current best hotel in JNB
Mar 18, 2009, 3:20 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: ZRH
Programs: LX HON Circle
Posts: 3,253
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (SymbianOS/9.2; U; Series60/3.1 NokiaE51-1/100.34.20; Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 ) AppleWebKit/413 (KHTML, like Gecko) Safari/413)
Dear fters. I did an extensive search and realized that the best hotel in JNB seems to be the Saxon. I have about 30h, 1 night, to spend and am looking for a nice hotel where I can just hang out a bit, relax and enjoy decent food. Also I'd like to get in touch with african culture. Has anybody been there recently? I saw prices for about 400usd. Ist that a good price? Any particular recommendations? Should I take the hotel car transfer from the airport? What about the the Westcliff? I am going end me May, hope i can use the swimming pool at that time also.
Thank you for your valuable input. I certainly will report back after my stay!
Dear fters. I did an extensive search and realized that the best hotel in JNB seems to be the Saxon. I have about 30h, 1 night, to spend and am looking for a nice hotel where I can just hang out a bit, relax and enjoy decent food. Also I'd like to get in touch with african culture. Has anybody been there recently? I saw prices for about 400usd. Ist that a good price? Any particular recommendations? Should I take the hotel car transfer from the airport? What about the the Westcliff? I am going end me May, hope i can use the swimming pool at that time also.
Thank you for your valuable input. I certainly will report back after my stay!
Last edited by f4freeJunior; Mar 18, 2009 at 3:22 am
Mar 18, 2009, 8:22 am
#2
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: TPA
Programs: DL PM; Marriott Rewards Gold; Amex Platinum
Posts: 239
The Saxon is a great hotel, but I'm not sure it's worth it for just 1 night. The rooms are spectacular, but in reality, you're not going to get much time there. You might be better off booking at the Grace or Michelangelo, which will be significantly less money for only the one night, while still very nice hotels.
Mar 18, 2009, 11:05 am
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: ZRH
Programs: LX HON Circle
Posts: 3,253
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (SymbianOS/9.2; U; Series60/3.1 NokiaE51-1/100.34.20; Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 ) AppleWebKit/413 (KHTML, like Gecko) Safari/413)
thanks.
I'll be arriving on a saturday morning ard 9am and my flight back to Europe is ard 5pm on sunday. So I think I still would have enough time to enjoy the hotel facilities don't you think?
I think the michelange is much more like on of those standard hotels we get to stay on business trips no?
Price is not such of an issue this time since I don't need to pay for it with my own money
thanks.
I'll be arriving on a saturday morning ard 9am and my flight back to Europe is ard 5pm on sunday. So I think I still would have enough time to enjoy the hotel facilities don't you think?
I think the michelange is much more like on of those standard hotels we get to stay on business trips no?
Price is not such of an issue this time since I don't need to pay for it with my own money
Mar 18, 2009, 12:33 pm
#4
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Orange County, CA
Programs: AA LT PLT, DL PLT, HH DIA, IHG PLT, Hertz PLT, Bonvoy GLD, Avis Pres Club
Posts: 1,265
My Virtuoso agent has stayed at the Saxon herself and says it is truly spectacular. She booked us there for 1 night in June as we transit to Singita. My Virtuoso agent has never given me a bad recommendation, and in fact her choices have all turned out to be very spectacular.
I would firmly support the Saxon.
I would firmly support the Saxon.
Mar 18, 2009, 4:11 pm
#5
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Canada
Programs: Virtuoso TA, Four Seasons Pref Partner, Rosewood Elite TA, Ritz Carlton STARS TA
Posts: 4,737
If you have the budget The Saxon will be a great overnight 100%. If you do not, then The Westcliff is the alternative. Saxon gives airport transfers I believe, so that helps a tad with the budget
Mar 18, 2009, 5:41 pm
#7
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: TPA
Programs: DL PM; Marriott Rewards Gold; Amex Platinum
Posts: 239
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (SymbianOS/9.2; U; Series60/3.1 NokiaE51-1/100.34.20; Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 ) AppleWebKit/413 (KHTML, like Gecko) Safari/413)
thanks.
I'll be arriving on a saturday morning ard 9am and my flight back to Europe is ard 5pm on sunday. So I think I still would have enough time to enjoy the hotel facilities don't you think?
I think the michelange is much more like on of those standard hotels we get to stay on business trips no?
Price is not such of an issue this time since I don't need to pay for it with my own money
thanks.
I'll be arriving on a saturday morning ard 9am and my flight back to Europe is ard 5pm on sunday. So I think I still would have enough time to enjoy the hotel facilities don't you think?
I think the michelange is much more like on of those standard hotels we get to stay on business trips no?
Price is not such of an issue this time since I don't need to pay for it with my own money
Mar 19, 2009, 10:49 am
#8
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: CH / D
Programs: Amex, Avis, BA, BD, CX, FS, Hertz, HH, IC, LH, NH, RC, RCCL, Sixt, SPG, SQ, UA
Posts: 7,050
I am partial to The Westcliff - great facilities, nice location, best pool in JNB, great food, nice mix of people in the evening.
Mar 19, 2009, 9:27 pm
#10
Join Date: May 1999
Location: Tucson, AZ
Programs: Marriott LTT, Hilton Dia, Hyatt Expl, Avis Pres, Hertz Pres, National EE, AA Gold, UA Silver
Posts: 871
How cold is 'too cold' for you? A Google search reveals that the average high temps in May are around 20-degrees Celsius (64-69 Fahrenheit), dropping closer to 18 and 19 by the end of the month.
Mar 20, 2009, 4:43 am
#11
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: ZRH
Programs: LX HON Circle
Posts: 3,253
.
Mar 24, 2009, 10:27 am
#12
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Orange County, CA
Programs: AA LT PLT, DL PLT, HH DIA, IHG PLT, Hertz PLT, Bonvoy GLD, Avis Pres Club
Posts: 1,265
As great as David might be, I absolutely love my agent and would not trade her for the world. She has personally negotiated rates for us better than the Virtuoso rate at several properties. She's also gotten properties to combine Virtuoso amenities with non-Virtuoso packages, allowing us to "double dip". Perhaps this is just par for course in a bad travel economy, but I'm lovin' it so far!
Mar 26, 2009, 5:20 pm
#13
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: SBA & LAX
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold, BA Lifetime Blue, Marriott Gold, and many others
Posts: 1,152
The Saxon is definitely in a league of its own. There's no way you would be disappointed in staying there.
We usually overnight at the Grace, simply because it's a very nice hotel, and my wife likes to shop at the arts and crafts stores which are connected to the hotel. But neither it nor the Westcliff compare to the Saxon.
We usually overnight at the Grace, simply because it's a very nice hotel, and my wife likes to shop at the arts and crafts stores which are connected to the hotel. But neither it nor the Westcliff compare to the Saxon.
Apr 3, 2009, 9:21 am
#15
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 3,698
The Saxon is a great hotel, but I'm not sure it's worth it for just 1 night. The rooms are spectacular, but in reality, you're not going to get much time there. You might be better off booking at the Grace or Michelangelo, which will be significantly less money for only the one night, while still very nice hotels.