InterContinental Johannesburg O.R.Tambo Airport by IHG — Hotel in Gauteng

The location, check-in process and the room were really lovely - I had a birthday welcome surprise in my room because this stay was all part of a trip celebrating my special day and I had indicated as such to the hotel when confirming the details of the booking. As I said, really liked the room - the quality, the layout, the evening turnover service, even though the view wasn’t great at all - just concrete, which made the view look like I could have been any other boring place. I stayed at many hotels on this trip and I wish this hotel had offered me the option of choosing (and paying for) a room with a better view, if they had any.

The main reason for the 6 rating comes from the extremely disappointing experience at the Quills restaurant. I would never eat there again for sure. First, as we ordered a variety of dishes, we asked our server about the serving size of an appetizer, the lamb croquette. He told me it was pretty small, so I ordered something more substantial for my main dish; it indicated in the menu that it came with roasted onions, so I asked if the onions could be excluded as I don’t eat them, which he noted. So we ordered the croquette and peri peri chicken livers for starters and our main dishes .when the starters arrived, the lamb croquette was massive. The server joked that he didn’t know what happened in the kitchen, but he’d never seen it that large before. I’m a foodie so I was delighted. I joked back that the kitchen must have thought I was special. Until we discovered the dish had been generously garnished with raw onions and there was no sign of anything resembling lamb meat. It tasted a whole lot of potato, nothing else and it was as bland as it could be. To make matters worse, the chicken livers were terrible. Something was definitely wrong with the dish. I cook pretty much all my food in my household and I know food and flavors really well. The livers had no salt and someone had just poured a container of cayenne pepper on it. It was revolting and trying to, as we might, because we respect the hard workers of the restaurant industry and try not to complain or be difficult, there was no way we could eat this dish. So when a restore came by to ask us how we liked our food, we were polite, but honest. We sent the livers back and my dining companion kindly offered to try finishing the lamb-less croquette, because they told me that I hadn’t requested there be no onions on it, even though I showed them that the menu didn’t indicate that it came with raw onion garnish, otherwise I would have made it clear I didn’t want it. So, terrible start to the meal. Shortly after, the chef himself appeared, along with another staff member, with a small dish of chicken livers, begging us to taste this version. I tasted it and it was completely different to what we’d originally been served; clearly, whatever ingredient was missing from the last dish had now been added. I immediately turned to the chef and asked him what he’d added to this one, because I cook a lot and this was light years different from the horrible dish we’d been served before. He shrugged and was reluctant to share what had changed. Eventually he said it was his kitchen staff not listening to and following his instructions. So we graciously accepted the recooked dish. The main meals were better, especially the ostrich, but overall didn’t quite make up for all we’d experienced before. There was no way we were going to order dessert after all that - we didn’t want any more unpleasant surprises and when the bill arrived, no attempts were made to adjust it to reflect how subpar our experience had been. I laid the bill, without any fuss and we made a quick exit. My stay came with free breakfast, that required a return to the same restaurant the following morning. It was a much smoother experience, however for a hotel that can cost upwards of $400 a night depending on when you visit, while the continental buffet options were ok, guests were told that they can only order one option from a limited hot food breakfast menu that came with the smallest of portions and were not generous at all.

I also used the gym that morning, which was small and manageable, impressively located, along with a very nice pool, on the top floor.

This stay left a lot to be desired and if I’m being honest, I will not be...

We had a wonderful experience at this hotel that’s located just a few steps across from the airport. Front desk staff was efficient and professional. Bell staff friendly and helpful. The room was gorgeous, quite large, spotless, and well stocked with everything you’d need for a comfortable stay. There is a very large flat screen tv, huge king bed (quite comfy, good pillows), sitting area with chairs and small table, coffee, tea and minibar cabinet, free sherry for a nightcap on lovely table in entryway, turn down service, free daily paper, huge marble bathroom with separate modern shower, tub, toilet room. Free bottled water but a sign encouraging tap water use because of the high standard of their public water system. Very nice toiletries just like offered in San Francisco IC. We ate 2 breakfasts and 2 dinners in the restaurant and all the experiences were very nice. The food is well presented, delicious and very fresh. We tried the crocodile tartar which tasted and had a mouth-feel of smoked trout. I had the buffet both breakfasts and all the food was very nice. The buffet itself is very pretty and attended to constantly so things stay clean and fresh. I tried a few new foods like the African jerky and I’m glad I did. There’s a nice variety of cheeses, yogurts, baked goods and cold salmon, too. There’s no hot food on the buffet so my husband ordered off the menu and his food was good, but I’d recommend the buffet over the menu. Coffee was good enough, French press. Overall, I’d say this IC beats the San Francisco ones for comfort, luxury, cleanliness, if a comparison helps. We were told it’s not close to anything safe to walk to but we hired a car and guide, so I can’t really vouch for that. We were happy with the hotel restaurant after a day of touring around Johannesburg. Checkout was easy. We used points to pay for our stay, be sure to let the restaurant know you don’t have free breakfast if you do this. There was some confusion when we got our breakfast bill...

I was pleasantly surprised at the excellence of my recent 2 night stay at the Intercon OR Tambo, Johannesburg.

Not being a great fan of airport hotels, I had booked only a one night stay due to convenience of the location - I was flying early to Botswana the following day and had the intention to stay in town on my return to JNB in the evening. However, on check-in I was so pleasantly surprised at the design and comfort of the room and the attention to detail that I extended for the extra night.

As a Platinum Royal Ambassador I was given an upgrade and my room was spacious, airy, comfortable and had almost every amenity that I would expect. On top of that the staff were exceptionally friendly and helpful, from the welcome at check in, the excellent check-out experience with Sharon and the gentleman (Michael?) who walked me across to the Emirates check in counter with my baggage to the extremely helpful duty manager, Stephan, who assisted me with great patience and perseverance in the middle of the night to reconnect me to the internet (small technical issue).

The only things missing were a club lounge and toothbrush, shaving kit and cotton buds in the room but on the upside, I did like the nice touch of a decanter of "Port" wine in the hallway of the room.

My breakfast was delayed rather badly on the first morning due apparently to the pot being knocked over, however the chef himself came to apologize several times and although I didn't have time to eat the food when it finally arrived, I left feeling that at least the situation had been tackled well by the staff and if I had the time to eat it, it would have been fresh!

All in all a great experience and walking across the road to my airline check-in after being allowed a late check out was a wonderful experience. No waiting for the chauffeur, no traffic, just a 3 minute stroll!!

Thanks and well done OR...