Johannesburg
South Africa


The Experience

Between the city center and Sandton suburb, with high-end shopping to rival most major First World cities, the safe and leafy Rosebank district is one of the best places to stay in Johannesburg. The 244-room Park Hyatt in Rosebank's Firs Shopping Mall is a gleaming glass-and-black-granite property with all the business, dining and fitness amenities to suit power brokers, but with rooftop pool, spa and idyllic gardens ideal for couples or families who want to relax en route to the bush or Cape beach resorts. While it's more of a layover hotel for tourists, it's an ideal base for the adventurous visitors looking to explore downtown Joburg and the vibrant restaurant and nightlife scene.

The Rooms

Soft cream and brown tones with African art and pottery dotted around reflect warm local colors, and make for stylish if understated standard rooms, their black granite bathtubs adding a slight contemporary touch. Upper-floor Park King rooms, which have panoramic views of Joburg's skyscrapers and the canopy of trees carpeting the surrounding suburbs, are almost double the size. But you may want to pamper yourself in a Club King, which comes with butler service and access to the private eighth-floor Regency Club Lounge, with complimentary cocktails and evening snacks.

The Service

From a babysitting service on request to a chauffeur-driven limousine ride to the airport, attention to detail is everything. A new e-concierge service allows you to choose feather or foam pillows before you check in, and decide whether you want mango, guava or lychee juice instead of orange with your paper in the morning.

The Highlights

Zafferano restaurant and cocktail lounge is popular with the business set for power breakfasts, lunches and wine-fueled à la carte dinners, the light-filled picture windows and polished pinewood floors reminiscent of a Manhattan loft space. The Conservatory in the lobby is much less formal, and the tea menu lists 15 varieties. Otherwise, relax on a deck chair around the sixth-floor terrace pool adjacent to the spa, with its beautiful views of the lush lawns and purple tops of jacaranda trees in the hotel gardens.

-- Douglas Rogers

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