Hotel check: Hyatt Regency

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Background

Hyatt manages, franchises, owns and develops Hyatt-branded hotels, resorts and residential and vacation ownership properties around the world. The group has eight brands, covering 492 properties, and there are two Hyatt Regency hotels in South Africa, with the other located in George on the Garden Route.

Where is it?

It’s in a great location in Rosebank, on Oxford Road, the main thoroughfare which connects Rosebank with both Sandton (10 minutes’ drive away) and the Johannesburg CBD. Further to that, it’s barely a hundred metres from the local Gautrain station, which connects to O.R. Tambo International Airport, which is about 25 kilometres away. The hotel is adjacent to the Firs Shopping Centre, which has restaurants, bars, lots of shopping options, and movie theatres.

Room Facilities

The hotel has 244 rooms and 15 suites, and we were accommodated in one of the latter. It consisted of an entrance hall with espresso machine, leading into a lounge area made up of a comfortable couch, coffee table, flat-screen TV, large work desk and lamp, and in turn led onto a balcony with a view of Oxford Road and beyond. Perhaps smaller than some other suite lounges I’ve experienced, but cosy nonetheless. Complimentary red wine and biscuits just sweetened the deal! A large king-size bed greeted us in the bedroom, which also had a flat-screen TV, loads of cupboard space, safe, hair dryer etc. Incredibly comfortable bed with big, fluffy pillows, whilst the bathroom had a slightly ‘old school’ feel about it, equipped with vanity area and separate bath (large) and shower nook. A slightly different design from your standard en-suite bathroom, but also very comfortable.

Restaurants & Bars

The hotel offers up Zaff Restaurant & Lounge and the Ndau Lounge & Terrace. The latter is ideal for a quick coffee, business meeting or evening drink, whilst it also serves breakfast and does a High Tea on a Saturday. We dined at Zaff on a Friday evening, and I was surprised at how quiet it was, as the food and wine were outstanding. I opted for a medium-rare pan-fried beef fillet with pommes dauphine and béarnaise sauce, and it was cooked to perfection, whilst a guest of ours claimed the Cape Malay karoo lamb curry was the best curry he’d ever had. The Zaff wine list has over 170 wines on it, but the 2008 Mulderbosch Faithful Hound blend was perhaps a bit too faithful, as it kept coming back, making for a slow morning the day after!

Business & Meeting Facilities

A comprehensive offering, from small meetings to conferences and banquets of up to 400 people. The hotel’s 24-hour business lounge is on the eighth floor, and we took advantage to enjoy a more intimate breakfast there, with a view of the surrounds. I enjoyed an excellent Continental breakfast, with plenty of cheese and breads, although the service here was a little slow. The convenience, though, outweighed that, with the comfortable space (couches, coffee table, magazines and newspapers) being just that. There’s a combination of wireless and wired high-speed Internet access throughout the hotel, but there is a charge, starting at R5.00/minute.

Leisure Facilities

There’s a fitness room with plenty of cardio-vascular machines and weights, and that is adjacent to the Phumula Spa, which in turn has the swimming pool off it, along with steam room, sauna etc – all on the top floor. Don’t look any further than a full-body massage at Phumula. Just make sure you ask for Tebogo!

Verdict

Quality business hotel, with a great location in the re-emerging Rosebank node, attentive service, excellent business facilities, and perhaps one of the better massages around.

Contact
Address:
191 Oxford Road, Rosebank
Tel:
+27 11 280 1234
Web:
johannesburg.regency.hyatt.com

Dylan Rogers

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