World City Guide

Hotels

By law, VAT, which currently stands at 14%, is included in all hotel prices. Porters are generally tipped around R10 but this not obligatory if the service does not warrant it. Guests can claim VAT back at the airport on their way home so it is a good idea to keep all hotel receipts.

The prices quoted below are the starting prices for double rooms, excluding breakfast but including VAT, unless otherwise specified.

Business

Holiday Inn Johannesburg International Airport
With the full range of business and conference services and facilities, encased in a soulless, glass facade just 500m (1640ft) from South Africa’s busiest airport, this hotel is unashamedly aimed at the business traveller. Guests, who if in possession of hand luggage only, could walk from the airport terminal to the hotel, can choose from standard rooms to executive suites, offering every amenity and round-the-clock room service. Some rooms offer access to the Internet by means of an infrared keyboard system. Although close to the airport, the gardens and outdoor pool provide a relaxing setting, the informal restaurant provides a satisfactory choice of cuisine and the Cocktail Bar is the perfect setting for that post-conference drink. There is a fully equipped international business centre and conference rooms range in size from the 240-seat classroom to the 520-seat Orly Suite.

Airport Grounds, Jones Road, Johannesburg International Airport
Tel: (011) 975 1121. Fax: (011) 975 5846.
E-mail: holidayinnairport@southernsun.com or contactus@southernsun.com
Website: www.southernsun.com
Price: From R765 (including breakfast).

Indaba Hotel
Set in a 30-hectare (74-acre) country estate featuring indigenous flora and fauna, the white-walled, thatched buildings have become a landmark, minutes from the fast-growing Fourways business, retail and entertainment node and close to the N1 highway. With 210 very reasonably priced en-suite, air-conditioned bedrooms, including four executive suites and three studio rooms featuring modern facilities, such as modem points, cable/satellite TV and mini-bar, this is one of South Africa’s premier business and conference venues – a favourite with international air cabin crew. Crime is ever a concern in frenetic Johannesburg and the Indaba’s low-key security team has been able to maintain an enviable crime-free safety record. The hotel features 30 air-conditioned conference venues that can accommodate up to 2000 delegates in total, with banqueting facilities for up to 830 people. A variety of recreational facilities, such as a swimming pool, tennis courts, volleyball, outdoor chess and a jogging track, are provided. The function rooms are all equipped with the very latest in multimedia technology, including overhead video and transparency projectors, slide projectors, PA systems (roving and lapel microphones) and recording facilities. Three popular restaurants ensure that even the most challenging of palates will be satisfied.

Fourways, Sandton
Tel: (011) 465 1400. Fax: (011) 705 1709.
E-mail: indaba@indabahotel.co.za
Website: www.indabahotel.co.za
Price: From 635 (including breakfast).

Rosebank Hotel
This unpretentious, homely and well-run hotel is situated in the suburban business and retail node of Rosebank, 30 minutes from Johannesburg International Airport. A friendly, helpful and efficient staff and the thoughtful touches, such as ice cubes in the urinals and rose petals in the loos, have earned the hotel a loyal clientele. Two large shopping malls with a wide variety of shops, restaurants, cinemas and entertainment are within three minutes’ walk of the hotel. A highly experienced banqueting and audiovisual team serves six function venues on ground-floor level, able to accommodate gatherings from ten to 350 people. The hotel has 294 standard rooms with satellite TV, safe, telephone, modem point, air-conditioning, tea- and coffee-making facilities, and en-suite bathroom. In addition, the 24 luxury suites have a lounge-sitting area with dining room and bar. Additional facilities within the hotel include a business centre with secretarial service, car hire desk, hair and beauty salon, ample parking, pool, gym and a concierge available to help with sightseeing and entertainment reservations.

Corner of Tyrwhitt and Sturdee Avenues, Rosebank
Tel: (011) 447 2700. Fax: (011) 447 3276.
E-mail: rosebank@rosebankhotel.co.za
Website: www.rosebankhotel.co.za
Price: From R960.

