Welgelegen House by RETURN Africa

Converted from a Victorian-era residence on Stephen Street in Cape Town's Gardens neighbourhood, Welgelegen House by RETURN Africa holds its original pressed-ceilings and wraparound stoep while delivering twelve guest rooms with a distinctly southern African design sensibility.

The property sits four blocks from the Company's Garden and roughly 800m from the foot of Table Mountain's Lower Cableway Road — a useful base for both city-museum circuits and mountain trailheads. RETURN Africa's conservation-focused ethos, better known from its bush lodges, threads through the urban address in sourcing and staff-training choices.

Ratings average 9.5 from 314 guests, an unusually high score for the price bracket. Stephen Street is quiet despite being minutes from Long Street nightlife.