Breakfast at 18 on Crox

When we go on vacation I spend a fair amount of time researching hotels and Tripadvisor reviews in order to find just the right place with the right vibe for the right amount of money.  It’s a fine balance

I love little one-off boutique hotels and guest houses – the right place can have great attention to detail and give you a unique taste of the local area. Because these hotels often only have a handful of rooms ,the staff get to know you by name and will spend time with you giving advice on what roads to take and what tourist traps to avoid. Often these one-off places have such funky decor and it is fun to pretend that you are living there, if only for a few days!

Derek and I were very fortunate to stay at 18 on Crox, a cool 4-bedroom guest house in Cape Town during our visit in March.  This gem is conveniently located in Green Point – walking distance to the V&A Waterfront and in the shadow of the new Green Point Stadium that was build for the 2010 FIFA World Cup of Soccer.

18 on Crox was amazing in a lot of ways (vibe, service, rooms), but what really stood out to us was the incredible breakfast that was served every morning.  No matter how late we stayed up the night before, we always made sure that we made it to breakfast!

The continental style breakfast is served in the lounge, starting with freshly squeezed local orange juice and coffee (need my coffee in the morning!!).

Then, out comes this incredible display that gets placed on a tray stand next to your table.  The first morning I couldn’t believe that all of it was just for the 2 of us! The presentation is just incredible, don’t you think?

The stacked tiers had different kinds of breads of pastries.  These were different every day – for example muffins, croissants, ciabatta, quiche, bagels, etc.  There is no way we could finish it all – but looking around the room there were some guests who managed to polish off their trays just fine!

I’m a sucker for presentation and little details.

The yogurt parfaits had home made granola on the bottom, with a layer of plain yogurt and topped with fresh fruit.  They served different fruit every day.

Next we move on to smoked ham and shredded cheddar cheese – it was very delicious on a fresh croissant.

Biltong (beef) pâté with a selection of local cream cheeses behind it (salmon, plain, smoked ham).

One sleepy girl excited about her breakfast!

After a rock star breakfast like that we were ready for our big day of playing tourist!