Holiday Inn Johannesburg Airport by IHG — Hotel in Gauteng

My advice is to avoid this hotel at all costs. This is not a 4-star hotel, as a current hotel owner I would suggest this is a one-star hotel at best with the service rating a -10.

I don't often write reviews; however, I feel we have been let down by the poor quality and service experienced.

On route to Africa, we had stayed at the Sydney Airport Holiday Inn Express, which we found to be a positive experience.

We had booked two nights, five days apart as we were heading to Victoria Falls. We had organised to leave our suitcases at the hotel while we were visiting the Falls.

We arrived after a 14-hour flight. Our travel agent had made an error with our itinerary and we arrived a day earlier than we had booked for. We asked the receptionist if she could move the booking to the day earlier. My daughter and I were standing at reception and the receptionist asked if we needed a room for 2; my daughter then advised her that we required a room for 4. The response was " oh for FXCK SAKE."

During our stay we found the lift was broken; the pool was dirty and green and therefore unable to use. The air-conditioning in our room was broken and a temporary unit had been set in place. However, the extract tube did not reach outside the window which in return meant hot air was blowing back into our room.

On our return to the hotel after our trip away, we arrived at 4pm and ordered lunch as we had been travelling all day and had not eaten since 8am. The restaurant was open however had no customers, we were then made aware that the chef was asleep and needed to be woken.

When we were ready to order the waitress explained to us that certain meals on the menu were unavailable to us as they had recently brought in a new menu and did not have the ingredients in stock. We were disappointed with this as we'd chosen meals that could not be made.

The waitress said the revised meal choice would take 10-15 minutes to prepare. 45 minutes later the meals arrived, blood pooling inside the chicken which is a health hazard. When we asked to send it back, our waitress claimed it was our fault because we had ‘rushed the kitchen.’ My wife and older daughter ate the vegetables because they were so hungry and sent the chicken back to be properly cooked. It arrived 15 minutes later and was exceedingly over-cooked. We called for the manager who offered to refund the cost of my younger daughter’s toasted sandwich. We refused to accept the offer and requested a refund on both chicken dishes. He refused as he said we had started eating it and had not sent it back. My wife had not eaten hers and we eventually negotiated a refund of the cost of one chicken meal.

We went up to our room afterwards and found the air conditioning was broken. After refusing to accept the room, we were then allocated a room with air conditioning.

This hotel is very tired; it is in the flight path, with planes flying very low overhead (100m) , certainly extremely noisy. The service presented to us was nothing short of underwhelming. The kitchen appeared filthy from the view that I saw. Personally, I would not recommend staying here, and we only came back as we had stored our bags during our trip away. I won't be using Holiday Inns...

I originally stayed at the Holiday Inn Jo'Berg prior to the new ownership and I was amazed to see the amount of work that had taken place in 8 months. The change was brilliant. My room was very clean and comfortable. It has up to date electronic charging points and amenities. The bathroom was clean and the facilities within it worked great. I had great wifi single to call family and friends. The bed was incredibly comfortable and the air con within the room adjustable for ultimate comfort.

I ordered room service of the evening and the food was delicious. The kitchen staff kindly made adjustments to my order to suit my requirements without hesitation. The food was delivered by a friendly conversational member of staff in a timely manor and was hot on arrival (unlike some room service experiences I have had). I ate breakfast of the morning and again the food was excellent. A huge variety of breakfast items, cold, hot, juices, coffee's, fruit, omelettes cooked individually to order.

The staff were able to look after my luggage in a secure area for me whilst I waited to leave for the airport after check in and showed me to a business room where I was able to do some work, call family and friends in a comfortable location. This area is open to all guest to use and relax whilst waiting for shuttle services etc.

I also used the hotel shuttle to and from the airport. It was on time and the staff were more than helpful on carrying bags etc to and from the vehicle.

I was mostly impressed by the staff at the hotel. There seemed to be a significant staff presence with lots of people around to ensure everything was to my satisfaction. Staff were friendly, conversational and seemed interested and to care where I was travelling from/to and if I was enjoying my stay.

Management were also particularly accommodating. When I stayed previously the hotel was undergoing significant reconstruction work and the noise level, wifi signal and cleanliness of the hotel was less than satisfying. I contacted management about my concerns and they were more than happy to offer me a discounted rate, apologise for the previous inconvenience and go out of their way to ensure I would be happy should I return. I felt valued as a customer and appreciated their efforts.

I will most definitely be returning to this hotel and would/have already recommended it to family and friends.

Well done to all the staff here for your obvious hard work and thank you for making my...

We arrived at the airport and got picked up by HI complimentary shuttle from the Bus terminal behind Intercontinental hotel which was easy to find. It took 15mins to get to hotel. The hotel is located amongst many shops and outlets in a safe location, tucked away from the main road, entrance controlled by barriers. We felt safe at all times. The hotel has a little pool and a gym, restaurant where food was delicious and very hygienic and a lobby to relax. As we arrived early morning we were given our room straight away even though check in was supposed to be 2pm, the check in was very efficient and recognised us as Gold members and provided us with some extras including a bottle of red wine, a personal touch. As the hotel is in the landing path of the aeroplanes, yet we hardly heard the noise of them as rooms are properly noise proof. The rooms are basic but clean, has safe, cupboard, sofa and working desk with tea/coffee facilities. The bathroom has a bath tub and a standing shower with powerful shower and basic toiletries. The hotel staff was very polite and friendly at all times and acknowledged our presence everywhere by greeting us, offering us their assistance at all times, offering us complimentary coffee. The hotel shuttle runs on the hour and every half hour to the airport where also we took Gautrain to Sandton which is famous for its Nelson Mandela Square with huge Mall with all the good brands and eateries. It took 15mins on the train, safe and spotless, to Sandton at mall's doorstep and cost R284 for the return journey. We booked our tour to Lion park (entrance to the park cost R200 for game drive with guide inc interaction with the Cubs) and Sterkfontein caves (entrance to caves cost R165 with tour guide) at travel desk in hotel and was given a big comfortable van for 2 of us. The driver was friendly and drove with patience and waited for us at attraction without hurrying us and we felt safe driving places. Overall it was an excellent experience of Holiday Inn JNB airport and recommend it as an airport hotel and even for a short break in Johannesburg as it's very convenient for...