There are few good reasons for staying in Johannesburg; but if you have to overnight here en route to the game parks, the Grace in Rosebank, 40 minutes from the International Airport, is the place to choose. Rosebank is a fashionable and leafy suburb of shopping malls, restaurants, sushi bars and coffee shops, where you can sleep soundly at night, knowing that private security initiatives have made this the safest precinct in a notoriously crime-ridden city. As for the Grace itself (known to its regulars as "Amazing Grace"), this 75-bedroom establishment is the only privately owned five-star hotel in town, and is also a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World. Returning for a second time is like a homecoming. From the moment you step through the main entrance on Bath Avenue you enter an oasis of sumptuous but understated elegance where the service runs like oiled silk and the hospitality is second to none. The restaurant is very proud of its wine cellar and there is also a terrace adjoining the roof garden and swimming pool where light meals, teas and drinks are served high above the hum of the streets below.
