The Protea Hotel Balalaika Sandton Review

One of the oldest hotel in sandton with a great and marvellous services

The hotel is of high quality, albeit it is dated. The swimming pool is well maintained and the fitness centre has the basics. Overall a good hotel to stay at for a short period of time.

The staff is very friendly and professional. The hotel bar I liked it, but everything is a bit old in the years! I was there a few days ago and although the heating was fully activated, the room was cold.
In general, it's fine! The location is good too! Just 5 minutes from the shopping center

The hotel has been decorated in a very nice old world style. Has a nice garden. That too in the heart of sandton. It looks very small from the front. But it actually is quite big towards the back

Excellent service. Free valet parking. 24/7 room service. Comfy bed. Free shuttle to Mandela square.

With all the renovations taking place, the place holds great hospitality and friendly staff. Thank you

We had a fantastic weekend at the hotel, however I was disappointed with the service. On Saturday around 8:30 pm I went to the restaurant to ask for salt and chilies and I was told to use the room service, which I did. Unfortunately nothing was delivered to my room. On Sunday my room was cleaned around 2:00 pm after we spoke to the manager on duty. The service was very bad.

Limited vegeterian options on the breakfast buffet. Good service and clean rooms. Nice place to stay if you're in town.

That food was not nice we did complain about it and i offer another supplier of halaal food. But anyway time is passed. Rooms were soo nice and everything was soo nice. Thanks for great hospitality.

This is the hotel at the back of the Marc.

It's got a really cozy bar..

It's a bit of a maze. There's so many rooms!! But the staff are very friendly and helpful and help you find your way.

Very central location. Love the restaurants in and around the restaurant.

Excellent service. Loved everything except their gym. The gym is not well resourced or has very old machines

Tranquil comes to mind in the heart of Sandton! Shower was small and staff are friendly, good meals on offer at the Bull Run albeit a bit pricey!
Other than that I enjoyed my stay and it allowed me to move around the city with ease.

The way it's looks nice place for family vacation.

Never go wrong with MArriot Hotel or any Protea Hotel the best

This place is absolutely perfect.....picture perfect infact.
Super friendly staff
Very neat and clean
Very very big in terms of property size ......probably one of the BIGGEST Proteas I have ever seen
Dealt with Natalie and Ohad and team they are totally awesome in making your stay memorable.
Good size rooms.
Food is very good.
Very central and close to all attractions and amenities In the Sandton area.
Totally recommend it.
Directly opposite the JSE building.
I have seen two swimming pools.
Good vibe.

An oasis of peace in this hectic city. Nice to stay here. Facilities such as car rental, shopping centers and restaurants are nearby.

It is getting a bit dated. They are busy with renovations, which will hopefully help.
Parts of the hotel were freezing cold.

Very friendly and accommodating staff. Every experience I've had with the Balalaika Hotel has been phenomenal. Very cosy pub in the hotel to catch up with friends.

Resort type place. Beautiful garden and open pools. Very quite and close to nature.

The hotel could do with a bigger pick up parking spot.

Great food and place to sleep over for work purposes. The atmosphere is very good but romm improvements can be done in rooms

If you're looking for brand new this isn't your hotel You have to appreciate old-world charm to like this place. 2 pools with beautiful greenery. Good A/C. A friend got a suite which was great looking

Nostalgic, cosy and within the heart of Joburg's economic hub that is Sandton, what more do you want for you and your family?

This place is very nice people are just fabulous and the food is great

Beautiful honeymoon suite, I love meat but this time around didn't enjoy my meal. I hate steak tar tar. Loved my breakfast and the friendly aged lady Mama Ednah who has been with the hotel for the past 25years. The carpet needs changing @ The Colony.

Staff is courteous and nice ambience and location is guest friendly

the service was super crisp, professional, and friendly. everything was clean and nearly all perfectly maintained.

there were lovely touches like having a live pianist in the foyer lounge in the evening. the gardens are stunningly maintained and add a special touch to the whole place. the breakfast buffet was top class.

there were technical issues with the wifi. my initial room had no connectivity due to a technical problem but i was moved without fuss to a separate room where the wifi was available. this worked well until late in the evening of my stay when it, too, stopped working. the hotel were unable to give me a time when it would be working - i was told the technicians were busy with it.

an all-round great experience.

Stayed here as part of my 14 day quarantine. The staff were great at what they do.

Good value for money. The rooms are small but the staff is nice. Very well located in a safe area.

Rooms are nice and clean, however it is painful having to wait for one hour or more for a bottle of water to be delivered, not to mention the room service requests... Service is extremely slow, even at the restaurant.

Lovely hotel in the middle of Sandton. Perfect for lbusiness or leisure travel. Conferencing also available. Great steakhouse next door. The Bull Run Restaurant

Always a good venue for meetings and a special meal. Parking and traffic a nightmare whilst renovations underway in the area.

in the process of being modernised, still has old time classic touches

Bit old furnishings, staff in restaurants are nice and caring. 0

Lovely setting. Very pleasant rooms and fascilities. Wonderful staff and great breakfasts

Hotel safe, good service, good restaurant, food good. Optimal conference hall.

Currently loud construction noises from large building built across the hotel not even across the road right in front of the rooms. When you ask management if they can do something about the noise, the best answer is would you like a inside room? Rooms are also on the older side and need some updating.

Huge, easily to get lost but overall an amazing place to sleep over in

A bit old, but still recommendable. A box in my room was almost apart if you wanted to open it. The hotel is directly connected to a small shopping center. The environment should be safe, but a trip in the evening is not very recommendable. We could directly watch as an Asian tourist the phone was stolen from the hand. Highly recommended: the directly connected restaurant "Bull Run", which also provides room service.

Splendid, even got a chance of seeing a popular person

Very friendly staff. Nice clean rooms of an older style. Breakfast is amazing. I love this hotel.

Rooms are showing their age, but overall a good experience. The restaurant was delicious and shopping mall next door is very convenient.

It is a great place you get everything there and great service from the staff.

Beautiful place. Very friendly staff. Really really good conference lunch.

Old hotel for old world charm. Lots of antique furniture. Some need rework in room.

Fantastically friendly staff. Beautiful gardens. Comfy rooms. Quality of lunches served during conference was really great.

Was welcomed by andrew at reception, such a happy person. Had a good time.

Wonderful experience of mini park inside the premise.

Lovely ambience and new shopping mall adds a new dimension

The place is great.. The staff is friendly and really helpful....

Beautiful place, friendly staff and relative cheap hotel accommodation.

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.

Very enjoyable place to stay, pity i was there all too briefly. All staff were great, room very amenable. Just a problem with construction noise around and roads inaccessible.

Parking difficult and hotel facade in need of update

Ok hotel and good location next to Mandela square and the mall. Needs major renovations and attention as it s quite old and outdated.

Decent hotel, a bit old. Rooms are ok, everything is clean and well-kept, but with style from the last century.
Breakfast is ok, as you would expect.
The pool doesn't really invite you, you can see the age.