Although part of what is now a commercial shopping mall, the Victoria and Alfred Hotel is housed in what was an early 20th-century fisherman's warehouse until the 1960s and is now designated a national heritage site. The hotel opened in 1990 and has retained many of the building's original features, most visibly the structure's original steel girders, which stand slightly incongruously among modern, though not particularly contemporary, decor and furnishings. Check-in is at a long, marble-topped reception desk and guests, who tend largely towards international tourists, then navigate quiet corridors to rooms where a personal hand-written welcome note awaits. 

The Victoria and Alfred Hotel is part of a commercial complex overlooking the bustling Victoria and Alfred Waterfront in Cape Town's harbor district surrounded by shops, restaurants, and bars. The iconic Table Mountain can be made out in the distance, while the Robben Island ferry departs from right beside the hotel. Cape Town city center is about two miles away (a 10-minute drive or 20-minute bus ride), while the nearest beaches are at Clifton, 15 minutes away by car. The closet airport is Cape Town International at a distance of 13 miles or 25 minutes -- the hotel has sedan cars available for transfers.

The hotel's 94 rooms are all air-conditioned and decorated in a blend of modern and antique-style furnishings, painted brickwork, and distress-effect wallpaper. Wi-Fi, mineral water, and tea and coffee facilities are all free of charge, while flat-screen TVs provide satellite channels. Bathrooms are smartly finished with clean contemporary lines and many have soaking tubs as well as separate walk-in showers. Some higher-level rooms can watch the sun set over Table Mountain, however loft rooms tend to be smaller and have skylights rather than full windows. 

Guests have access to a small outdoor swimming pool surrounded by a manicured lawn, loungers, and a bar -- though it's located on the other side of the road and belongs to a sister hotel. The hotel's OYO Restaurant serves a decent buffet breakfast (sometimes included in the rate) and seafood specialties throughout the day on its quayside terrace overlooking the harbor. There is also a small fitness room open to guests and Wi-Fi is free (though patchy) throughout the hotel.