Hotels

Note: If you're in transit and only here to overnight, a number of good hotels are situated right near the airport.

Options reviewed are in areas where you'll be perfectly safe and a short distance from some of the city's best restaurants and shops. All can arrange or offer a shuttle service to and from the airport, 25km to 35km (16-22 miles) away -- about a 30- to 40-minute drive. Johannesburg is not a popular leisure destination, and larger hotels generally cater to businesspeople; the two most suited to the leisure market (though both with excellent business facilities) are reviewed.

If you're looking for a more intimate, boutique-style-hotel experience, with personalized service, Johannesburg now also has a fair sampling; the best (Fairlawns, Ten Bompas, and Peech Hotel) are reviewed. Also worth noting -- if you can afford the substantial price tag -- is the award-winning Saxon Hotel in Sandhurst (tel. 011/292-6000; www.saxon.co.za). Behind an imposing edifice (once the private home of one of South Africa's most successful insurance agents, and where Nelson Mandela wrote The Long Walk to Freedom after he split with wife Winnie), the fortresslike house rises from a huge pool floating amid vast green lawns. It's arguably the city's most exclusive hotel (certainly the most expensive) and has the finest spa in the city, but I find it all a little cold. Suites start at R5,000 ($705/£358).

On the other end of the spectrum is the small-town bohemian feel of Melville, with lively bars and restaurants within walking distance of most bed-and-breakfasts; here you'll get a real sense of outdoor nightlife (as opposed to the predominantly mall culture of the city). Options are not the most luxurious but have plenty of character.

Ring in the State of Bliss -- In a city where you need all the pampering you can get, many consider the Saxon Hotel & Spa (tel. 011/292-6000) the ultimate luxury urban hotel spa. The hotel's signature "Sound Therapy" treatment, a massage-based treatment in which sound vibration, using ancient "healing instruments" like cymbals and bells, is said to restore the body's natural energy. But if you want to get to know Jozi's body-conscious crowd a whole lot more intimately, sign up for a 90-minute session at Bikram Yoga Jozi in Illovo (Thrupps Shopping Centre, 204 Oxford Rd.); you'll be hanging out (or getting bent into shape) with a dedicated group of health junkies (www.bikramyoga.co.za; R80/$12/£5.75).

Northern Suburbs

Moderate -- Another excellent guesthouse, located in Rosebank's tree-lined residential quarter, is Clico Guest House, 27 Sturdee Ave., Rosebank (tel. 011/252-3300; fax 086/636-8770; www.clicoguesthouse.com; R1,281-R1,490/$177-$210/£91-£107 double). Clico opened in 2006 in a 60-year-old Cape Dutch-style mansion and offers comfortable accommodations, a pool set in a lovely garden, and all-round good style. It's a cozy place to come home to after a busy day of shopping in the nearby mall or weekend craft market.

Northwestern Suburbs

Inexpensive -- If you prefer a modern aesthetic, the most tranquil option in Melville (with a pool and views of Melville Nature Reserve) is Guesthouse 61 on 5th (61 5th Ave.; tel. 011/482-8278; www.portfoliocollection.com/go/Guesthouse61On5th). Laundry is included in the exceptionally good-value rate (from R800/$113/£58 double); airport and city transfers are arranged by your host Marius, and a night guard is on hand to escort you to Melville's nightlife precinct, just a few minutes' walk away. If you'd prefer to be immersed in the ongoing party that happens along 7th Street, The Space (tel. 083/414-0124; www.sa-venues.com/ga/thespace.htm) is a guesthouse with excellent self-catering facilities; reserve the enormous Executive Suite for around R900 ($127/£65) double; the only potential drawback is that you are very near the typically loud action. If you're looking for a warmer, more boho atmosphere, check out Saffron House. Located on 4th Avenue, it's an eclectic mix of rich colors, paintings, sculptures, mosaics, scatter cushions, and silk drapes; room no. 4 is recommended (tel. 011/726-6646; www.saffronguesthouse.co.za; from R900/$127/£65 double with breakfast).

