I recently attended the glittering pre-opening event and site inspection of the new One & Only Hotel in Cape Town. Sol Kerzner calls it “one of the finest that we have around the world”. The hotel has a cosmopolitan urban design with lots of African vibe and great use of space with double volume entrance lounge and restaurants.

I had been wondering how they were going to create something memorable from the relatively confined space of the V&A Waterfront but the architects have done an amazing job at creating an illusion of spaciousness, by expertly using the stunning full-on view of Table Mountain to full effect and by the sheer grandeur of the public rooms.

As you walk in, your eye is immediately drawn to the double height wall of glass which looks out over the marina. Your gaze automatically extends above the One & Only islands, and the luxury apartments to the majestic Table Mountain beyond.

The hotel has 91 marina rooms and suites all with the Table Mountain views. The marina rooms are 60m² whilst the suites range from 125 to 145m². The ’standard’ rooms are certainly not standard in any way with clean lines, African wood furniture, sumptuous bathrooms and large balconies. All the amenities you would expect from a deluxe five star hotel are there, as well as extras such as flat-screen TV, Bose surround sound audio system, expresso machines, ipod docking stations and complimentary wifi access.

One & Only has two islands in the marina, one comprises the extensive and exotic spa and the other has 40 island junior suites as well as one and two bedroom suites. These junior suites are larger than the marina rooms, slightly smarter and with an additional dressing room. These suites all have waterway views. The spa island is home to the hotel’s enormous pool which is a sinuous design resembling a small lake! A yoga pavillion, gym and kinesis training rooms are all available.

Dining is going to be memorable at the One & Only. Guests choose between Gordon Ramsay’s maze restaurant, where we had an excellent dinner, and Nobu by Japanese master chef Nobuyuki Matsuhisa.

The one & only is home to a superb collection of modern African artworks, some of which can be purchased at the discreet Goodman Art Gallery on the mezzanine floor.

Families are welcome with a selection of one and two bedroom suites and a KidsOnly programme which explores the heart of Cape Town as well as a designated area for arts and crafts, movie and video lounge, reading area.

South Africa has recently been elected as the host nation for the 2009 Indian Premier League. The IPL was moved from India to South Africa after the Indian Government expressed concerns that they would not be able to deal with security issues for IPL as well as for their National Elections. So now the Indian Premier League (IPL) will take place from 18 April until 24 May at eight different venues across South Africa. There will be 59 matches in total involving the eight franchises of the Indian Premier League. This is very exciting for cricket-mad South Africa, and everyone is very excited about hosting this prestigious event.

Interestingly,  the IPL has chosen to have ‘roaming’ teams. This means that each team will not have a home base in a particular South African city, as is the case with most large scale international sporting events of this nature. This is because most people of Indian origin living in South Africa live in Durban and so any team based in Durban, would have a huge ready-made ‘home-base’ of Indian fans. So instead each team will have its fair share of the popular Durban crowd support by rotating their matches.

The majority of Indian Premier League matches will take place in  Durban (16 matches) and Pretoria (12 matches) with Cape Town, Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth hosting 8 matches each. Other matches will be held in East London, Bloemfontein and Kimberley. The two semi-finals will be in Pretoria and Johannesburg on 22nd and 23rd May whilst the final will be in Johannesburg on Sunday 24th May.

Tickets for the earlier Indian Premier League matches should be readily available, given the change of venue from India to South Africa, so this is an excellent opportunity to enjoy world class cricket in sunny warm South Africa. This is early Autumn here so the temperatures are perfect for watching cricket as well as enjoying sight-seeing and safaris.

Cedarberg African Travel will be able to assist with arranging accommodation, cricket tickets, transport and flights to all the Indian Premier League matches. Contact us with your specific travel arrangements.