I needed to stay on Johannesburg for a few days. There are certain areas of the city where you can get nice hotels but I didn’t feel safe there so I went to the north of the city to the MonteCasino hotel and casino complex. There are 4 different hotels in the Montecasino complex catering to different price points namely The Palazzo a 5 star hotel. the Pivot a 4 star, the Piazza a 3 star, and the Perte hotel.
I stayed in the Piazza on this trip, I wasn’t going to spend a lot of time in the hotel so I didn’t need 5 star luxury.
https://www.montecasino.co.za/hotels/
Montecasiono is a large complex incorporating 4 hotels, a casino, cinema complex, many restaurants, conference centre, bird gardens and a theatre that has put on productions such as The Lion King in the past.
Arriving at the hotel:
Parking is great at this hotel. There is a drive up entrance for unloading bags and passengers but if you have a vehicle to park there is an underground parking area. This parking serves everyone who visits the complex but there is a secured area for hotel parking which has its own guard. You enter one floor below reception which is where the gym is, and then go up one floor to check in.
All the hotels in this complex belong to the Tsogo Sun rewards program. Hotels in the program all around South Africa include Gold Reef City, Emerald Bush Lodge, Suncoast Hotel and Towers, Garden Route Hotel, The Ridge Hotel and Hemingways Hotel.
The room is pleasant but a bit on the small side. This is the only time I have seen myself in the bathroom mirror while sitting on the bed.
There is the standard safe, refrigerator, table and chair.
The tea and coffee setup is really nice. There is a kettle, proper tea pot, mugs and small capsules of milk. Really lovely for use for morning or afternoon tea.
Next to the bed are 2 small side tables. each has a lamp and the one side has power plugs available. They say don’t forget your plug converter even though there is an international plug in the wall.
The desk has a pleasant chair and a mirror.
A narrow cupboard with hangars and dry cleaning bags.
This is the view of the complex from my room. This is a courtyard for events. While I was there the T20 Cricket World Cup was on so the matches were being shown on a big screen in the square and everyone sat outside the restaurants to watch.
The bathroom:
Here is the basin and mirror. You can see the bed in the background of the mirror. On the right is the toilet and on the left is the shower cubicle.
A rather nice shower with a hand wand and Charlotte Rhys toiletries. All very pleasant to use.
In the hallway at the elevator on my floor.
Provided breakfast:
Breakfast is included in the stay and what a breakfast it was. The food was amazing and the variety was so good.
Starting with bread, toast and croissants, there were a whole spread of spreads available.
Many types of cereal, muesli, weetbix and fruit with different sprinkle options.
This is the fresh fruit area. Watermelon, granadilla, yoghurt, orange slices, pineapple, fruit salad, all lovely and fresh.
The charcuterie area along with cheeses, crackers, olives, tomato, lettuce, etc, all just for breakfast.
And now for the hot food.
This is the specific omelette and fried egg station where you can choose and then watch your omelette being made.
There are also trays containing bacon, pork sausage, beef sausage, chicken sausage, baked beans, grilled tomato, grilled chicken livers and small roasted potatoes. A typical South African breakfast.
There are various juices available and tea and coffee on request.
Wonderful attentive service by every member of the wait staff too. This breakfast was a highlight of my trip.
Other facilities:
A nice gym is also available (to work off some of the delicious breakfast).
Some lovely decorative elements in the hotel. The blue backdrop was actually color changing lights.
This was the concierge desk in the lobby, a lovely look.
The lobby with reception in the background.
A view of a fountain in the casino complex, and another fountain indoors in the casino section.
A view of the hotel with drive up area and fountain in front.
Conclusion:
This turned out to be a much better stay than I first thought it would be. The room might have been a bit small but the facilities were really nice, the breakfast was wonderful, and having the whole resort available to wander around in was really nice compared to staying at a stand alone hotel that would require driving to do anything.
Because of the wonderful exchange rate from Dollar to Rand my stay was $120 per night.
I would highly recommend staying at Montecasino. Next time I will treat myself to stay at the luxurious 5 star Palazzo.
The great exchange rate means prices for the 5 star hotel are between $175 and $190 for a superior room with breakfast and parking included. Really great value.
