Southern Sun Sandton — Hotel in Gauteng

Dear Management of Southern Sun Sandton,

I hope this message finds you well. I recently had the opportunity to stay at your esteemed establishment and wanted to share my thoughts and experiences during my stay.

From the moment I checked into my room, I encountered several issues that left me quite disheartened. The shower in the first room I was assigned did not work, which was quite inconvenient. However, I must commend your prompt response and efficiency in relocating me to another room through room service.

While the relocation was appreciated, I must express my disappointment with the overall condition of the bathrooms. They appear worn-out and in dire need of rejuvenation. It is disheartening to see such an esteemed establishment not living up to its full potential in terms of maintaining the facilities.

My concerns did not stop at the state of the rooms alone; I also found a lack of professionalism among the restaurant staff. During breakfast, I witnessed a staff member leaning over our table to take a spoon and transfer it to another table. This act, though seemingly small, left a lasting impression on me. Additionally, while my wife and I were enjoying our meal, our table was cleared without any consideration for our presence. It is essential for staff to be trained in proper etiquette and manners, especially when serving guests.

One incident that particularly stood out was our request for a cup of coffee. The waitstaff attended to other tables before finally attending to our order, leaving us feeling neglected and undervalued as guests. The delay in service left me questioning the level of importance placed on guest satisfaction at Southern Sun Sandton.

As a frequent patron of Southern Sun hotels, I must admit that this experience was by far the most disappointing. It is disheartening to witness the decline in standards, especially considering the reputation that your establishment upholds.

I write this review not to ensue negativity or to criticize but rather to bring to your attention the areas that require improvement. I strongly believe that with appropriate attention to detail, training, and investment, your establishment has the potential to regain its former glory and provide an exceptional experience to your guests once again.

I sincerely hope that my feedback is received in the spirit it is intended: as constructive criticism meant to assist in the betterment of your establishment. I trust that you will give careful consideration to my comments and take the necessary steps to resolve the issues mentioned.

Thank you for taking the time to read this review. I look forward to seeing the Southern Sun Sandton regain its position as a premier destination for luxury and hospitality.

Yours...

I’m currently checked in at this forsaken hotel and I must say in all my years of business travelling, I’ve never experienced such as horrible experience in the manner in which there is no respect for guest whatsoever.

The first daybreak of the Saturday as my weekend off, I woke up knocking above my room on the 9th floor which was not even communicated to guests beforehand and asked that the noise stop. Had to beg them over an hour to have the matter attended to. Eventually I asked to be moved to a different floor way below the 9th floor. I was then moved to the 4th floor.

The very following day on Sunday, the noise started again which I’m told now that it’s construction work taking place above the 4th floor. I called again and I was told that these guys werent suppose to be working on the Sunday. It shows the lack of coordination when the construction timetable by now clearly is a sensitive issue. As it seems they are used to guests complaining. On Monday the knocking above my room started as I returned from my meetings.

When I raised the issue with this hotel they suggest to move me to another room again. Imagine having to check in for the third time into a different room, packing and unpacking, which I told management the first time that they will have to call housekeeping to pack my things. This is something I noticed that they don’t mind to subject guest to move each day to a different room.

They claim the knocking constant sounds and noises shouldn’t be that loud but at that they are used to many guest complaining which is something that try to manage as they claim, hence the moving of guests is their daily routine. I was flabbergasted by the attitude that they don’t see the need to clear the floor below when construction work is taking place above.

Profits before common sense and service to guest, is their motto I guess.

They have the audacity to take offense with your tone and the way you express yourself when they clearly are remarkable in pushing people to this level of confrontation of calling them each day to address the knocking above which is something I didn’t plan in my travel to be spending my time calling the hotel each day.

As it would seem construction will be taking place throughout for a very long time so be warned when u are checking in at this hotel , you will be confronted with this.

This is such a horrific experience. I don’t advise anyone booking here.

Service is just below average but you can see that the staff is friendly and they require more training. Food is just standard, I’m not a person to take on such reviews but this has been the worst and I can tell other guests are also not...

UPDATED: I have dropped a star of my rating due to last night's building site noise issue. I slept on the floor in the bathroom because of the noise. My advice to those needing a sound night's sleep, look elsewhere. Here'with an extract from my email to the Guest Relations Manager, who tried to move me to a different room tonight (and I thank her for trying) ...

Hi, thanks but as discussed I prefer not to add to the environmental impact of extra laundry and extra cleaning. Thanks for making the room available, if I am forced to take noise-pollution shelter in the bathroom again, I will phone down for extra pillows.

I do however urge your hotel to stress to the building site contractors next door the legalities and the fact that they took a chance last night with their cement-mixing story, until well into the morning hours. They are breaking laws or bi-laws or whatever; also that a guest (me) has threatened to call the police (not that the police care, but I tried). I tried to report them last night, police station and emergency number, but the call queue was long. I took it on good faith on my 9 pm call downstairs that the noise would stop at 11 pm. I was lied to, be it directly or indirectly, and I do not appreciate that.

As mentioned, I am taking Holiday Inn Sandton off my list of possible Sandton Hotels for the foreseeable future as I do not appreciate the way last night's noise incident was handled. I also intend to report as such in my on-line review. Holiday Inn Sandton needs to feel the impact of their decisions and the only way I can do this is to let folks know via on-line review.

REVIEW FROM PREVIOUS STAY: Comfortable room and facilities, friendly staff, they were happy to place me on the quieter side of the building; as a result, I had a good night's rest. Star lost because of some staffing issues in the dinner restaurant, cold breakfast plates and confusion in the breakfast queue. Holiday Inn continues with a Sandton hotel breakfast theme of not making eye contact at the fry counter, not taking orders fast enough and making diners stand around too long waiting for breakfast service while plates of bacon, mushrooms and sausage gets cold. They could also pay more attention to getting coffee to...