Garden Court Sandton City — Hotel in Gauteng

The hotel feels dirty, the room I got did not have the amenities listed, and the service is sub-par at best

• At 5pm I went out to the pool. I found a waiter and ordered a hot chocolate. At 5:50 a new waiter came and asked if I needed anything, and I declined since I had dinner plans at 6pm. At 5:55 the first waiter finally brought me my drink  He did apologise and gave me the hot chocolate at no cost, but having waited almost an hour, and getting my drink 5-minutes before leaving does not off-set the fact that I didn’t have to pay.At around 9:45pm I asked for a bucket of ice. The ice took 35 minutes to arrive, and only arrived after I phoned room service again to see what was going on. o The bed in the room is a double-bed, but on the website the room I booked was meant to be a Queen sized bed. A double bed measures in at 140cm whereas a queen sized bed measures in at 152 cm. So I paid for false advertising, which is disgusting. When I queried this, the front counter lady said “I’ve been told that that is a queen sized bed” – so it’s clear that I’m not the first person to complain about this o I woke up at 5am to work like I always do. I had no more coffee in my room, so I tried to order room service. I was told that room service only opens at 11. When I asked if that meant there was no way to get coffee I was told I would need to wait until breakfast. At the very minimum the front counter could have offered me some instant coffee – but no, nothing available until breakfast o When I went down for a swim at 6am, the garden outside was full of dirty dishes from the night before – including my dirty hot-chocolate mug from the night before. This was only cleaned up around 7:30/8ish – which meant that your team hadn’t cleaned the garden in over 12-hours. There were empty beer bottles, full ashtrays, dirty glasses – it looked like a frat party on the lawn. o On Thursday night I ordered room service. On the tray there is a card asking guests to not leave their tray in the passage, but to call room service to collect the tray. I phoned and asked that someone come pickup the tray. I was told by your front desk to leave the tray in the passage and someone would come collect it. That was around 7:30 pm. At 9am the next morning, my tray and a few others were still sitting in the passage. o When I went to the pool, once again dirty dishes and empty beer bottles littered the pool area o When checking out the clerk asked “How was your stay” – I replied that it was terrible, and he smiled and said – “Oh, okay then”. Then did nothing. He never asked why, or how you could improve. It was a question he’s forced to ask, but doesn’t actually care about.

Overall, the hotel feel dirty thanks to the dirty trays in the passage, and the fact that no-one tidies the pool area, and the fact that you misrepresented the size of the bed is straight up false advertising, and the terrible service delivery overall. Next time I would rather stay at the Holiday Inn...

What a disgusting experience at Garden Court Sandton city. As a frequent guest I am left utterly disappointed. Alfred and Silindile at Check in should be fired or not be the first people that guest interact with when they arrive. They are unattentive And just display a stinking don’t care attitude. We arrive at 2:30 having booked 2 rooms, our first engagement was with Alfred who told us the rooms aren’t ready, as exhausted as we were after driving nearly 7 hours with children, we were okay with it, but guess what, Alfred never got back to us after nearly 45 minutes we go back to the desk and engage with Silindile, she then says that she can only give us one room and no matter how many times we asked her , how long the wait will be, she couldn’t give us an answer! What the hell? She then proceeded to calculate my bill for the rooms and gave me an amount to pay, still I asked how long the wait will be, no answer to that question but she says “please insert your card” what and idiotic attitude! We then enquired about parking, she goes on to say that we will need to pay R50 parking per day and for our 4 night stay, we need to pay R200 for parking 😂😂By then I was probably shouting! We have stayed here several times and have never paid any additional costs for parking! She then had the nerve to say that I should’ve read the notice outside before coming in. I just point blank refused! My husband who drove us was just too tired to say then she replied saying anything and let me just go max. “ please use your key card to access the parking” please can you investigate if this extra charge was for her own pocket! ||We get the one access card. The family room had only 1 towel. When I call reception, they say that the room comes with 1 towel. I threw a fit again until housekeeping brought in more towels. When you ask for anything you have to call a few times and scream and shout! I understand that it’s peak period but how can you not plan??? How can you have only 20 irons for over a hundred rooms which are full to capacity!...

My Stay at Garden Court Sandton City - Safe, Savvy, and Seriously Delicious

Tucked right next to Nelson Mandela Square and Sandton City Mall, Garden Court Sandton City truly earns its stripes for location convenience. It’s hard to imagine a safer or more centrally situated spot in Johannesburg. Sandton, often referred to as “the richest square mile in Africa,” and well known for its polished, well-patrolled atmosphere—is the perfect home base for visitors who prefer “wandering with confidence” over “wandering with caution.”

Check-in was a breeze (always a win), and waking up to a sprawling breakfast buffet made getting out of bed a thrill instead of a chore. Guests rave about the variety and flavor of the morning spread, everything from crisp pastries and fresh fruit to fluffy scrambled eggs and savory hot options. It felt like a full-on brunch, and not just the typical hotel wake me up.

Rooms were clean and comfortable if not jazzy, standard fare that focuses on simplicity and functionality. And knowing you’re parked in a secure, underground garage with well-lit access adds peace of mind, especially in such a vibrant urban district.

All in all, Garden Court Sandton City is a no-fuss, high-value choice in a location that feels both cosmopolitan and safe. Whether you're in Jo’burg for business, shopping, or just fabulous breakfasts, you’ll feel right at home here. Five stars for location and morning meals that fuel...