In the Cradle of Humankind

You can avoid Jozi completely by heading directly from the airport to the Cradle of Humankind, where there are an increasing number of places to stay, some quite extraordinary, like the decadent and stylish Forum Homini (tel. 011/668-7000; www.forumhomini.co.za; R3,900/$549/£279 double), a lodge-style boutique hotel with 14 fabulous suites set in a 600-hectare (1,483-acre) private game farm. Architecturally, it bears a resemblance to something out of The Jetsons, with sleek, flat-roofed retro structures with packed stone walls and large glass doors that open directly onto the bush; they're gorgeous. Accommodations are large and lavish (with under-floor heating), featuring private outdoor courtyards and wonderful lounge areas with quirky designer furniture, stalactitic light fittings, flatscreen TVs, DVD players, fireplaces, and sunken tubs; from here you can watch waterbucks grazing outside your window. Bathrooms are another highlight, with massive his-'n'-her showers, and you can order spa treatments to your room. The main building, with plenty of comfortable indoor and outdoor lounging areas overlooking a small lake, is where decadent meals are served at Roots, one of the very best restaurants in Gauteng; self-styled "chef patron" Philippe Wagenfuhrer, combines his French culinary roots with African and Asian influences (it's worth overnighting here simply for the pleasure of enjoying the excellent "wine teaser," a six-course meal, coupled with a different vintage and varietal). Staff will arrange all kinds of activities in and around the Sterkfontein area; there are also various adventure experiences in nearby Magaliesberg, including hot-air ballooning. The main benefit here is that although you're not too far from the city, you really do feel as if you're far away from the rat race, with the option of a fairly tame bush walk (with 20 possible mammal species to see) adding to the value afforded by cleaner air and little traffic. The downside is that you'll be far away from the culture and nightlife of Jo'burg.

Near the Airport

Bear in mind that Johannesburg and Tshwane are only a 30- to 40-minute drive away. Still, if you have a tight transfer or need that extra half-hour of shut-eye, book into the Intercontinental Airport Sun (tel. 011/961-5400; www.southernsun.com; R2,950/$416/£211 double), which is within walking distance of both the domestic and international terminals. A cheaper (in every sense) alternative is the City Lodge Johannesburg International Airport (tel. 011/392-1750; www.citylodge.co.za; R750/$106/£54 double if booked online).

Business in Tshwane?

Accommodations in Tshwane are geared very much toward the diplomatic market. So if you're here on business, you'll find a number of options in the "Ambassadorial Belt" (Arcadia, Hatfield, Sunnyside, and the upmarket suburb of Brooklyn); all are, at most, a 10-minute drive from Tshwane's city center. Besides standard hotels (the best of which is the Sheraton; specify a room on the fourth or fifth floor with a view of the Union Buildings; look for specials on www.sheraton.com), there are comfortable apartments with hotel-type facilities (like the Courtyard at Arcadia, built around a turn-of-the-20th-century manor house; tel. 012/342-4940; www.citylodge.co.za; R920-R1,500/$127-$212/£66-£107), as well as numerous guesthouses (like the comfortable Birdwood; tel. 012/430-4905; www.birdwood.co.za; R840-R990/$119-$140/£60-£71 double, including breakfast). When it comes to dining, you'll find that most locals are committed carnivores -- hence the number of tiptop steakhouses. Of these, Pachas Restaurant & Cherry Room (tel. 012/460-5063; www.pachas.co.za), in Club Two Shopping Centre; the Famous Butcher's Grill (tel. 012/347-9970), in Waterkloof Ridge Lifestyle Centre; and The Grill Club (tel. 012/368-1460), in the Menlyn Park Shopping Centre, are all recommended. If you're keen to try traditional boerekos (literally "farmer's food," featuring Afrikaans and Malay influences, it is delicious, hearty fare, these days served with some unusual fusion twists), Die Werf Restaurant, 66 Olympus Rd., Olympus (tel. 012/991-1809; www.diewerf.co.za) is highly recommended. Ironically, unromantic Tshwane also has what many consider to be the best French restaurant in the country: La Madeleine is on every food critic's top picks list, and international credits include a mention in the Courvoisier Book of the Best (and it's more affordable than Auberge Michel, where you're also expected to dress up). The smallish menu changes regularly, with charming Belgian owner-chef Daniel Leusch personally presenting the dishes of the day in a seductively heavy French accent (tel. 012/361-3667). Alternatively, if you're in the mood for Italian, head to Ristorante Ritrovo, Waterkloof Heights Shopping Centre (tel. 012/460-4367). Run by father-and-son team Giovanni and Forti Mazzone, this is far and away the most authentically Italian joint in town.