Mount Nelson Hotel, Kapstadt Südafrika

The five star Mount Nelson Hotel is the leading family friendly hotel in Cape Town, South Africa. The nine acre garden setting provides the ideal environment for children to run free, while parents unwind with complete peace of mind.

The Guest Services team at the Mount Nelson Hotel is always on hand to recommend the city’s best family restaurants, suggest destinations for educational excursions, and arrange babysitting services.

Children’s facilities and special amenities at the Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town include:

• Welcome amenities for our littlest guests
• Children’s welcome letters crammed with fun ideas for things to do in Cape Town
• Child-size bathrobes and slippers
• Complimentary hot milk for babies
• Baby cots and/or extra beds with specially fitted linen
• Baby cots are available at no additional charge
• Children’s menus in our restaurants and a special children's in-room dining menu
• Complimentary milk and cookies at bedtime
• An exciting annual programme which includes cricket matches, face painting, story-telling, swimming, games and treasure hunts
• A selection of trendy children’s gear is available from the Signature Boutique
• A lifeguard is on duty at the Oasis swimming pool during high season (November to February)
• Librisa Spa offers a wide range of fun treatments specially designed for children
• Children’s yoga classes at the Yoga Bliss studio

The following are available upon request and subject to availability:

• If advised prior to arrival, a baby seat may be fitted in the hotel's private luxury vehicles
• Baby cots and/or additional beds with specially fitted linen, are available at an additional cost
• Complimentary access to children’s books, games and XBOX 360/Playstation
• Complimentary colouring-in books and crayons
• Complimentary child and baby-friendly toiletries
• Access to the children’s toy-box
• The use of children’s furniture and high chairs
• Complimentary use of a baby monitoring kit

Babysitting Services at the Mount Nelson Hotel

The Mount Nelson Hotel outsources babysitting services to a well known organisation with an excellent track record when it comes to understanding the challenges associated with family travel. Tthe company aims to match the perfect childminder to every child, and also caters for international languages.

24 hours notice is required to process babysitting requests, however the Mount Nelson Hotel always does its utmost to accommodate last minute requirements and an hourly rate is charged for the service, with a minimum of three hours required.

Family Fun at the Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town

The Guest Services team at the Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town gladly assists families in planning a child-friendly holiday itinerary. Excursions and activities may include the likes of:

• children’s parties
• swimming lessons
• tennis lessons
• sightseeing visits: the penguin colony at Boulders Beach, boat trips to Seal Island and Table Bay, museums and the planetarium, the gemstone Scratch Patch, farmyards, the zoo, bird and butterfly parks, etc.

The Children's Club at the Mount Nelson Hotel

The fully supervised centre at the Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town is available to residents and non-resident hotel guests at no extra charge when you visit the Librisa Spa or any of the hotel's restaurants and bars. 

The Nellie & Nelson Activity Centre: for children between the ages of 0 and 12

Come rain or shine, the Mount Nelson Hotel’s children’s activity centre is a colourful hive of activity. Located on the ground floor of the Main Hotel building, just a short stretch away from the Hotel Lounge, the space contains a range of thrilling educational games and toys, a big screen TV complete with a selection of age appropriate educational DVDs, a blackboard wall, a Nintendo Wii, cosy carpets, beanbags and child-friendly furniture.

A floor-to-ceiling mural depicts the hotel’s celebrated African Penguin guests, Nelson and Nellie, along with their penguin family and assorted local animal friends. Organised activities from group games to storytelling, take place throughout the day. For breathing space, an enclosed outdoor area leads out from the play area, and a custom designed bathroom and baby-changing facility is also available.

Teens Lounge: for over 12's and under 18's

The Mount Nelson Hotel’s teen lounge area, which is located adjacent to The Nellie and Nelson Activity Centre, is the ideal meeting place. Contemporary furniture and styling lend the space a young, fresh feel, and XBox 360 games, a Nintendo Wii, a computer, and big screen TV with a selection of age appropriate DVDs provide healthy fun and entertainment. Coming soon is a specialised teen entertainment program featuring cooking classes, organised dinners and other group activities.

The fully supervised centre is available to non-resident hotel guests at no extra charge when supporting the Librisa Spa or any of the Food and Beverage outlets.

