Cape Town’s Best Airbnb Rentals: Pools, Views, and Local Living

Cape Town’s got the kind of scenery that makes you forget to check your phone: mountains painted in afternoon light, beaches that look like they’ve been photoshopped, and a food scene that keeps getting better. Hotels are popping up everywhere, but if you really want to feel the city, you rent a place where locals actually live. I’ve combed through dozens of Airbnbs—checking Superhost status, guest reviews, location, and that indefinable something that makes a stay memorable—and picked a dozen that deliver on pools, hot tubs, and knockout views.

For couples, there’s a lush garden studio tucked away in Tamboerskloof, a double-height hideaway with floor-to-ceiling windows and a treehouse feel. Big groups should book Argyle Villa in Camps Bay: six bedrooms, an infinity pool, and mountain views that stretch to the sea. If quiet is what you’re after, an off-grid stone cottage near Simon’s Town runs on solar power, has a rustic pool fed by mountain stream water, and sits inside the Castle Rock Conservancy, where hiking trails wind through protected fynbos.

Other standouts include a Victorian apartment in Kalk Bay with original floorboards and a Balinese-style outdoor shower, a St. James Beach bungalow with a hot tub overlooking the famous rainbow bathing huts, and a pink cottage in De Waterkant that offers Table Mountain views from its roof terrace. There’s even a three-bedroom house in Hout Bay with a marble spa, sauna, and infinity pool surrounded by greenery. Whether you want to wake up to dolphins off Cape Point or fall asleep to waves in Camps Bay, these rentals let you live like a local—with a few luxuries thrown in.