Saxon Hotel, Villas and Spa

We spent two nights here prior to our trip to Botswana's Okavango Delta, Linyanti Selinda Concession and the Makgadikgadi Pans National Parks. We've stayed at The Saxon three times prior and have always considered this to be the highest quality accommodation in the entirety of Johannesburg. On shorter stays (especially layovers that are less than one day), we choose the excellent InterContinental at the airport, but for anything longer, The Saxon is the place. The design and decor is distinctly South African, but is thankfully done in a way where it's light and airy rather than a dark-colonial feel. The property itself is quite vast - the grounds are surrounded by nature, and many of the rooms are quite spread out to give everything a quaint feel. The main building houses the reception and lobby, as well as the bar and pool/terrace. It is also where breakfast is served. The pool terrace is a particularly calm outdoor space that features a large heated swimming pool, views of a peaceful koi pond, and casual dining served right by the water or indoors (during adverse weather). One thing we appreciate about the hotel is its level of service and amenities for a property of just 53 rooms. For instance, they offer 24-hour in-room dining, full butler service and a solid gym and spa. Speaking of the spa, that's where slight disappointment sets in - everytime we stay here, we struggle to book a reservation with a therapist. They either need to increase the number of therapists, or figure out a way to give priority only to staying guests (if that's already the case, then they really need to expand the spa and increase the personnel there). Outside of the spa, the Saxon is staffed very abundantly - everything from front desk to butlers to wait staff are everywhere; we never had to wait to flag down someone to request something. And all of them tended to us with a warm smile each time. The included breakfast is excellent - given the small number of rooms, it's not buffet style, but rather a-la carte and made to order. We generally prefer that, and especially appreciate the ability to order whatever you like in any way you choose - mixing and matching is not a problem at all. The gargantuan Presidential Suite is large, features to bathrooms and is bright, thanks to large windows and the light, muted tons of the furnishings. Although we don't feel the room to be outdated, there are a few things that could be improved. For starters, there are a dearth of power outlets in areas where we'd like to have them. The large dining table should double as one's workspace, yet there is nowhere to plug in a laptop charger. They did bring us a very long extension cord, but it would be nice if we didn't have to make such requests in the first place. In addition, the toilets are in need of Toto-fication. Given we spend some of our time in Japan, we cringe when we visit luxury properties that lack a modern washlet toilet. Not only that, but when flushing the toilets in our room, it does so extremely vigoriously, so much so that some of the water does spray out of the bowl - not good. Finally, we found the bed comforter to be way too heavy. A down comforter would be preferable. Nitpicks aside, this is a very upscale hotel by African standards and will continue to choose The Saxon for our future visits. The Four Seasons Westcliff, by the way, is not in the same league.

Fantastic hotel, great rooms, super staff and management, Fantastic spa and great location, food amazing, highly recommended.....

Outstanding is the only word I can use for this hotel. My husband lost his hearing aid charger and upon arrival we asked if they could take us somewhere where we could purchase a new one. They said absolutely not and proceeded to take pictures of his hearing aids and write down the model. They then located a place that sold the charger, sent a driver to purchase it and the manager delivered it to our room in person. They could not do enough for us to make us feel at home. FYI, my husband always comments on showers and he said this was one of the best he ever had in a hotel. If you’re looking for a location, that’s going to take good care of you and make you feel at home, this is the place for you.

What an amazing experience this hotel was. From welcoming us to catering to our every need. The restaurants are beautiful. The hotel is very well maintained. The staff is very responsive. This is truly a world class hotel.

We stayed a couple of nights at the Saxon hotel and was very kindly upgraded to the Presidential Villa Suite. Airport meet and greet and transfer was done efficiently, and we were whisked away in a nicely appointed hotel car. Check in was smooth, the room was massive, more suited for a family of 6, and clean. It was modern and comfortable. We also did the hotel organised city tour, and had a lovely driver/guide who showed us around Soweto and the apartheid museum. Dinner at Qunu was also great - good service, food, wine and live music. The only slight negative is that breakfast was not as good as the rest of the hotel, and we were prompted for a tip at the end of the included breakfast service, which was a bit unusual for us. Still, it's a great hotel for a short stay in Johannesburg.