I had a week here towards the end of January for the Test cricket at the very close by Wanderers. I have stayed here at least three times before so know how it works so to speak. However I was somewhat apprehensive how the renovations would affect my stay, particularly from reading the recent gloomy TA reviews. I have to say that during my stay apart from the odd drilling and banging I experienced no problems or inconvenience whatsoever and to be honest would hardly have known builders were in.
I pre-registered for my room so I could gain immediate access to it when I arrived early in the morning. It seems Marriott have a central policy that you cannot pay for bookings by credit card over the telephone and this did cause me some time consuming difficulty but Wynand, the hotel Rooms Division Manager adopted a pragmatic, sensible and helpful approach and was a real star.
I had a nice room - 517 with lovely views of the Wanderers grounds including the bowling greens, tennis courts, Wanderers Clubhouse and indeed the Wanderers cricket ground as well as Johannesburg suburbs in the distance.
The Apple restaurant which is due to be renovated was pleasant, large and airy and on three levels - I preferred the middle level with lovely views out to the swimming pool. The breakfasts were good and Albert was particularly attentive. - Rachel the breakfast greeter was...I had a week here towards the end of January for the Test cricket at the very close by Wanderers. I have stayed here at least three times before so know how it works so to speak. However I was somewhat apprehensive how the renovations would affect my stay, particularly from reading the recent gloomy TA reviews. I have to say that during my stay apart from the odd drilling and banging I experienced no problems or inconvenience whatsoever and to be honest would hardly have known builders were in.
I pre-registered for my room so I could gain immediate access to it when I arrived early in the morning. It seems Marriott have a central policy that you cannot pay for bookings by credit card over the telephone and this did cause me some time consuming difficulty but Wynand, the hotel Rooms Division Manager adopted a pragmatic, sensible and helpful approach and was a real star.
I had a nice room - 517 with lovely views of the Wanderers grounds including the bowling greens, tennis courts, Wanderers Clubhouse and indeed the Wanderers cricket ground as well as Johannesburg suburbs in the distance.
The Apple restaurant which is due to be renovated was pleasant, large and airy and on three levels - I preferred the middle level with lovely views out to the swimming pool. The breakfasts were good and Albert was particularly attentive. - Rachel the breakfast greeter was very friendly.The evening menu was ok and I have to say that my fillet steak was one one the nicest and best I have ever had -cooked to perfection - medium to well as recommended by the helpful Elton. The bar has a basic menu but the service is friendly and does a good burger & chips as well as bottled Windhoek lager - a definite plus.
The pool is fairly small but has good tables, chairs and loungers with nice views. I used the hotel travel desk - Lux Tours to collect me from and take me back to the airport. All very efficient and reasonably priced at R570. I got a late checkout to 4pm for R500 - well worth it. A hotel shop just inside the entrance which has most essentials and there is a large ground level car park.
It is a c 10 minute walk to the cricket through the Wanderers Club grounds and I also walked during the day to Melrose Arch and Rosebank - for the Red Bus trip.
In summary I really enjoyed my stay here - the Wanderers grounds are a real plus, and hope to come back again.More
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