Protea Hotel by Marriott Cape Town Waterfront Breakwater Lodge

This was the perfect place for us. Clean, quiet room, comfortable bed, optional breakfast buffet, onsite parking, very friendly and helpful staff and easy walking distance to the Waterfront.

The hotel’s location is excellent, right across the road from the V&A Waterfront. The staff are awesome and super friendly. Plenty of onsite parking, but not undercover. The breakfast is a lovely spread, well better than other 3 star hotels. The rooms are quiet and block out curtains help with sleep quality.
The downside. The rooms are tiny, and the shower did not have a door leaving the floor of the shower room very wet. The wifi is very poor, such an easy thing to upgrade. Only one aircon of the two rooms worked, but we were moved to another room from the third night.

Excellent hotel service. Very friendly reception staff. Special mention to Euwan whom we met in our 2 check ins. Very attentive to details and exceptional service to ensure our stay was comfortable. Clean spacious rooms and bathrooms. Walking distance 5 minutes to waterfront. Parking was good. Breakfast was excellent. Just spread out in their facilities. Including rooms. Will want to stay again.

Found some of the reviews strange, we had very good interaction with staff at reception, more than helpful and very willing to help with luggage. In fact all staff in the hotel were very friendly and courteous. The hotel is a little spread out with reception & breakfast area /bar some distance from esch other but this was mot a problem. Our room was very large but not keem on the bathroom being part of the bedroom, yes their is opaque glass but anyone needing to visit the bathroom at night , switching on the light causes the bedroom to light up. Their was only one socket in the room. Fridge/safe and coffee making facilites were present. The shower was large. Breakfast was splendid, a large selection of hot and cold was available for everyone, one of the best I have seen in a hotel. Location is few minures walk to the V&A, safe, convenient. I defintely would return

If you want to walk to the waterfront this is the place to be. It is close to aquarium, malls and waterfront. It is safe and clean. For all the comments, this place is clean, very congenial staff, front desk and security. Accommodation is excellent, rooms are clean and Bonvoy members are treated well with decent upgrades and excellent large breakfast. I don’t see any better place to stay than this place due to its location to waterfront with restaurants.

Close to V and A

Yes walking distance

Mixed Feelings – This Hotel Could Be So Much More

I have very mixed emotions about my recent stay at this hotel. It has potential, but unfortunately, the negatives outweighed the positives for me.

Check-In Experience – A Disappointment
Reception was chaotic. It seemed like the staff had no idea what was going on—perhaps due to trainees—but that’s no excuse for the confusion. As a Marriott Bonvoy member, I had booked a room with breakfast included, yet I was told it wasn’t part of my booking. After some back and forth, and showing my booking confirmation on my phone, they finally agreed that breakfast was included. Not a great start.

Service – Severely Lacking
There was no one to assist with luggage. At this point, you’re your own concierge, which is simply unacceptable for a hotel in this day and age, especially under the Protea/Marriott brand.

Room Layout – Poorly Designed
I stayed in a family room, and the layout was honestly terrible. You walk into a foyer with the toilet on the left and the shower/basin on the right. The open shower design causes water to splash everywhere, leaving the whole area wet. The room itself is very small—barely enough space to open a suitcase. The bed was hard and uncomfortable, definitely not what I expect from a Protea hotel.

Positives – And Yes, There Are a Few

Breakfast was excellent. Despite the restaurant being quite small, the food was delicious and the staff were very friendly and helpful.

Location is perfect—just a 5-minute walk to the V&A Waterfront, right behind the amazing aquarium. Most attractions are within walking distance.

Parking felt safe and secure, with a guard on duty at all times.

Final Thoughts
Unfortunately, being a Marriott Bonvoy member doesn’t seem to mean much anymore. The personal touch and recognition that used to come with membership feel like a thing of the past.

I won’t be returning to this hotel. There are simply better options available in the area that offer a higher standard of comfort and service.

Loud, paper-thin walls. Doors slamming all night. Pipes knocking nonstop.

Great location. Good option for a 2 night stay.

Location

Pleasant stay at the Protea Breakwater Lodge. Centrally located, easy walking distance to nearby shops and restaurants, comfortable rooms, air conditioning, and great service. Glad to be able to redeem and earn some Marriott points on this trip!

We stayed at Protea Hotel Cape Town Waterfront Breakwater Lodge with my daughter and friends, and it was an excellent choice. The hotel is located right next to the Waterfront, making it extremely easy to reach restaurants, the aquarium, hop-on hop-off buses, and the shopping mall.

The rooms were clean and spacious, and the staff was very friendly and welcoming. Breakfast was varied and delicious.

If you are looking for a place that is safe, clean, and within walking distance to the Waterfront, I can 100% recommend this hotel.

Our stay at Protea Lodge was great. The room is nice even if there were some problems with their AC and fire alarms. The buffet breakfast was scrumptous. Book the room in the main building.

The hotel is within 8 to 10 minutes walk to the waterfront and all other activities and sightseeing tours. It is very convenient

Room service was awesome and quick. The portions were huge.

Nice hotel, very clean and comfortable and staff really friendly. Plenty of bars, shops and restaurants just behind the hotel. Went to Featherbed Nature Reserve from here and had a lovely walk and lunch there.

Very friendly staff overall, great service from the staff at reception, we asked for ice and an entire bucket was delivered to us. I had requested prior to the stay, and was given, a room close to reception, so the hotel is good at listening to requests, Standard room with double bed, small but more than adequate for a one-night stay. Had dinner at the hotel restaurant, which was good, but the restaurant was very quiet, not sure if all clients know it offers more than just breakfast – although the hotel is right by the V&A Waterfront, so there is a wide variety of restaurants available. Only two issues, housekeeping only provided decaffeinated coffee sachets, I’m sure I could have called reception for normal coffee but I just wanted a cup of coffee before I showered, didn’t want to start dealing with reception at that hour of the morning… the shower was not great, it didn’t seem to be balanced – I couldn’t get a consistent water temperature and the water pressure was terrible. The hotel is currently undergoing “soft refurbishment” so hopefully this will include looking the showers.

Very friendly staff overall, great service from the staff at reception, we asked for ice and an entire bucket was delivered to us. I had requested prior to the stay, and was given, a room close to reception, so the hotel is good at listening to requests, Standard room with double bed, small but more than adequate for a one-night stay. Had dinner at the hotel restaurant, which was good, but the restaurant was very quiet, not sure if all clients know it offers more than just breakfast – although the hotel is right by the V&A Waterfront, so there is a wide variety of restaurants available. Only two issues, housekeeping only provided decaffeinated coffee sachets, I’m sure I could have called reception for normal coffee but I just wanted a cup of coffee before I showered, didn’t want to start dealing with reception at that hour of the morning… the shower was not great, it didn’t seem to be balanced – I couldn’t get a consistent water temperature and the water pressure was terrible. The hotel is currently undergoing “soft refurbishment” so hopefully this will include looking the showers.

We absolutely loved staying at this hotel. My husband and I got married in Cape Town while we stayed here and we loved all the conveniences. It’s in the waterfront district so you can easily walk to all the shops and dining and it’s super safe. We had no problems walking on our own at night and felt completely safe- that was a big deal for us as most places are not like that. Beautiful rooms and great food. We loved our stay here- no complaints at all.

Everything in the hotel was great. The location is perfect

Very centrally located short walk to the waterfront and across the street from the shopfront of the hop on hop off bus at the start of the route. Staff were attentive and friendly and helped us book a tour to the Cape of Good Hope. Breakfast was delicious and there were plenty of choices.