Neighbourhood · Cape Town

Hotels in Observatory, Cape Town

Observatory — 'Obs' to Capetonians — is the city's most alternative neighbourhood: a long street of independent record shops, vintage clothing, Ethiopian restaurants, reggae bars, the UCT medical campus and a community that has resisted the gentrification that cleared much of the inner city. Groote Schuur Hospital is here (site of the world's first heart transplant — worth knowing). A 15-minute bus or MyCiTi ride from the City Bowl; Table Mountain is directly above. For the most affordable and genuinely characterful Cape Town base, with good vegetarian and international food and the relaxed politics of a university neighbourhood, Observatory is the honest recommendation.

8 hotels within walking distance of Observatory, in the heart of Cape Town, including 5 properties rated 4 stars or higher. The closest is Winchester Central Rooftop Pool Patio & Gym, about 675m from the centre of the neighbourhood.