Waking up to a rainy Johannesburg morning can make one yearn to stay indoors all day.
But, with an overnight stay looming at the five-star Palazzo Hotel, in Montecasino, the urge to get out of the house kicked in. And boy, was it worth it!
From the moment we made our short trip to Fourways and entered through the gates of the Palazzo, we were welcomed with warm hands.
Check in at most hotels is usually at 2pm, but we took a chance and arrived an hour earlier and, to our pleasant surprise, we found our family room - fully equipped with two double beds - ready.
From security guards to butlers, everyone was welcoming, rushing to carry our luggage and offering us wine or juice.
The room itself was not necessarily glamorous; as a well-travelled reporter I have seen better. But for my wife and kids, it was a great sight to find two well laid-out beds, a huge room with gold wallpapered walls and an equally sizeable, spanking clean bathroom with a shower and a big bathtub.
We deliberated on whether to immediately drop off our bags and walk across to Montecasino to enable the kids to go to the fun area, with which they are familiar. But such was the comfort they had found in the room that they said "let's go after two hours", opting to stay indoors and enjoy the moment.
After scanning the TV channels, as a sports fan it was refreshing to find Palazzo Hotel has enlisted all SuperSport channels, but it was a surprise to find they had only one kiddies channel, although that was not a major issue for the kids who soon found themselves in familiar territory, having taken a short walk through the Montecasino area to the arcade.
We were back within two hours to leisure around amid unfriendly weather conditions.
Later on we ventured to the Medeo restaurant for dinner. I ordered a lamb shank and my wife oxtail, so I knew we were in for a bit of a wait with the slow-cooked dishes.
Sadly though, it became a rather long wait even though evidently this was not the busiest of evenings at the restaurant.
Palazzo Hotel will have to improve on this aspect, as not too many people would have the patience to wait for nearly an hour for food, not least when accompanied by restless kids.
The speed with which breakfast was delivered in the morning was far better, however, with one of the managers personally ensuring our toast was delivered to our table right away.
Before that, I had enjoyed a 5km workout on the treadmill, which was all techno-savvy, equipped with Bluetooth and all.
Checkout time was the saddest part, not least for the kids, who made sure we spent more time in what they called their "home". That's because they had ransacked the minibar closet for snacks, and their mom had enjoyed several cups of rooibos.
Overall, our stay was truly fulfilling and enjoyable, helped in the main by the friendly staff and overall amenities which include free WiFi.
Five-star family outing in Jozi
Waking up to a rainy Johannesburg morning can make one yearn to stay indoors all day.
But, with an overnight stay looming at the five-star Palazzo Hotel, in Montecasino, the urge to get out of the house kicked in. And boy, was it worth it!
From the moment we made our short trip to Fourways and entered through the gates of the Palazzo, we were welcomed with warm hands.
Check in at most hotels is usually at 2pm, but we took a chance and arrived an hour earlier and, to our pleasant surprise, we found our family room - fully equipped with two double beds - ready.
From security guards to butlers, everyone was welcoming, rushing to carry our luggage and offering us wine or juice.
The room itself was not necessarily glamorous; as a well-travelled reporter I have seen better. But for my wife and kids, it was a great sight to find two well laid-out beds, a huge room with gold wallpapered walls and an equally sizeable, spanking clean bathroom with a shower and a big bathtub.
We deliberated on whether to immediately drop off our bags and walk across to Montecasino to enable the kids to go to the fun area, with which they are familiar. But such was the comfort they had found in the room that they said "let's go after two hours", opting to stay indoors and enjoy the moment.
After scanning the TV channels, as a sports fan it was refreshing to find Palazzo Hotel has enlisted all SuperSport channels, but it was a surprise to find they had only one kiddies channel, although that was not a major issue for the kids who soon found themselves in familiar territory, having taken a short walk through the Montecasino area to the arcade.
We were back within two hours to leisure around amid unfriendly weather conditions.
Later on we ventured to the Medeo restaurant for dinner. I ordered a lamb shank and my wife oxtail, so I knew we were in for a bit of a wait with the slow-cooked dishes.
Sadly though, it became a rather long wait even though evidently this was not the busiest of evenings at the restaurant.
Palazzo Hotel will have to improve on this aspect, as not too many people would have the patience to wait for nearly an hour for food, not least when accompanied by restless kids.
The speed with which breakfast was delivered in the morning was far better, however, with one of the managers personally ensuring our toast was delivered to our table right away.
Before that, I had enjoyed a 5km workout on the treadmill, which was all techno-savvy, equipped with Bluetooth and all.
Checkout time was the saddest part, not least for the kids, who made sure we spent more time in what they called their "home". That's because they had ransacked the minibar closet for snacks, and their mom had enjoyed several cups of rooibos.
Overall, our stay was truly fulfilling and enjoyable, helped in the main by the friendly staff and overall amenities which include free WiFi.
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