Hyatt Regency Johannesburg
Club Level Room
I chose this hotel for a few reasons. First, the points rate was a reasonable use of Chase points. Second, I'm Explorist with Hyatt so I try to stay with them when possible, as I get freebies like fast internet, late check-out and room upgrades. Third, its location is very location. Only a few blocks from the Gautrain and some shopping malls. There's also an Avis located in the hotel, which is really nice.
I arrived at Rosebank Station around 4:45PM (only an hour after landing at JNB), then headed top side through the North exit. Once on the street, the hotel is a 2 minute walk away. Check in was very quick and I noticed I'd been upgraded to a Club Level Room on the 8th floor. Unfortunately, the room was located right next to the elevators and the very open club lounge. Not ideal, but fine for a night.
The room itself was clean and everything worked. However, the design was dated and quite old, and definitely not an outdated but charming vibe. The hotel is definitely in need of a complete renovation.
Room
One issue I encountered with all the hotels in Africa was a relative lack of bathroom amenities. Specifically, none of the hotels provided shaving cream in the bathrooms. The GH Incheon (not in Africa) had shaving cream in the mini bar, but it was a big can that cost around $10 US -- no thanks. I don't shave my face daily or pack shaving cream, so I usually count on getting it at hotels. No such luck this time.
Bathroom
Bathroom
The shower door looked precariously mounted.
Room
First Nespresso machine of the trip, but I didn't use it
Room
Room
Room
After putting down my stuff, I went to the adjacent shopping mall in search of some nail clippers. My pair of travel clippers broke in Korea and I'd thus far been unable to find a suitable replacement (or clip my unkempt nails). After finding clippers, I walked around a while and bought some drinks and snacks from the grocery store for the following day. Cans of Red Bull were amazingly cheap, only 20 ZAR (roughly $1.30 US). I was hoping to get some prepared non-meat foods from the grocery store for dinner, but it was all meat so I headed back to the hotel. In retrospect, I should have grabbed something to go from Food Lover's Eatery.
I was a bit tired from the previous day and the following day promised to be a long one. So I headed back to the hotel and got some room service. I really just wanted a decent pasta dish, so I ordered the penne arrabiata. However, I had an inkling that the pasta might not live up to my (low) expectations, so I ordered a couple appetizers just in case.
Unfortunately, the pasta suffered from the type of issue I alluded to in the Kigali Marriott post; pasta cooked by someone who doesn't know what pasta should taste like. In this case, tasteless and overcooked. Going in, my expectations were low, but the pasta still failed to meet expectations. Oh well. I guess it's probably unreasonable to hope for al dente pasta at a Hyatt in South Africa. It's all part of the experience of traveling.
Penne Arrabiata
Terribly bland, with baby corn (ugh, why?), severely lacking salt. I guess chefs don't taste the food before serving. Nor did room service provide salt & pepper shakers.
Mini Boerwors
These were delicious, if a bit lacking in presentation
Fried Cauliflower
These were pretty good too, though frying makes everything better.
After dinner, I went to bed and slept well despite a bit of intermittent noise from the hallway.