InterContinental Sandton Sun & Towers
Located in Sandton, the business and economic capital of South Africa, with direct access to the immense Sandton City shopping complex, as well as to the Sandton Convention Centre (the largest in the country), this modern, skyscraper-type hotel offers a 24-hour front desk, pre-registration for groups, business centre, fitness centre/spa, restaurants/bar/lounge, beauty salon/barber, airline desk and car hire. A memorable if somewhat overdone feature in the foyer is a waterfall tumbling down a green marble wall, which is intended to create a relaxed atmosphere. The Towers atrium boasts Grecian friezes and soaring vaulted ceilings, while granite, marble and maplewood are the main materials used to create what purports to be a ‘harmonious blend of Art Deco design and ethnic style’ in the rooms. There are non-smoking floors and bedrooms, as well as two specially equipped rooms for the disabled. Restaurants include Ferns, which features ‘A taste of Africa’, and Vilamoura, a popular nightspot, providing Portuguese and seafood dishes. Guests can enjoy an aperitif before dinner in the Towers Bar, set against the backdrop of the spectacular atrium, or relax in the Gazebo Bar, with its rich African decor and motifs. A frequent guest has been South African Defence Minister, Terror Lekota.

Corner of Fifth and Alice Streets, Sandhurst, Sandton
Tel: (011) 780 5000. Fax: (011) 780 5002.
E-mail: icsandtonsunandtowers@southernsun.com or joburg@interconti.com or mariskav@southernsun.com
Website: www.southernsun.com
Price: From R2145.

Luxury

Palazzo InterContinental Montecasino
This extravagant hotel is part of the newly completed Montecasino gambling, leisure, entertainment and shopping complex in Fourways, just 30 minutes from Johannesburg International Airport. It is also in close proximity to the Sandton Convention Centre, one of South Africa’s premier convention facilities. In keeping with the ‘Tuscan Village’ theme, the hotel attempts to look like an Italian palace, while the setting does manage a surprising resemblance to the real thing. Luxurious accommodation includes two presidential suites, ten suites, 21 deluxe rooms and 213 elegantly appointed standard rooms, each with en-suite bathroom and separate shower, and all overlooking the lush, landscaped Tuscan gardens. All rooms have one king-size or two double beds, custom air-conditioning, telephone with voice-mail link and automatic wake-up call facility, modem point, hairdryer and refreshment centre. There is also a fully equipped fitness centre, outdoor swimming pool and a business centre, while at renowned impresario Pieter Toerien’s Montecasino Theatre, ‘The Graduate’ has recently played.

Montecasino Boulevard, Fourways, Sandton
Tel: (011) 510 3000. Fax: (011) 510 4000.
E-mail: icpalazzo@southernsun.com or fodm@southernsun.com
Website: www.southernsun.com
Price: From R1685 (including breakfast).

The Westcliff
The Westcliff claims to be ‘Johannesburg’s most luxurious hotel’ and with unique services and features such as private courtyards and Johannesburg’s best sunset and moonrise viewing spot, it probably is. The hotel clings to a steep mountainside in the manner and design of a Mediterranean hillside village and is likely to meet and exceed the expectations of the most experienced and particular of travellers. The breathtaking views from the hotel, to the far-off Magaliesberg Mountains or to the elephants browsing in the Zoo just below, have made it a sought-after rendezvous for everything from traditional afternoon teas to astronomical sightings under the intense African night sky. There are 115 spacious guest rooms and suites, all individually furnished, with a full range of business services and luxurious facilities – most feature charming terraces, balconies or private courtyards. Facilities include a business wing, complete with IT butlers, offering a range of services for business travellers, conference rooms, a magnificent hilltop heated swimming pool, tennis court, health and beauty spa, signature restaurant, Polo Lounge & Bar, a conservatory and poolside terrace. The Westcliff is just 20 minutes’ drive from the airport and is near upmarket shopping districts and three major golf courses (preferred tee-off times can be arranged by hotel staff). Famous guests at The Westcliff have included Sir Peter Ustinov, Dame Margaret Thatcher, Sting, U2, Jane Fonda, Stephanie Powers and most recently Sir Antony Sher, to name but a few.

67 Jan Smuts Avenue, Westcliff
Tel: (011) 646 2400. Fax: (011) 646 3500.
E-mail: reservations@westcliff.co.za or info@westcliff.co.za
Website: www.westcliffhotel.orient-express.com
Price: From R2275.

