nldogbert

Introduction The last time I stayed at this property was more than 10 years ago. I don't remember how it was but I was expecting the hotel to be out of date, but was surprised that they have upkept the hotel with times - so I see it as a grand dame. Location The hotel is located close to the financial center and newish shopping/office complex. It is about 15 mins walk from the Gautrain station to the hotel - more or less doable if you have rollerbags. However if you can get the timing correct - you can hop on the shuttle [which leaves every .15 and .45 from the drop off area of the Gautrain]. I forgot to check on this beforehand - so I did the walk to the hotel. In general it is quite a centrally located property. The hotel does have a shuttle every half hour from the hotel to the Gautrain station and Nelson Mandela square [which now has a larger shopping complex build adjoining to it]. Check In I arrived late in the afternoon - was helped immediately at the special HHonors elite line [was called to that line when I arrived]. Check-in was fast and efficient. I had initialy a connecting room booking - but did request to have it separated - which was met and 1 room was upgraded to a corner suite and the other room a deluxe king. A run down of the hotel facilities and lounge hours was provided. Room Due to the structure of how the hotel is [tower like], rooms are basically divided into different 'fingers'. Each finger/branch has about 10 rooms. The suite I was allocated was well sized with 2 separate rooms, a living room and a bedroom separated by a wall and door. The living room area was well sized with a large sofa and TV/bar area where the fridge and tea making facilities were located. They did provide 4 large bottles of water.The bedroom was also well sized, I believe it was very close to the size of a normal room as it consisted of the bed and a small sitting area. There was a 2nd tv in the room [but a much smaller size compared to the living room]. The window in the bedroom was much larger and provided a nice view towards the neighbouring park and beyond towards the outskirts of Sandton. There was also a working desk in the bedroom with sufficient outlets - consisting of an international version.Bathroom size was ok - i believe it is the same size as the normal deluxe rooms. There was a bathtub and a walk-in shower. Size of the bathroom was ok. Toiletries were the normal current Crabtree & Evelyn products. Internet connection and speed was relatively fast and stable. TV channels were the standard international selections. The air conditioning worked fine and luckily again at high setting - not too much fan noise could be heard. Noise disturbance from both outside and within was good - could be because the room was at the end of the finger, it had little foot traffic from guests. Bed was comfortable and good.All in all, was happy with the room - it was well upkept and seems fairly recently updated. Executive Lounge The lounge was located at the highest floor of the hotel. There is a service desk [unmanned when I visited] before the entrance to the lounge. To access the lounge, one will need to enter with your key card.From what I was informed, the lounge does have breakfast, tea time and canape/happy hour services. I only visited the lounge during the happy hour. The service during the canape session was good - there were a number of finger food and what I would say a mini version of main dishes. It caters to both vegetarian and non-vegetarian. Drinks selections were good - with 2 different reds, 2 whites and 1 brut and the normal stronger drinks. There were 2-3 servers which does do a table service. The lounge is not that big, but seems to be sufficient even during the busier times. Breakfast I had breakfast in the main restaurant of the hotel which is located one floor up from the lobby at the same level of the meeting rooms. Breakfast selection was ok - a mix of western, asian and local dishes. There was also a fruit juice station and an egg station. Service was friendly and dishes seems to be replenished on time. They do bring the different individually ordered items to your table.All in all a good breakfast experience. Pool I did visit the pool the next day, had wanted to maybe take a dip, but since temperature was still not that tropical, the pool temperature was on the cooler side. However the pool area was very well done and does give a sense of tranquility. There was a larger garden courtyard down some steps next to the pool area. Overall All in all, am surprised that even though the hotel has been there for such a long time, management has kept the hotel to standard. Staff were in general friendly. Will surely return to this property if I return to the area.