Cape Town hotels where a family fits
Written October 2026
Where to stay in Cape Town with kids, which hotels have a kids club or an apartment with a kitchen, and which side of the mountain suits which trip.
Stay at the V&A Waterfront for the least planning: One&Only Cape Town has a kids club and sits next to the Two Oceans Aquarium, and Southern Sun Waterfront and Radisson Collection Hotel Waterfront Cape Town are both about a kilometer from it (straight line). For beach days, The Bay Hotel is a couple of hundred meters from Camps Bay Beach. For space and gardens, Vineyard Hotel in Newlands has apartments with kitchens.
Cape Town is stretched between a mountain and two oceans, and the parts you'll want to see are a drive apart. So pick the part of town first, then the room. A hotel on the Atlantic side and one in the southern suburbs are different trips.
Short on time? A kids club by the aquarium: One&Only Cape Town. A kitchen and two bedrooms near the Waterfront: Radisson Collection Hotel Waterfront Cape Town. Camps Bay with a daybed in the room: The Bay Hotel. Gardens, a children's centre and a lifeguarded pool: Mount Nelson.
How we picked
We kept to hotels with something real for a family to use: a kids club, an apartment with a kitchen, connecting rooms or a family room built for four.
V&A Waterfront and Mouille Point
The easiest base for a first trip. The Two Oceans Aquarium, the harbor and the boat trips are all here, and you can walk to them. It's the part of Cape Town we'd pick if you'd rather not drive.
One&Only Cape Town
V&A Waterfront
Why we picked it: The closest hotel here to the Two Oceans Aquarium, with a supervised kids club for ages 4 to 11.
One&Only Cape Town is the Waterfront hotel built around kids. KidsOnly is a supervised club for ages 4 to 11 with its own clubhouse, a garden, a games and movie lounge, and outings to places like the aquarium, Butterfly World and the penguin colony. Rooms can be booked as interconnecting pairs, and the infinity pool is one of the biggest in the city.
The Two Oceans Aquarium is about 100 meters away, straight line, so it's the closest hotel here to the one thing every kid asks about.
The club starts at 4. If you're traveling with a younger child, the pool and the aquarium next door are what you'll use.
- Suites
- Yes
- Kitchenette
- Yes
- Pool
- Yes
Southern Sun Waterfront
Lower Buitengracht
Why we picked it: Family rooms with two double beds fit two adults and two kids without a sofa bed, in a city hotel for a Waterfront and town trip.
Southern Sun Waterfront has family rooms with two double beds, which sleep two adults and two children without a sofa bed. There's an outdoor pool, and the Two Oceans Aquarium is about a kilometer away, straight line.
It's a city hotel rather than a seafront one, so it suits a trip split between the Waterfront and the center of town. It isn't the pick for a beach holiday.
- Cribs
- Yes
- Suites
- Yes
- Fridge
- Yes
- Pool
- Yes
Radisson Collection Hotel Waterfront Cape Town
Mouille Point
Why we picked it: The family suites are two-bedroom apartments with a full kitchen, on the Mouille Point seafront.
The family suites at Radisson Collection Hotel Waterfront Cape Town are apartments: two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a full kitchen and a pull-out sofa in the living room. Cots are available, there are supervised children's activities, and breakfast includes a kids' buffet.
It sits on the Mouille Point seafront, about 1.1 km from the Two Oceans Aquarium, straight line. It has an outdoor pool with a terrace.
Some rooms have balconies and terraces. If your kid climbs, ask which room you're getting.
- Suites
- Yes
- Kitchenette
- Yes
Camps Bay and Bantry Bay
The beach side of Cape Town, with the mountain behind you and the Atlantic in front. It's a good fit for a trip built around sand and pool days, and it's a drive from the Waterfront.
The Bay Hotel
Camps Bay
Why we picked it: The beach pick: about 200 meters from Camps Bay Beach, with a beach club and four pools.
The Bay Hotel is about 200 meters from Camps Bay Beach, straight line, and has a beach club of its own. There are four pools, and the Mountain and Sea and Pool rooms have a daybed for one child aged 3 to 14, with a cot for under-3s.
That's one extra bed per room, so a family of four needs two rooms. It isn't the hotel for the aquarium or the Waterfront on foot.
- Suites
- Yes
- Pool
- Yes
Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa
Camps Bay
Why we picked it: Goes furthest for kids at the hotel itself, with a private cinema, a treat card and a childminding service.
Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa goes out of its way for kids: a welcome gift, a card they redeem for treats around the hotel, and a private cinema that shows child-friendly films in the afternoon. There are two pools and a childminding service, and the Junior Sea Facing Suites and One-Bedroom Suites are the rooms for a family.
It's on Victoria Road, about 3.4 km straight line south of The Bay Hotel, so you'd drive or take a ride to Camps Bay's beach and restaurants. It's quieter, and it suits a trip that's more about the hotel than the strip.
- Suites
- Yes
- Pool
- Yes
President Hotel
Bantry Bay
Why we picked it: Kitchenette apartments in Bantry Bay, with a kids' pool and play area, for a family that wants to self-cater.
