The Saxon Hotel & Spa is a boutique hotel which nestles behind Fort Knox-style security gates in Sandton, Johannesburg's most upmarket suburb. Once past the forbidding outer walls, an enormous mansion springs to view - incredibly, this was once a private home of an insurance magnate. Soon after its incarnation as one of South Africa's best-regarded boutique hotels, the Saxon Hotel & Spa hosted Nelson Mandela, who sensibly chose its luxurious surroundings to edit his autobiography after his release from prison.
The facilities
Once inside the boutique hotel, honey-coloured marble stretches for acres in every direction. Enormous attention to detail ensures that the Saxon Hotel & Spa can compete even with the super-boutique hotels of Asia for service and innovation. One of the swimming pools, big enough to sail a yacht in, even features underwater speakers which play soothing whale music to weary swimmers...
The elegant high-ceilinged restaurant is as impeccably designed as the rest of the boutique hotel, with young and funky waiting staff clad in flowing zen-like beige robes. The overall feeling at the Saxon Hotel & Spa is of top-to-toe classiness, inconspicuous wealth and an optimism about the new South Africa that's reflected in the sleek young black professionals who form the majority of the guests.
The rooms
The décor is suitably ethnic-chic, refreshingly free of the faux-colonial mustiness that infects many of Africa's top-end hotels. The predominant colours are neutrals, earthy reds and browns, with carved masks, baskets and African art lining the walls. The 26 suites at this boutique hotel range in size from spacious to vast, and are equipped with every imaginable facility from private saunas to personal DVD players.
Hotel hotlists
"This tranquil Johannesburg boutique hotel hideaway is set in 6 acres of landscaped gardens, and counts Mandela as a past guest."
