Hilton hotel razes the bar

All the comforts, but no minibar, naturally.

Hilton Hotel Cape Town Central is the group's first Cape Town property now forming a trio with properties in Durban and in Sandton, Gauteng. As one of the most recognised hotel brands around the globe, Hilton appears to have been able to fill the beds where Coral couldn't.

The night that we visited, the hotel seemed busy and the crowd at breakfast seemed like people travelling on business rather than leisure - although nowadays everyone seems to travel with a backpack and a laptop, so perhaps I'm wrong.

Doing the HHonors

There have been some changes. An executive lounge for Hilton HHonors members - a hallmark of Hilton Hotels worldwide, has been added to the conference floor.

In addition, controversially, a bar is available near the pool level but alcohol is, for the moment, not served in the restaurants - the North Indian fine-dining Mezbaan or on the ground floor eatery - the newly added Bistro126 that doubles as a breakfast room. The Signal Hill Terrace evokes an Arabian Night's vibe with festooned couches and shisha pipes.

Improving the service at the pool would help boost the hotel's image.

I was impressed with the zippiness of staff during check-in and enjoyed each interaction. I'd been to the hotel under Coral's care and things are certainly different now.

Our room was comfortable, upscale, and contemporary. There is an interesting décor feature which uses lights and sticks to suggest a fireplace but not much else to distinguish it from other corporate chain hotels. We could see Table Mountain from our room but the view is an inner city one rather than a view one would have along the sea or at the Waterfront. Certainly request a mountain-view room as the others overlook the pool and Signal Hill.

Thet welcom letter needs atention

The bathroom is separated from the room by frosted glass sliding doors. In keeping with Islamic tradition, toilets are equipped with water showers.

Drawbacks included a welcome letter riddled with spelling errors and slow-service at the pool deck.

Fancy a hooka?

I hosted a meeting for 60 people at the hotel and everything - from room set-up and Audio Visual aides to top-notch canapés were excellent.

I'm certain there will be new Hilton sites in South Africa soon as Hilton Worldwide has a signed a development pipeline for an additional 29 properties across Middle East & Africa in the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Equatorial Guinea, Uganda, Namibia, Nigeria and Cape Verde.

I'm especially glad that the Patchi chocolatier that opened before Hilton took over remains - a must-visit destination for any chocolate lover.

The hotel's address is 126 Buitengracht Street, Cape Town 8001, and it can be contacted on +27 (0) 21 481 3700.