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Dorchester House
Dorchester House
Dorchester House
Dorchester House
Dorchester House +1 photos

Dorchester House

48 Clydebank Cres Parklands Cape Town 7441 South Africa, Cape Town, South Africa

Dorchester House is a practical 3-star stay in Cape Town — good value for exploring the area and its landmarks like central Cape Town.

The surrounding Cape Town district is one of the most convenient parts of Cape Town to stay in, with restaurants, cafés and transport links close by.

Because pricing is set live by the hotel and its suppliers, the figure shown here is a recent snapshot; check the current rate for your exact dates before booking.

Key facts

Class
3-star
Area
Cape Town
Address
48 Clydebank Cres Parklands Cape Town 7441 South Africa, Cape Town, South Africa

What’s included

Balcony Dvd Hairdryer Kitchen Microwave Pay per view Refrigerator Shower TV Toiletries

Where to stay in Cape Town: which area sits on which beach

Camps Bay and Clifton are the only areas where you can walk from your room onto Atlantic sand in under five minutes, and they charge for it — expect to pay 30-50% more than the same standard of room in Sea Point. Clifton’s four coves sit below Victoria Road and are reached by long flights of steps, with Fourth Beach holding Blue Flag status; Camps Bay is flatter, with the restaurant strip directly across the road from the beach. Sea Point has the 3 km promenade, the Sea Point Pavilion tidal pools and far better value, but almost no swimming sand — Saunders' Rocks and Milton Beach are small and rocky, so "beachfront" here means promenade. Green Point sits between Sea Point and the V&A Waterfront, next to DHL Stadium and the Mouille Point lighthouse, and is the compromise most people end up making. The V&A Waterfront has no beach at all but puts you at the Two Oceans Aquarium and the Robben Island ferry, and carries the highest average nightly rate in the city.

The False Bay side is warmer water and lower prices: Muizenberg’s Surfers Corner sits at 18-21°C in summer against 13-16°C at Clifton, Kalk Bay has the harbour, Main Road antique shops and the Dalebrook tidal pool, and Simon’s Town gives you Boulders Beach penguins and sheltered Seaforth. Rooms in these three run well under half of Camps Bay in peak season. Inland, City Bowl neighbourhoods around Kloof Street and Bo-Kaap suit walkers and hikers — Platteklip Gorge and the Kloof Corner trailheads start above them — while Constantia, Newlands, Rondebosch, Claremont and Wynberg are leafy, quiet and 25-35 minutes from any coast, close to Kirstenbosch and Groot Constantia. Observatory, Woodstock and Salt River hold the cheapest beds within 6 km of the centre, with the Old Biscuit Mill market on Saturdays. For side trips, Stellenbosch, Franschhoek, Paarl and Somerset West are wine-country bases, Hermanus and Betty’s Bay are for whales, and Langebaan is flat warm lagoon water for anyone who finds the Atlantic unbearable.

Best time to visit Cape Town, month by month

February and March are the best weeks of the year for beaches: highs around 27°C, the south-easter easing off, the sea at its warmest, and rates 20-40% below the Christmas peak. Mid-December to mid-January is the Southern Hemisphere school holiday, when Camps Bay and Clifton double or triple their rates and impose five- and seven-night minimums; the Tweede Nuwe Jaar minstrel parade on 2 January fills the City Bowl. The Cape Town Cycle Tour on the second Sunday in March books out Sea Point and the Atlantic Seaboard and closes the coastal roads for most of that day, so check the date before you lock in a non-refundable rate. Easter weekend brings the Two Oceans Marathon and another short rate spike. The Kirstenbosch Summer Sunset Concerts run on Sunday evenings from late November to early April.

May to August is the wet Cape winter — June and July average around 90-100 mm of rain each, with highs near 18°C — and it is by a distance the cheapest time to be here, with mid-range rooms falling 40-50% from their February level. It is not a write-off: southern right whales arrive in Walker Bay off Hermanus and Betty’s Bay from June, and clear winter days between fronts give the sharpest views of Table Mountain you will get all year. September brings the Hermanus Whale Festival at the end of the month, peak whale numbers, and the wildflower season at Postberg in the West Coast National Park near Langebaan, which only opens for August and September. October and November are reliable shoulder months with rising wind, and April is the quiet favourite — warm, still, and priced like winter.

