As I write this, I am still staying in the hotel. Have stayed in Queen Victoria for the last 4 nights already and will be staying for another 3 more nights before leaving for home. Queen Victoria wasn't the first choice accommodation for my group initially. In fact, my friend who has been to Cape Town a few times wanted to stay at either V&A or Dock House (another 2 Newmark hotels). But the rooms were all full for the period we were staying. And we were looking into staying at either Cape Grace (which he finds it too hoity toity for him) or One & Only (in his opinion a location a wee bit too far off to Waterfront). As such, I was tasked with looking into searching for alternative accommodation and I stumbled into Queen Victoria by accident.
We are staying in the premium rooms and I am staying on the second floor (which is level 1 as first floor is considered Ground Floor) and he is staying on the third floor (level 2).
Firstly, both rooms are excellent. The bathroom is spacious with a bath tub and a big shower room and a toilet. The shower gels and shampoos lathers well and they are using Charlotte Rhys (which I think is a pretty pricey local brand). I stayed in Intercontinental in Paris and they supplied L'occitane which is very good and Hyatt London Churchill uses some unremarkable toiletries. So I am very happy Charlotte Rhys works very well!
The rooms are spacious as well. I am happy with the beds, the flatscreen television, the decor in the room (very pretty chandeliers) and free WIFI (so I can write this review now!). I got a big balcony as well that looks out to the Waterfront and Table Mountain.
My friend's room is very spacious as well and he has a slightly different room layout as mine. But his view outside his window is better because he's on the 3rd floor and higher so gets a better view than mine.
Breakfast is good. I love the little tea lights that heats the see through tea pot and it comes with those ancient time keepers... I don't know the correct name but it's an ancient device that has sand running through from the top to the bottom. It comes with the tea so you can like use it to know how long your tea has been brewing. The food is tasty with 7 choices of breakfast options and a buffet of fruits, bread, cheese, yoghurt, juices, etc.
The staff are very friendly. In fact, they are way more friendly than Hyatt London or Intercontinental Le Grand Paris. Maybe it's a boutique hotel so the hotel manager personally showed us around the hotel and to the room. He even dropped us a thank you card and had it written personally. The last time I got a handwritten note was at Runnymede Hotel. So it was a good touch.
The doormen are friendly, the wait staff at breakfast are friendly,the staff at the front desk are friendly. So basically, they are really friendly and helpful.In fact, I find South Africa very friendly. The only other place where I don't find rude people is Tokyo!
We have ventured into Dock House the last few days to use the pool. The door man is friendly as well. And they kinda recognize us. And the pool staff even set up the deck chairs at the pool for us. Towels and all! Amazing good service. We were served with fruit "kebabs" and cold water and cold face towel without even asking for it.
Oh, but the pool is small. It is called a pool. Not a swim pool cos you can't really swim in it. And the water is not the clearest! It's kind of milky. But the lawn is well maintained and quite a nice place to chill with a book and enjoy the sun. Just no swimming so you can leave your goggles at home. So much for bringing my googles.
Maybe it's a new establishment, there are some inconsistencies in the services standards. I do not exactly recall a consistent draw down service so far. Eg, sometimes the bed covers are not pulled down at an angle, curtains are not drawn, the door mats are not laid next to the bed, etc. The reason I am saying this is because I had experienced very consistent draw down service in Europe. I learnt about this only last year when I went to Europe. In case you readers think I am a hotel snob or in the hospitality line. And I think even Lombok did a better draw down service than here.
Other things I think can be improved is the attention to details. Eg, no bedroom slippers when we checked in, dressing gown with no belts, insufficient replenishment to the toiletries.
I love writing postcards so I always get the concierge to post them out for me. I pay for the postage and sometimes it's complimentary. I tried to do the same here at the front desk (no concierge here) and they told me it's ZAR 20 per postcard. I did the sums in my brain and found it quite expensive to post it out. I thought maybe it's because we are in South Africa. Then I went to a post office to get more stamps for postcards and found out the stamps cost ZAR 5.1 per postcard. Oh great, I spent ZAR 200 for postcards at the front desk when I could have just spend ZAR 51. Kind of like daylight robbery?! Anyway, I am still waiting to see if it's really really ZAR 200 when I check out.
Other than the above slight imperfections, this review is easily an excellent rating.
I was walking back with my friend just now from lunch and we walked through Dock House (for this trip, he stayed at V&A for one night before I arrived). I asked him which hotel is the best among the 3, he said Queen Victoria. He loves the modernness (he is 85 years old) and the spaciousness.
So we are lucky to find Queen Victoria (it's a new establishment which explains why he did not know about Queen Victoria as he came to Cape Town 4 years ago).
So if you are contemplating a hotel stay at the Waterfront, I hope this review will serve you well. In fact, come stay here! While the hotel is still spanking new!
Good location yet peaceful without the crowds!
P/S: Had lunch at OYO (V&A) just now. The reception was crowded. The restaurant's wait staff very inattentive and it wasn't even lunch hour! It was 3pm and it wasn't even crowded crowded. The wait staff were milling around and talking amongst themselves. Not great!

My wife and I stayed here for a long weekend and absolutely loved it. The rooms are beautiful and huge. The location was perfect, being a couple of minutes just off the waterfront, so peaceful but right in the middle of everything. Staff were first class. Our flight arrived 6am and they let us borrow a temporary room to get a shower and a short nap, moving our bags to our permanent room while we were out sightseeing -- that's something I've rarely experienced in a hotel. Breakfast was delicious. Can't see how it could have been a better stay!

We have just returned from a 12 night stay at the Queen Victoria Hotel in Cape Town and cannot speak highly enough of this wonderful hotel and all staff. Situated in an ideal location to the Waterfront (100 meters) in a quiet courtyard setting.

The hotels decor could best be described as contemporary elegance; without any compromise in comfort throughout accommodation and facilities. Standards in customer care are excellent; the staff could not do enough for us, we were really spoiled.

We did eat in various restaurants but could not dine better than in the restaurant of this hotel. Frankly, we envy Capetionians who have this restaurant on their door step. Breakfasts were a treat and could be in the restaurant or the adjacent terrace.

The pool is at the adjacent Dock House (20 meters across courtyard). Although the pool is small the facilities and service are excellent.

We would not hesitate to return to this hotel, should we revisit Cape Town.

Travelled to Cape Town over the xmas holidays for a family reunion and we chose this hotel.

We have nothing but praise for the hotel, both for the facility itself and the wonderful staff. We only had the honor of staying two nights but it was the highlight of our trip.

Beautifully decorated, spacious rooms, great location, all-round elegance and a friendly staff. A hard combination to find these days.

Bobby (General Manager) deserves a special call-out for his constant professionalism and ensuring we had an excellent stay. He is a great credit to this hotel. Also thanks to Amy in the dining room for all her service.

Stop reading reviews, go book this hotel, you will not be sorry.