Miles ahead in Africa's richest mile

8 Mar 2017

If you want to stay in Africa's richest mile, and who wouldn't, The InterContinental Johannesburg, Sandton Towers is your go-to for high glamour allure in a hotel that oozes international affluence and elegance. Joined at the hip, well via a 10th Floor sky bridge, to the new Diamond Mile addition to Sandton City Mall, you can access Prada, Gucci, LV and other gatekeeping luxury brands without even the slightest risk of getting wet in one of Gauteng's summer thunder showers. That electrical impulse, however, also gives a systemic jolt, whatever the season, to the people that work at this floor-to-wall granite, glass and chrome tower block with a staff complement that is switched on 24/7.

General manager Kaliq Essop tells me that a soft refurbishment is scheduled in the new financial year. Although not a new build, the initial investment in quality finishes from the get go was so top notch that the hotel retains all its elegant bones.

As a coffee addict I liked the Nespresso machine in our room and generous six pods along with the delivery of the newspaper to the door the next morning. There’s a Bose Sound dock in the room and flat screen and DVD player which is pretty standard nowadays. Desk-height multiple plugs are a hotel room essential, I think, and I was pleased with the availability at the desk and bed-side table. Perhaps in the revamp they will include USB charging ports too. The walk-in closet is part of the bathroom which closes completely.

A worrying trend in new hotels is the idea that one, irrespective of how attracted to or familiar with the person with whom one is sharing the room, doesn’t appreciate privacy in a bathroom. This hotel has an entirely private bathroom with a separate, lockable WC inside the bathroom - as all should have. Having an iron and ironing board is a good idea, but I always appreciate a hotel that offers to iron two items on arrival as many boutique properties do nowadays as part of the added-value bouquet.

Full marks, however, go to this property for providing colour-coded recycling bins in the bathroom. The gym and steam bath in the change rooms are excellent, but the small pool is a drawback.

Artisan cheeses and cuisine flourishes

Hotel rooms begin above floor 10 and the hotel design, like a rib cage supported by an invisible spine, is a splendid example of hotel architecture which brings tonnes of natural light from the central glass ceiling to the atrium beneath.

Cuisine is under master chef Garth Schnier and the Valentine’s dinner added theatricals to the romance with a smoke-filled glass dome covering the forestry mushroom soup. And, keeping with glass domes, rather than displaying the usual breakfast cheese selections, here they display special artisan cheeses like they would at the deli, on a beautifully hewn timber block under a dome with a companion relish, jam or chutney along with an explanation about the cheese’s provenance. With many Japanese guests, the standard breakfast offering includes Miso soup with condiments along with egg-fried noodles. I love the way the dried Nori unfurls to blossom in the steaming bowl. Although scrambled eggs are available on the buffet for a quick-grab breakfast, they offer a la carte options too. Based on what we saw when we dined, the breakfast at the InterConti Sandton Towers is where early morning business deals happen. We felt quite under dressed in a neat golf shirt and denim while most people, women included, were in suits.

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