In the mist of the forever buzzing city in “Africa’s Richest Square Mile”, lies a contemporary hotel, Radisson Blu Gautrain Hotel. Situated in the in the corner of Rivonia road and West Street.The hotel is three minutes away from the Gautrain station and five minutes from Sandton City in South Africa. One cannot help but want to visit the hotel because of its perfect location. Apart from the external factors that make the hotel the number one choice. You cannot help but love the sophisticated interior and the facilities within the hotel.
We checked in at 15:00 and we were so impressed; upon drop off, you find a doorman who welcomes you with a warm smile, helps you with your luggage and show you through the reception. As you enter the reception, you have refreshments and fruits awaiting. The attention to the decors details is amazing. Marble furniture at the reception, polished cherry wood floors, displayed art and the play of colour on the furniture made me excited wanting me to get to my room and see what it looks like.
We were booked into the junior suite, the room came with a view of the Sandton City’s skylines and very beautiful at night all thanks to the lights that came from the surrounding buildings. The room was spacious, well equipped with all the essentials that a guest requires. The bathroom is my favourite because of its enormous shower and bathtube with mounted mirrors and enough bathroom lighting, you can have a decent photoshoot in the bathroom.
Once we were settled, I decided to go for a swim. The pool is situated on the third floor right before the bar. In the afternoon the pool area is a wonderful place to sit, have drinks and lunch. In the evening, it is much more quiet and that’s when hotel guests come to dip themselves in the pool and it is less busy around the pool area. The pool area is facing the skylines of the Gautrain station and Sandton City. Sandton City lights and the pool are a perfect scene at night.
When I was done taking a dip in the pool I decided to be “Dora the Explorer.” To see what else can I find and then I stumbled upon the gym. Situated on the ninth floor, I loved the fact that you get to gym with a view of the prospects. The gym is equipped with treadmills to spinning bikes big enough to accommodate the hotel guests.
Radisson Blu Gautrain Hotel has a restaurant/ breakfast venue called Central One. We had complimentary dinner that night from the hotel. For starters, we ordered the Vegan curried butternut soup. The soup came with deep fried onion and butternut crotons. The soup was smooth on the tongue and creamy. The flavours were well balanced and had a hint of the spicy Cajun. For our main, we ordered the sea bass and the 500g T-bone. The seabass was accompanied by mashed potatoes, pea voloute, chirizo and pea salsa. The seabass was wonderfully grilled the skin crisp and rest of the fish was fresh, soft and seasoned well. The mash potatoes were smooth with a pinch of salt and pepper. The chirizo brought the dish alive with its salty and spicy taste. The T-bone was accompanied by cherry tomatoes, deep fried onions chip and hand cut potato chips. The steak was not great. It was hard, not well seasoned and very difficult to cut through. The potato chips were also not properly fried. For dessert we decided to go with the all-time favourite South African dessert, malva pudding with custard. The sponge cake was fresh and moist, not overly sweet nor lacking sugar. The custard was hot and delicious. It made me think I was home for a second.
When we got back to the room I was very exhausted and I was ready to hit the sack. We decided to end our night with some wine and a movie.
Woke up a little late in the morning, quickly hit the shower and went straight to breakfast. No one gets more excited about breakfast than I do. When we got there it was a buffet breakfast, my face lit up like a child sighting a candy. There were all sorts of food. From muffins, eggs, bacon to sausages. I decided to grab a variety. I went for an omelet (cheese, tomato and mushroom) with sausages, bacon and hash browns, croissant, chocolate muffin and crane berry juice. The portions of the food looked small but filling. When we were through with breakfast we went back to our rooms to pack and check out. Radisson Blu Gautrain Hotel had the most helpful staff and we enjoyed our stay.
If you are looking for a little getaway around Sandton or simply passing through Sandton either for leisure or business. Radisson Blu Gautrain Hotel is definitely a go to place. It is vibey and convenient.
