining original slave premises in South Africa.

Built in 1679 the Iziko Slave Lodge could, at any one time, house up to 1000 Dutch East Indian Company slaves. These slaves were all used by the Company to set up Cape Town as a halfway station. A place where ships could be refueled with fresh produce, water and other necessities for the remainder of their voyage. Without these slaves Cape Town would, in all likelihood, be a far cry from the beautiful and world-renowned city it is today.

To highlight the role the slaves played in the development of Cape Town the Iziko Slave Lodge uses beautiful voice overs, poems, images, models and other devices that effectively capture the sentiment of that bygone era.

Just over two weeks ago we posted about the Bombay Brasserie progress we’d made and used this picture:

Here is a more recent Bombay Brasserie picture, of the same area, taken just a few days ago:

Before:

After:

When you’re standing in the hall you can feel its history and heritage. It’s big without being cold and grand without being ostentatious.

It really is perfectly Taj.

With the scaffolding completely removed – from the St Georges Mall side of the Taj Cape Town premises – you can get a really good idea of where this going.

The old Temple Chambers (BOE) building has also had its scaffolding removed and – for the first time – passersby can see just how exquisite this piece of Cape Town history is.

This statue is wrongly assumed – by many of those who know of its existence – to to be Britannia, a relic from the Cape’s days as a British colony. It is in fact a piece from a later period, a symbol of the humanity of the Board of Executors.

It was commissioned by the architect George Murray Alexander in 1894 and was supposed to illustrate a shepherdess, holding in her right hand the crook – her left hand resting on the anchor – while approaching her a cupid is submitting a book (or volume) containing facts on which information or guidance is required; and another cupid (of client) who has one hand on the Scales of Justice and in the other a wreath. All very whimsical!

This whimsical statue didn’t sit well with the townsfolk and neither did its cost of 94 Pounds. Which, in those days, was a substantial sum of money!

For these reasons the statue – a large, draped female – came to be known as The Widow Twankey who is a famous pantomime (play) dame. The Widow Twankey is – in the world of pantomimes – always a figure of fun as was the statue in the eyes of the townsfolk.

George Murray Alexander – the architect – was wholly blamed for this disgrace and to this day the sculptor and model remain anonymous.

It really has got a great selection of pieces from the original structure. These include beautiful marble detailing and wood-paneling. All of this, coupled with the exceptional food and trademark Taj service, adds to the The Taj Cape Town Bombay Brasserie dining experience. It’s going to be unforgettable.

Work presently underway in the Taj Cape Town's Bombay Brasserie

The Bombay Brasserie Indian specialty restaurant is unlike anything presently on offer in Cape Town. The Bombay Brasserie’s dishes are not all about heat or sauce; instead they’re a delicate melody of flavours, a real taste of modern Indian fare.

Mint, the Taj Cape Town’s relaxed all-day dining restaurant, will showcase innovative international and local cuisine. Its main features – apart from the consistently tempting menu – are the open-plan kitchen (making it possible for diners to sneak-a-peak at their meals being prepared) and the floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors opening onto St Georges Mall. These doors, when open, create a seamless indoor-outdoor dining experience.

The final dining experience on offer – at the Taj Cape Town – is the Twankey Seafood, Champagne and Oyster Bar situated on the corner of Wale Street and Adderley Street. Here flowing champagne, fresh seafood, elegant décor, wrap-around glass windows and background jazz tell a glamorous story. Twankey guests can spend an hour, an afternoon or a whole day sipping on something delicious, snacking on delectable seafood tapas and watching the Adderley Street bustle pass them by.

Behind the scenes at Mint. In the background you can see the floor-to-ceiling glass façade that opens onto St Georges Mall.

Things are really starting to get exciting at the Taj Cape Town!

It’s the first time is years that these two beautiful Cape Town city centre landmark buildings – the old Reserve Bank and the Temple Chambers (BOE building) – have been free from their building braces.

If you’re in the neighbourhood come and take a look. You’ve got to see this girl!

The old Reserve Bank building now looks even more spectacular than when it was original built.

Before cleaning ...

After a good polishing.

* To clean each urn-like shape, restoring it to its former glory, took a little over four hours per piece.

That means we’ve excelled for 107 years in the notoriously competitive hospitality industry – which is a remarkable achievement, even if we do say so ourselves.

As a brand the Taj has seen some fantastic things and lived through inventions that have forever changed the way the world works. Over the course of the 107 years we, at the Taj, have had to learn to adapt to the changes, without losing the charm and magic that makes every one of our hotels so spectacular.

At the Taj Cape Town we plan on tackling the fine art of blogging in the same manner the Taj group has always handled changed, by taking it in our stride.

We believe that blogging will allow us to share what we know makes our Cape Town city centre hotel so unique and spectacular.

Over the course of the next few weeks, months and years you can expect – through this blog – to be included in our whirlwind Cape Town adventure.

Welcome to the Taj Cape Town.