The President Hotel has apartment-style rooms with a kitchenette (microwave, fridge and sink) and one- and two-bedroom apartments that suit a family. There's a kids' pool and play area, with activities at set times, and an infinity pool for the adults.
Bantry Bay sits between Sea Point and Camps Bay. Camps Bay Beach is 3.1 km away, straight line, and the Two Oceans Aquarium is 3.9 km, so you'll want a car or rides for both. The kitchenette is the reason to book it.
- Suites
- Yes
- Kitchenette
- Yes
- Pool
- Yes
The City Bowl
Under Table Mountain, a short ride from both the Waterfront and the center. It's quieter than either.
Mount Nelson, A Belmond Hotel
Gardens
Why we picked it: Nine acres of garden and a children's centre for ages 4 to 12 make it the garden stay in the City Bowl.
Mount Nelson sits on nine acres of garden, which is where kids end up. The Nellie & Nelson Children's Centre is for ages 4 to 12, with baking, sand art, mosaics and storytelling, and it runs on set days rather than every day. There's tennis with a resident coach, and the Oasis Pool is the family one, with a lifeguard. The Cottage Pool is for 16 and over.
Most rooms and suites have connecting options, and cots and car seats are on offer. The Two Oceans Aquarium is 2.7 km away, straight line, and Camps Bay Beach 3.8 km, so this is a garden stay, not a beach one.
- Suites
- Yes
- Kitchenette
- Yes
- Pool
- Yes
The southern suburbs
Leafy and spread out, on the other side of the mountain from the beaches. You'll want a car here, and it pays off in space.
Vineyard Hotel
Newlands
Why we picked it: The southern suburbs pick, with two- and three-bedroom self-catering apartments in gardens with giant tortoises.
Vineyard Hotel has connecting family rooms and two- and three-bedroom self-catering apartments in the gardens, with kitchens. Resident giant tortoises roam the grounds, there's a pool, and supervised outdoor activities run in the summer season, with a games room for arts, crafts and movies in winter.
Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden is 2.6 km away, straight line. The beaches and the Waterfront are a drive, so it isn't the pick for a short stay built around either.
- Suites
- Yes
Kids clubs
One&Only Cape Town's KidsOnly is for ages 4 to 11, and Mount Nelson's Nellie & Nelson Children's Centre is for ages 4 to 12. Radisson Collection Hotel Waterfront Cape Town and Vineyard Hotel run supervised activities, Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa has childminding and a cinema, and the President Hotel has a kids' pool with activities at set times.
Kitchens and extra bedrooms
Radisson Collection Hotel Waterfront Cape Town's family suites have two bedrooms and a full kitchen. The President Hotel has kitchenettes and one- and two-bedroom apartments, and Vineyard Hotel has two- and three-bedroom self-catering apartments. Southern Sun Waterfront's family rooms and The Bay Hotel's daybed rooms are single rooms, not apartments.
Questions
What is the best area to stay in Cape Town with kids?
The V&A Waterfront, if you want to walk to the Two Oceans Aquarium and the harbor. Camps Bay if the beach is the point of the trip. The southern suburbs, around Newlands, if you'd rather have gardens and space and don't mind driving.
Where should we stay in Cape Town with a toddler?
Radisson Collection Hotel Waterfront Cape Town has two-bedroom apartments with a full kitchen and cots. Vineyard Hotel has self-catering apartments and gardens with giant tortoises. The kids clubs at One&Only Cape Town and Mount Nelson start at age 4.
Which Cape Town hotels have a kids club?
One&Only Cape Town has KidsOnly for ages 4 to 11, and Mount Nelson has the Nellie & Nelson Children's Centre for ages 4 to 12. Radisson Collection Hotel Waterfront Cape Town and Vineyard Hotel run supervised children's activities.
Is it safe to walk around Cape Town with kids?
The US State Department's advisory for South Africa asks travelers to exercise increased caution because of crime, and says violent crime is more common in the downtown areas of big cities, especially after dark. It also warns about smash-and-grab attacks on cars, so keep bags out of sight and windows up when you drive. The V&A Waterfront's own site describes 24-hour security there. Elsewhere, take a ride rather than walking after dark, and ask your hotel which streets near it are fine on foot.
Do you need a car in Cape Town with kids?
Not at the V&A Waterfront, where the aquarium is walkable from One&Only Cape Town, Southern Sun Waterfront and Radisson Collection Hotel Waterfront Cape Town. For Camps Bay, Bantry Bay, Gardens and the southern suburbs, the distances between the sights are several kilometers, so you'll want a car or rides.
Which Cape Town hotels are close to the beach?
The Bay Hotel is about 200 meters from Camps Bay Beach, straight line, and has its own beach club. The President Hotel in Bantry Bay and Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa are a short drive from it.
Photos
One&Only Cape Town: Axxter99 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · The Bay Hotel: Frans-Banja Mulder (CC BY 3.0) · Mount Nelson, A Belmond Hotel: Bernard303 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Vineyard Hotel: Axxter99 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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