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★★★ City Bowl · Cape Town
Elly Lodge
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Elly Lodge

146 Longmarket St, Cape Town, South Africa

Looking for a straightforward base in Cape Town? Elly Lodge in City Bowl covers the essentials and sits near central City Bowl.

From here, Cape Town’s main attractions — including central City Bowl — are an easy walk or short ride away, so you spend less time in transit and more time exploring.

Rates shift with the season and with demand, so the live price on the booking page is always the one to trust — tap through for tonight’s or your dates' real availability.

Key facts

Class
3-star
Area
City Bowl
Address
146 Longmarket St, Cape Town, South Africa

What’s included

24 Hour Front Desk 24H. Security Barber/Beauty Salon Breakfast in room Cleaning Copy Dry cleaning service Express check in Free Wifi Housekeeping Internet access Iron and board Kitchen Laundry Service Luggage storage Market Non smoking rooms Room Service Safe Shuttle service TV Wifi

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.

How many nights in Cape Town, and what a first trip looks like

Seven nights is the right number for a first visit; five is workable and three means you will miss either the Peninsula or the Winelands. Table Mountain has to float — the cableway closes in high wind, tickets run around R440 return for an adult, and you want two or three flexible days to catch a clear, still morning. A sensible shape: day one at the V&A Waterfront with the Robben Island ferry, day two the full Peninsula loop through Hout Bay, Chapman’s Peak, Cape Point and Boulders at Simon’s Town, day three a beach day at Clifton or Camps Bay. That loop is about 150 km and takes a full day if you stop properly.

Days four to seven fill themselves: Kirstenbosch and the Constantia wine farms, a surf lesson at Muizenberg’s Surfers Corner followed by lunch in Kalk Bay, and one long day or an overnight in Stellenbosch or Franschhoek. If you add a night in the Winelands, book it midweek — Franschhoek fills on Saturdays. Between June and November, swap a day for Hermanus, 1 hour 45 minutes each way on the R43, where you can watch whales from the cliff path without a boat. Ten nights lets you base twice: five on the Atlantic side, five in Simon’s Town or Kalk Bay, which removes an hour of driving a day.

Questions, answered

Where is Elly Lodge located?
Elly Lodge is in City Bowl, Cape Town (146 Longmarket St, Cape Town, South Africa), close to central City Bowl.
How much does Elly Lodge 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 Elly Lodge?
Elly Lodge is a 3-star hotel in Cape Town.
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.
How do I get from Cape Town International Airport to my hotel?
Cape Town International is about 20 km from the City Bowl on the N2, roughly 20 minutes off-peak and up to 45 in afternoon traffic. The MyCiTi A01 bus runs to the Civic Centre station every 20-30 minutes for about R120, plus around R35 for the reusable card, and you connect from there to Sea Point, Green Point or Camps Bay. Uber and Bolt cost about R250-R400 to the City Bowl or V&A Waterfront and R400-R550 out to Camps Bay or Hout Bay. If you are heading straight to Stellenbosch, it is 35 km from the airport on the R310, so hiring a car at arrivals often makes more sense than a transfer.
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