One night in Johannesburg
Written: May 04 '09 (Updated May 04 '09)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Airport shuttle, good breakfast, peaceful rural location
Cons: Could do with updating and strange having the shower in the living area.
The Bottom Line: If you are looking for a good budget deal near the airport, check it out.
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| hollynz's Full Review: The Airport Game Lodge, Johannesburg, South Africa |
OUR REQUIREMENTS
We were wanting somewhere peaceful and quiet to lay our heads in Johannesburg while in transit to Cape Town. Preferably somewhere offering complimentary airport shuttle and complimentary breakfast. After surfing the net for days we settled on the Airport Game Lodge.
BOOKING
As with a lot of South African establishments, booking was done via email. I found the motel on various websites (sa-venues.com)(booking .com) including others and booked via theses sites ( can't quite recall which one specifically) I got an email directly from the Airport Game Lodge and they were wanting our flight information and credit card number. They did not take a deposit on the card and said that payment on arrival would be fine.They sent an email explaining everything we may need to know including a contact number to ring on arrival to arrange pick up.
ARRIVAL
After a 20 hour long haul trip to South Africa from New Zealand I was about ready to drop when we arrived in Johannesburg. We touched down around 4pm and made our way through immigration and baggage claim. Once we had our bags in tow we rang the Airport Game Lodge and they said the shuttle van would be there in about 10 minutes. We were given directions of where to go and once outside, it was easy to see the Shuttle Pick-Up area.
After what seemed a bit longer than 10 minutes, the van turned up and we were off, heading at a brisk speed along the highway, there seemed to be a lot of pedestrian traffic walking along the verge of the motorways while the traffic whizzed along at 120 kph, a bit unnerving to see for this newbie but after our 2 weeks in SA, we were well used to this sight.
The Lodge is about 10 k from the airport and before we knew it we were bumping along a little dirt track and there were a couple of dogs wagging there tails as we pulled up in the carport. Hubby headed into the office to sign in while I bonded with the dogs.
Looking around I was quite taken with the setting, it was a very peaceful rural scene with a big lawn and garden area, a pool and a covered outdoor viewing area overlooking the paddocks with springbok and ostriches grazing the long grass.
We made our way to our room and the first thing I did was to make a cup of tea and wander over to look at the animals. It was really quiet and peaceful as I think we were the only guests at the time. The sky was very gray and threatening and after my cup of tea, tiredness kicked in and we pulled the curtains and fell asleep.
We were woken a couple of times by people arriving and heading to their rooms and as we were right on the flight path, the occasional roar of airliners overhead but overall we had a great nights sleep.
THE ROOM
Our room was large and comfortable but a bit dated and very short on luxuries. The bed was probably more double size than queen and the initial impression of the mattress was that it was quite hard but we found it surprisingly comfortable to sleep on.
The bed covers could do with updating as could the tread bare looking bath towels. Oh, that reminds me, we had to go down to the lounge ( that's a rather loose term for it) to get our towels.
The very weirdest thing of all was the fact the shower cubicle was in the main bedroom area, very, very strange. There was a separate bathroom area but it was only large enough for the toilet and handbasin.
It would be very easy to make a few renovations to make the bathroom large enough to accommodate a shower because the rooms really were quite spacious.
There was a small table with the TV and telephone and room to sit and write postcards or whatever. The electric kettle and tea/coffee making facilities were on a small table by the bed.
There is a communal kitchen lounge area which was a bit like a Backpackers, there was prepackaged frozen meals for sale and a microwave provided to heat and eat. We were so tired when we arrived we just had a cuppa and snacked on whatever food was left from our snack pack we were given on our flights. A nibble of chocolate, some pretzels and cookies seemed to keep us going till the morning.
BREAKFAST
We wandered to the breakfast room around 8am. There were about 5 ladies working in the kitchen providing a constant stream of hot food to refill the containers of bacon, sausages, tomatoes, eggs and mushrooms. Toast, fruit juices, cereals and tea and coffee were also included.
It was self service so we just helped ourselves to what we wanted and could go back for 2nds if wanted. We had a very hearty breakfast and wandered back to our room to repack our bags. I made a coffee and wandered over to check out the animals, they had just been fed so they were all close to the fence munching on their food. As it turned out these were the only Springbok we saw so I was quite glad of the opportunity to see them up close like this.
When we were ready we headed back to the office, hubby paid the bill and we loaded back into the van for the return trip to the airport.
ALL IN ALL
This establishment suited us down to the ground for our requirements but if you were planning on spending a bit of time in Johannesburg, you may prefer to be closer to the city itself. You would definately require a car to get around.
The quality of the rooms was definately budget so bear that in mind, well suited for backpackers, people with young families and budget minded people.
I thoroughly enjoyed the serenity of the rural setting and would stay again under the same circumstances.
At 650 rand for a standard double (approx $75 usd) it was possibly a bit overpriced for the rooms offered but with the free shuttle and full english breakfast added, it became a very good deal.
CONTACT
Airport Game Lodge,
21 Fourth Road, Bredell,
Kempton Park, Johannesburg,
South Africa
Tel: +27 (0)11 396-2969
Fax: +27 (0)11 396-2968
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
hollynz
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Member: Christine
Location: New Zealand
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