Moderate

Eastgate Holiday Inn Express
While this hotel certainly suits the budget bracket, with air-conditioning, work desks with modem points, swimming pool and secure parking, it is certainly not ‘cheap’. The Eastgate is an ultra-modern hotel, built from concrete and glass and despite offering relatively small rooms, the no-nonsense Eastgate really is amazing value for money. The hotel is situated just 15 minutes’ drive from Johannesburg International Airport and a mere ten minutes’ walk from the Eastgate Shopping and entertainment complex (ten cinemas). An added advantage is that the Eastgate is located just off the start of the N12/R24 freeways, making destinations such as Sandton, Pretoria, Durban and the Kruger National Park easily accessible.

8 South Boulevard, Bruma
Tel: (011) 622 0060. Fax: (011) 622 0030.
E-mail: ex@eastgate.com or contactus@southernsun.com
Website: www.southernsun.com
Price: From R480 (including breakfast).

The Quatermain Inn
The epitome of gracious living and a home-from-home atmosphere, The Quatermain, located in the upmarket suburb of Morningside, provides the travel-weary businessperson or leisure tourist with a convenient and tranquil base close to Sandton and Johannesburg. Set in manicured indigenous gardens, from its welcoming lounge to its luxuriously appointed rooms, The Quatermain is small enough to offer truly personal attention, but large enough to offer sophisticated service and assistance. Details like heated towel rails, Zimbabwean teak furniture and queen- or king-size beds in all 45 rooms are designed to make one feel pampered.

137 West Road South, Morningside, Sandton
Tel: (011) 290 0900. Fax: (011) 290 0901.
E-mail: reservations@quatermain.co.za
Website: www.quatermain.co.za
Price: From R820 (including breakfast).

Other Recommendations

Gold Reef City Casino Hotel
Situated just off the M1 freeway, 20 minutes from Johannesburg International Airport, this grandiose Victorian-styled (to match the adjacent Gold Reef City Museum complex) hotel opened in March 2000 and has already accommodated celebrities from Miss Universe to Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini. Its 38 luxurious, ‘old-world’ bedrooms are aimed at the corporate and conference markets, as well as tourists. There are conference rooms at the adjacent Gold Reef City, which include the 30-seat exclusive President's Room, the 500-seat Platinum Room and a 1400-seat arena, all with modern facilities and conference aids. The hotel’s Three Ships Restaurant (Nelson Mandela has dined here) has maintained the enviable reputation it developed at its previous location in the historic (but now somewhat neglected) Carlton Hotel. Next door, is the celebrated Globe Theatre (the original opened in the early 1890s) where energetic ‘African Footprint’ recently played.

Shaft 14, Northern Parkway, Ormonde
Tel: (011) 248 5700. Fax: (011) 248 5791.
E-mail: grcres@iafrica.com
Website: www.proteahotels.co.za
Price: From R850 (including breakfast).

Sunnyside Park Hotel
Built in 1895 as a gracious country residence for mining engineer Hennen Jennings, and the official residence of the Governor of the Transvaal during the Anglo-Boer War, the Sunnyside Park Hotel has been proclaimed a National Monument Site. The hotel’s rich history is reflected in the original magnificent balustrade, gleaming wooden-panelling, historic fireplace and glittering chandeliers. Although now situated among business parks, the building is still set in glorious English gardens and has been extensively refurbished to provide all the modern touches required by today’s traveller. Located just off the M1 freeway in the exclusive suburb of Parktown, it is a few minutes’ drive to cinemas, banks and shops at the Killarney Mall or to Rosebank, Sandton City and the new Sandton Convention Centre, and just 30 minutes to the airport. The Sunnyside Park Hotel is able to host banquets, conferences or small, intimate functions for between ten and 200 people. Milners Restaurant on site is all starched linen and quiet elegance with a British bent in food, tempered to suit all tastes.

Princess of Wales Terrace, Parktown
Tel: (011) 643 7226. Fax: (011) 642 0019.
E-mail: sunnyside@legacyhotels.co.za
Website: www.legacyhotels.co.za
Price: From R750 (breakfast included).