Getting around Cape Town, and from the airport

Cape Town International is about 20 km from the City Bowl on the N2, which is 20 minutes off-peak and 45 in the afternoon crawl. The MyCiTi A01 bus runs from the terminal to the Civic Centre station roughly every 20-30 minutes for about R120 plus around R35 for the reusable card; Uber and Bolt run about R250-R400 to the City Bowl or Waterfront and R400-R550 to Camps Bay or Hout Bay. Car hire is R400-R900 a day depending on season, with petrol around R22 a litre. Distances are short but the mountain is in the way: City Bowl to Camps Bay is 8 km over Kloof Nek, the Waterfront to Muizenberg is 27 km on the M3, and Chapman’s Peak Drive carries a toll of about R65 per car.

The Metrorail Southern Line from Cape Town station through Observatory, Rondebosch, Muizenberg and Kalk Bay to Simon’s Town is the one genuinely useful train for visitors — a MetroPlus ticket costs around R20 and the last stretch runs along the water at St James — and it is worth using in daylight hours only. MyCiTi also covers Sea Point, Green Point, Camps Bay and Hout Bay from the Civic Centre. You can manage a week without a car if you stay in Sea Point, Green Point or the Waterfront and use ride-hailing for the beaches. You cannot manage Cape Point, Stellenbosch (50 km on the N2), Franschhoek (75 km) or Hermanus (120 km via the R43) without one, unless you buy day tours. Budget R5-R10 for the car guard whenever you park at a beach.

Questions, answered

Where is Dorchester House located?
Dorchester House is in Cape Town (48 Clydebank Cres Parklands Cape Town 7441 South Africa, Cape Town, South Africa), close to central Cape Town.
How much does Dorchester House cost per night?
Prices are set live by the hotel — check the booking page for a real rate for your dates.
How many stars is Dorchester House?
Dorchester House is a 3-star hotel in Cape Town.
Is Cape Town walkable, or do you need transport everywhere?
Individual areas are walkable and the city as a whole is not, because Table Mountain and Signal Hill sit between them. The 3 km Sea Point Promenade to Mouille Point and the V&A Waterfront is a genuine walk, and the City Bowl around Kloof Street, Long Street and Bo-Kaap is compact enough on foot. But City Bowl to Camps Bay is 8 km over Kloof Nek, and Muizenberg is 27 km down the M3, so both need wheels. After dark, use Uber or Bolt rather than walking between neighbourhoods, particularly around the station end of the CBD.
Can you actually swim in the sea in Cape Town, or is it too cold?
You can, but it depends entirely on which coast you choose. The Atlantic side at Clifton, Camps Bay, Llandudno and Hout Bay runs 13-16°C in summer because of the Benguela upwelling, and most people last a few minutes. False Bay — Muizenberg, St James, Fish Hoek, Seaforth at Simon’s Town — sits at 18-21°C from December to March and is comfortable for a proper swim. If neither appeals, the Sea Point Pavilion has a heated-by-sun 50 m saltwater pool on the promenade, the tidal pools at St James and Dalebrook warm up on a still day, and the Langebaan lagoon 120 km north on the R27 is the warmest flat water within reach of the city.
Which is the best area to stay in Cape Town for beaches?
Camps Bay is the best all-round beach base, because the sand, the restaurants and the bus route are all on the same 1 km strip of Victoria Road. Clifton is quieter and more sheltered from the summer south-easter, but every one of its four beaches involves a long stair climb from the road. If you want warm water rather than scenery, stay at Muizenberg or Simon’s Town on False Bay, where the sea sits at 18-21°C instead of the Atlantic’s 13-16°C. Sea Point is the value pick — the 3 km promenade and the Pavilion pools, with Clifton a 10-minute drive away.
What is the cheapest month to visit Cape Town?
June and July are the cheapest, with mid-range rooms 40-50% below their February rates and Sea Point guesthouses commonly under R1,200 a night. They are also the wettest, averaging around 90-100 mm of rain each and highs near 18°C, so plan for indoor days. The trade-off is real value elsewhere: southern right whales are already in Walker Bay off Hermanus from June, and Table Mountain is at its clearest between cold fronts. May and August are only marginally more expensive and slightly drier.
How many nights do you need in Cape Town?
Seven nights is the standard answer and it holds up, because Table Mountain’s cableway closes in wind and you need spare days to catch a clear morning. Five nights covers the Waterfront, one beach day, the 150 km Peninsula loop to Cape Point and Boulders, and a single Winelands day. Three nights forces you to drop either the Peninsula or Stellenbosch. Ten nights lets you split your stay — five on the Atlantic Seaboard, five in Kalk Bay or Simon’s Town — which cuts an hour of driving out of most days.

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