Hotel Girl

LOCATION:  One&Only has chosen a vibrant location for its first city property. The hotel is a couple of minutes walk from the atmospheric Victoria and Albert waterfront, where clowns, jugglers, mime artists and street musicians entertain the throngs. The city centre, with its museums and shopping at Greenmarket Square, is a short taxi ride away.

FIRST IMPRESSION: The One&Only is a large and lavish hotel and makes a first impression to match. As you walk into the lobby, your eyes are drawn to a three storey picture window framing a breathtaking view of Table Mountain, with the hotel's glamourous cocktail bar in the foreground. At either end of the vast lobby are the hotel's restaurants: the first African branch of Nobu and Reuben's, which opened in October after Gordon Ramsey was forced to close his Maze outpost.

THE FACTS: Flamboyant gambling and hotel magnate Sol Kerzner opened the hotel in 2009 in one of the most expensive hotel developments South Africa has ever seen. Mariah Carey sang to Nelson Mandela at his no-expense-spared opening party.

The resort is comprised of Marina Rise, a crescent shaped block of 91 rooms and suites, and a separate Villa Island with 40 suites. Our entry-level room was very spacious, at least 63 sq metres, and decorated in understated shades of orange and brown. The bathroom was the ultimate in luxury with his and hers Perspex basins, a free standing bathtub and rain shower.

The swimming pool area, built around a man-made island, is a blissful place to wind down after a busy morning exploring Cape Town. Friendly staff bring complimentary fruit skewers and smoothies.

WHO'S IT FOR: Couples looking for a sophisticated retreat that's still close to the buzz of Cape Town.  Families are also welcome: the hotel has a fully supervised KidsOnly programme.

A GOOD BASE FOR: The V&A is a convenient starting point for exploring the city. The ferry to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned during the Apartheid era, departs from here three times a day. A ten minute taxi will take you to the immaculate beaches of Camps Bay and Clifton.

WOW: The chic Island Spa, the largest spa in Cape Town, is set on its own lushly landscaped island and offers heavenly ESPA treatments.

HOW MUCH: £396 per room, per night, including breakfast

Just as excitement builds about the reopening of the Four Seasons London Park Lane (pictured), news has reached Hotel Girl of a third Four Seasons coming to the city.

Gerald Ronson's property firm Heron International has been granted planning permission to build a sibling skyscraper for its 46-storey Heron Tower in Liverpool Street.

The building, which will cost £500m to build, will include a hotel and residential complex managed by Four Seasons.

There's no idea of timescales yet, but this is one I'll be keeping tabs on.

In the meantime, I've been reading about Amaranto, the lovely new Italian restaurant to open in the Park Lane hotel, designed by Pierre-Yves Rochon, who was also responsible for the Savoy refurbishment.

Anyone who loves Diane Von Furstenberg will be in heaven in these suites designed by the lady herself.

The lovely Claridge's PR Simon Neggers, who treated me to a tour, explained that Diane took a very hands-on approach to designing the rooms.

The rooms are full of the prints and patterns you'd associate with DVF fashion designs.

And there are lots of thoughtful touches such as Murano glass, handcrafted items from Bali, handcrafted rugs and photographs from DVF's own travels through Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

Four have been completed so far including the stunning Piano Suite (third picture) and there will be 20 in total.