INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPERS

Good-looking, fun-loving, sporty and sociable. Thats Cape Town in a nutshell, according to a leading travel guide.

Good-looking, fun-loving, sporty and sociable. That’s Cape Town in a nutshell, according to a leading travel guide.

Lonely Planet on Monday named Cape Town the second best beach city in the world, while TripAdvisor toasted the city’s accommodation providers in its 2011 Traveller’s Choice Awards.

Cape Town’s impressive coastline pushed it above Rio De Janeiro. Also featured were locations from Australia to the US. The top gong went to Barcelona.

Gert Bam, Director for Sport, Recreation and Amenities at the City of Cape Town, said the city was reaping the rewards of “an aggressive housekeeping and maintenance strategy”.

“We’ve been working with other departments including law enforcement and environmental management. It’s been a very successful festive season,” he said.

When Cape Town’s tourists aren’t enjoying the sun and surf, they enjoy some of the best service in Africa, says TripAdvisor, whose winners were chosen by “millions” of travellers. The site says over 40 million users have posted reviews.

Two city establishments, Blackheath Lodge and Derwent House Boutique, featured in the top 10 in the Best Service Category at numbers 7 and 8 respectively.

Those two also hit the top two spots for best service in Africa, joined by the 2inn1 Kensington, as well as locations in Franschhoek and Knysna.

Cape Town is also good value for money, with 2inn1 Kensington making second spot for Best Bargain Hotel in Africa.

Cape Town Tourism CEO Mariette du Toit-Helmbold said the accolade proved Cape Town was a “natural paradise”.

“We are amongst the lucky few destinations in the world to be able to claim the combination of the finest beaches, natural beauty and distinctive urban culture,” she said. - Cape Times

david.thomas@inl.co.za