Introduction
Before I booked this hotel, I had to ask a couple of South African coworkers to see if this is the right place to stay for Joburg. They agreed that this was in a nice suburb of Joburg with a mall and dining options nearby. It was also ridiculously cheap at 8K points per night vs paying $233 (this excludes the current 20% promo, so I got it for 6.4K points, a redemption value of 3.6c)
We were upgraded to an ‘executive’ room over email a couple of days before our stay. It must have been due to my lowly Platinum status from the Hyatt Visa card. It gave us access to the Executive lounge, which had a nice continental breakfast and some drinks.
Getting to the hotel
We had arrived at 7AM from our Cathay Hong Kong flight. The best way to get to the hotel is take the train. It sounds scary that you have to transfer, but it wasn’t a HK MTR type of transfer. We literally walked up a flight of stairs, asked a guard which stairs to take to Rosebank, and then walked down those stairs. The Rosebank station was the next stop. The cost was about ~$10-$15 USD per person depending on exchange rates. When you exit the stop, you’ll be in front of a mall. There’s a Holiday Inn that you’ll see, and the Hyatt is behind the Holiday Inn (a 5 minute walk)
Checking In
Like I said, we had been upgraded prior to arrival. However, since we were checking in at 8AM, the rep wanted to charge me for the prior night since they held the room for me. I argued with her that that was ludicrous since I never asked to be upgraded nor did I ask for the room to be held. I then showed her my conversation over email and nowhere did I even mention that I would be arriving at 8AM, so not even sure how they knew to even hold the room the night before. I asked if I could leave my bags and just come back at checkin time. After a couple of minutes of arguing, she said she’d talk to the person and get back to me. We were never charged for the prior night checkin.
Our Room
Here are pictures of our “executive” room. Nothing too fancy.
Getting into the heart of Joburg
Like I said, the transit is a 5 minute walk from the hotel. Downtown Joburg was a stop or 2 after the Rosebank stop, so we just hopped on the train and continued in the same direction. You can read what we did in our 1 day in Joburg here.
Conclusion
I’d definitely recommend this hotel if you are going to Joburg. The close proximity to the transit station is a huge plus. You may also get upgraded if you’re a lowly Platinum. The breakfast spread in the lounge was pretty nice too. Shopping is right there. The restaurant we had reservations too was also nearby. After taking a tour of downtown Joburg, I could see why there aren’t any major chain hotels in the downtown area. You really do want to be staying in this neighborhood.
Thanks for this review! That would have left a sour taste in my mouth if that happened to me re: trying to charge you for the night before. Would you say you felt safe walking from the train to the hotel, train from airport, walking around?
Trust me. I would have complained up the chain if they made me pay the night before.
This was early morning, so I felt safe all the way from airport to train to hotel. Even at night, I would have felt safe since they do have guards at the train stops. The airport train isn’t that busy, which is kinda bad since you’re sorta alone, but I think we would have felt fine. However, once you go from train to downtown, I personally wouldn’t walk around downtown Joburg at night, but that’s me.
I appreciate the quick response! Good to know.