Onsite Eco Initiatives at the Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town, South Africa

Projects at the Mount Nelson Hotel include:

• The establishment of an on-site ‘worm farm’ (or vermiculture centre) to process leftover food and other organic matter into compost, which is used to fertilise the hotel’s gardens
• Replacing all non-aesthetic lighting in the hotel with energy saving bulbs
• Using waterwise natural spring water to irrigate the estate
• Recycling of plastic, glass, paper, tin and cardboard
• Exercising environmentally-friendly gardening practices by planting indigenous trees, recycling lawn clippings and reducing the amount of chemicals used
• Utilising environmentally friendly, biodegradable cleaning products
• Utilising low sulphur diesel to power our electricity generators

These measures have led Mount Nelson hotel receiving accreditation from the Heritage Environmental Programme which measures and monitors a wide range of social and economic factors, and recognises resource and developmental initiatives designed to ensure long-term sustainability.

Hotels Housing Trust

Since 1997, the five star Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town, South Africa, has raised over R1 million for the successful Hotels Housing Trust charity. The first major contributor to the trust, the Mount Nelson Hotel collects cash donations from collateral placed in hotel rooms. Funds raised are managed by Habitat for Humanity to assist in the building of houses for previously disadvantaged communities.

The hotel has assisted in the building of homes by:

• Raising awareness of the project through staff
• Marketing the project on the hotel’s website and distributing marketing collateral
• Encouraging staff and guests to visit the housing project
• Holding an annual raffle, the proceeds of which are donated to the charity
• Week-long house builds with staff from various departments in the hotel

Human Resources Initiatives at the Mount Nelson Hotel, Cape Town

HIV/AIDS Training

The Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town, South Africa, has implemented its own successful policy to manage and reduce the impact and effects of HIV/AIDS in the workplace. It is the hotel’s intention to ensure that any staff member infected with HIV/AIDS will not be discriminated against in terms of the company’s employment policies and practices, and that they are supported in such a way as to enable them to continue work productively for as long as they are medically fit to do so.

The programme incorporates the following initiatives:

• Policy development
• HIV/AIDS information seminars
• Management training
• Information booklets and posters

Training and Development at the Mount Nelson Hotel, South Africa

The Mount Nelson Hotel offers a challenging four year practical in-service training programme to previously disadvantaged candidates wishing to pursue a career in the hotel industry. Each year the programme is offered to three Chef and four Hotel Management candidates who are given the opportunity to obtain a formal qualification in their respective fields and gain hands-on experience working in various departments of the hotel.

Staff Rewards Programme

The ‘You Make The Difference Staff Recognition Programme’ was designed to encourage staff to recognise and acknowledge achievement of their peers’ daily work efforts and extraordinary commitment to the hotel’s standards. Employees are financially rewarded and at the end of the year, the twelve monthly winners are nominated for ‘Employee of the Year’, entitling them to a large cash prize and an overseas trip to an Orient-Express destination.

Charitable Initiatives of the Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town

Charitable projects include:

• Excess food is donated to Feedback - a collection and delivery service responsible for the redistribution of surplus food to the poor
• Supporting the 'Proudly South African' campaign by stocking South African products in mini-bars
• Donation of excess room amenities (L’Occitane toiletries, bed linen, furniture and appliances) to selected charitable organisations
• Eighty percent of stock purchased for the Signature Boutique supports small local crafters, traders and community projects
• The Mount Nelson Hotel/Adele Searll 100 Club.  This independently run organisation started 26 years ago and has been holding monthly lunches for its members at the hotel since 1990. It contributes to 54 charities and has helped make 85 bursaries for under privileged students possible.

Charities supported by the club include:

St. Luke’s Hospice, The Peninsula School Feeding Scheme, SHAWCO,  Learn to Earn, The Institute for the Blind, The Union of Jewish Women, SPCA, Reach for a Dream Foundation, The Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation, The Haven Night Shelter, Tygerberg Children’s Hospital, Groote Schuur Hospital, Victoria Hospital, Somerset Hospital, Animal Anti-Cruelty League,  Amy Biehl Foundation.

Other charities supported by the Mount Nelson Hotel include:

Friends of Vista Nova School, Animal Rescue Organisation, Robertson House for the physically disabled, Karl Bremer Hospital, Red Cross Children's Hospital, Childline, Institute for the Blind, Starfish Foundation & Ikhwezi Creche.