You stay at Lagoon Beach Hotel & Spa on the Cape Town beachfront, with views of Table Mountain and the Atlantic Ocean. Rooms face either the sea or the mountain, and some have balconies. The hotel has three pools, one heated for year-round use, and a spa offering treatments. The fitness room is equipped for workouts, and there is a bar by the pool for drinks.

The hotel is close enough to the city for day trips but far enough to feel separate, with direct beach access. Rooms come with satellite TV, tea and coffee facilities, and key card access. Families can stay in apartments with two bedrooms and kitchenettes.

The spa offers massages and facials, and the hotel can arrange shuttles to the V&A Waterfront and Canal Walk Shopping Centre. Events can be held in the hotel’s venues, which range in size for different group needs.

The beachfront location is the reason the hotel is here at all, and it shapes the stay — you can walk out to the sand or sit by the pool with the mountain in view.