Yahya WANE

Review of The Protea Hotel Balalaika San...

Very very good hotel. A little aging, with sometim...

Very very good hotel. A little aging, with sometimes dilapidated rooms (old-fashioned air conditioner, somewhat dated glazing ...) but the hotel is very pleasant.
Insist on having a room not too far away because you could travel a hell of a distance to get there.
The garden is beautiful, especially with its jacaranda trees in spring.
The hotel restaurant is open for breakfast (excellent) but in the evening you will have to settle for the Bull Run. The food is average and the table overpriced, not to mention that my credit card was quickly hacked there because I made the mistake of letting the waiter leave with it before bringing the terminal back.
The Sandton City mall is a 5 minute walk away, the Stock Exchange (JSE) just across the road and you can benefit from the taxi service, which is not a luxury in Joburg.
The best point of the Balalaika is its bar-lounge, open late and which plays football matches with high quality staff. There is a cigar cellar there, but the prices are ridiculously high.
Highly recommended.