JNB Airport Hotel
 

My sister will pass through JNB airport for one night; arrive 4PM and leave 10 AM next morning. She and her husband would like to stay in a hotel near the airport. They prefer a clean and reasonably priced one with decent restaurant nearby.

Do you have any suggestions for such hotel?

I found from the internet that Airport Grand Hotel is only 5 min. from the airport and is little over $100. Do any of you have experience with this hotel?

Thanks very much for your help!

I have stayed there and plan to stay there again in Sept. Its nothing fancy, but its clean and its fine.

Mike

I've stayed at the Intercontinental Sun Airport hotel, kind of pricy but within walking distance to the airport, good restaurant and great room. This September I booked the Southern Sun, near the airport and 1/2 the price of the Intercontinental.

I am staying at the Metcourt Laurel at Emperors palace in a couple of weeks. It is near the airport and has a shuttle bus. It is part of a large complex with casino, shops and restaurants.

Dennis, how far from the airport is the Southern Sun? do they hv a shuttle?

Thanks
Hari

Hari- the Southern Sun is a mere 500 meters from the airport. don't think they have a shuttle.

Hari, I stayed at the Southern Sun -- they do have a shuttle (at least they did in July 2006) and great restaurant. Its 2 minutes from the airport.

Hari and Dennis,

According to Southern Sun's website, they do have a shuttle from the airport to the Hotel, I don't think you can directly walk to it from the Terminal.

I had a reservation there for one night, since it is about half the price of the Intercontinental. But just a couple of weeks ago, we decided to stay at D'Oreal Grande at Emperors Palace, thinking that this place would give us somewhere to stroll around at night after the long flight (We don't arrive at JNB until about 5:00pm and depart the next morning). I was able to get a good rate from a booking company called South African Hotels, so I hope that works out. The D'Oreal Grande booked through South African Hotels was similar in price to the Southern Sun.

Hi Wangy,

the Airport Grand is fine - there is a free shuttle from the Parkade outside the airport building every 30 minutes.

Cheers,

Pol.

thanks brandywine for the info. we're flying honolulu-tai pei-hong kong-dubai-johannesburg so I think I'd be too tired to stroll around, but I just might change hotels to the D-Oreal Grand, sounds nice.

Thanks to everyone for the valuable info.......i will have to spend a night prior to my Bots safari in a couple of weeks and going to look for last minute hotel reservations.

Hari

Hari,
We leave Sunday 27th May and overnight in Johannesburg at the Metcourt Laurel before going off to Botswana and catching up with you at Zibilianja 4th and 5th June. When do you arrive in Johannesburg?

Staring to get very excited about my trip.

Cheers,

Georgie

Hi Georgie,

I get into JNB on 28th. Leave for Botswana on the 29th. Likewise, look forward to catching up with you at Zib....

Rgds,
Hari

Some of the options have already been covered, but I'll paste in here something similar to what I've posted in the past:

The Southern Sun group has three hotels that are very close. Closest is the 5* InterContinental Airport Sun (http://tinyurl.com/yh2jb2), right in the grounds of the airport. Also very nearby is what was originally a Holiday Inn. (Which in S.A. was a more "up market" brand than in many other countries.) It is one of those that has had a recent rebranding and is now called "Southern Sun O.R. Tambo International Airport" (http://tinyurl.com/yh6lxj). It is visible from the terminal areas, but will need their shuttle. The third is Garden Court O.R. Tambo International Airport (http://tinyurl.com/y5urh4), a slightly lower price bracket I think.

If you want even lower cost, take a look at the nearby City Lodge. A clean and comfortable "business-type" hotel, about 3* standard I think. (Which in S.A. is reasonably high.) They have a shuttle, at a low cost. See www.citylodge.co.za/cl4.htm. That site will also list the Town Lodges and the Road Lodges from the same Group. The pricing and amenities decrease as one goes from City to Town to Road.

On the other side of the freeway from the City Lodge are both a Town Lodge and a Road Lodge. They are separated by the independent “steakhouse” that is in lieu of an in-house hotel restaurant. (Although I think all the Lodges offer some form of breakfast.) It is many years since I have stayed in either a City or Town Lodge. But I used to prefer the smaller Town Lodge, not because it is less expensive (which it is) but because they have a decent shower (no bath) instead of a bath/shower. I haven’t tried the Road Lodges, but I’d expect them to be clean and comfortable enough.

If you want less expensive than that, there's also a "Formula 1" next to those airport Town and Road Lodges. But just R264 per room (as at May 2007), for up to 3 people! See www.hotelformula1.co.za.

There are also two hotels at the nearby Emperor's Palace casino complex. The 5* D'oreale Grande (www.doreale.com/emperorspalace) and the 3* Metcourt Laurel Hotel. (www.metcourt.com/emperorspalace). A very short shuttle ride to either, both websites give directions to where to catch the Emperors Palace bus. (Although if you ask for directions, be aware that locals may still know the complex by the old name of “Caesar’s”, or “Caesar’s Palace”.)

Thank you all so much for your suggestions. I have one more question. What is the best way to book these hotels? Can you get better price by booking directly with the hotel or booking through a third party? Any website link would be greatly appreciated.

There are actually 3 hotels in the Emperor's Palace complex: the "5-star" D'Oreale Grand, the "3-star" Monidor Concorde, and the cheapest, the Metcourt Laurel. They are all owned by the same company, all reached by the same shuttle from JNB airport (catch it behind the Intercontinental hotel), and all connected to the mall, casino, restaurants and shops of Emperor's Palace. The posted rates on the Oeermont hotel site are, respectively, R2375, R2025 and R1270 for a double room in the lowest category, brekkie included. Let's see, at 7 rand per dollar that would translate to $339, $289 and $181 per night. But you can usually beat the so-called "rack rates" through a travel agent or over the Internet.
These hotels make up these stars they give themselves, so consumer beware. We stayed at the D'Oreale and, while it was poshly decorated, clean and comfortable, it was not in my view a "5-star." We liked Emperor's Palace because there are diversions for an overnight stay and you don't have to bother with a cab ride to Joburg if you are just overnighting for a next-day transfer. But we didn't think the D'Oreale (which does have a pool and a gym, not sure about the other two) was worth the price, so we are downsizing to the perfectly acceptable looking Metcourt next time 'round.