💡
tl;dr—The Residence Johannesburg is a wonderful boutique hotel option if you’re traveling to Jozi. While not a points hotel, it is an upscale option that offers luxurious rooms, delicious food, convenient amenities, and friendly service.
On a recent trip to Africa, I sandwiched trips to Cape Town and Kruger between two stays in Johannesburg, the first of which I spent at The Residence Johannesburg. The Residence is a 21-room boutique hotel from an upstart hotel group with two properties in its portfolio. The other is Mukwa River Lodge, located along the Zambezi River in Zambia. There are few luxury hotel options in Johannesburg, so I was grateful to come across The Residence. I thoroughly enjoyed my stay. Let’s jump into the review.
Booking The Residence
I came across The Residence when searching for options on the Chase Travel Portal. I write more about this here, but bank portals can often deliver boutique diamond-in-the-rough gems in cities lacking great luxury and points hotels. Such was the case with The Residence. Both Mrs. Blackbeard and I are Chase Sapphire Preferred cardholders, and it just so happened that we had yet to use our annual $50 hotel credit card benefits. Accordingly, we split the two-night stay into separate one-night reservations. The presidential suite was available for the first night, so we grabbed that and booked a luxury villa room for the second night. Including the credits, the total per night cost was $400.30.
Location and Getting In
The Residence is in Houghton, an upscale neighborhood in South Africa famed for its grand compound-style residences. After arriving from our overnight flight from Sao Paul, we promptly got a car and made our way to Houghton. It’s just over a 20-minute drive from O.R. Tambo International Airport (JNB). The neighborhood is notably home to South Africa’s former leader Nelson Mandela’s Houghton Estate. With easy access to the freeway, the hotel is conveniently just twelve-minutes away (by car) from must see attractions like the Apartheid Museum. Enclosed within a large walled compound is a refurbished stately home that looks all the part – starting with its enormous car park.
Inside the compound – Source: You Are Travel
The front desk is located in what used to be a living room. Check-in was painless. After some discussion with the staff, we opted to stay in the presidential suite for both nights to remove any friction in moving around. Since we arrived a bit early, the room was still being prepared, and we were invited to enjoy breakfast in the dining room.
The Room
As the villa room boasted a private pool, I was hesitant to swap out the night we had booked there, but given that it wasn’t pool weather in July in Johannesburg, coupled with how stellar the presidential suite was – staying put was a good decision. The presidential suite is located on the third floor of the hotel, up a narrow staircase. At the top of the stairs, you’re greeted by a few citrus trees that grow outside the suite door.
Outdoor the presidential suite – Source: You Are Travel
On the other side of the door, a stunning patio looks out into the Houghton neighborhood.
Views from the presidential suite – Source: You Are Travel
There’s a small dining table – we ended up eating two in-room dinners – next to a cozy seating area. Passing a hanging rattan chair, you’ll find a hot tub perfect for the chillier evenings.
Presidential suite outdoor living area – Source: You Are Travel and theresidence.co.za
The room itself wasn’t huge, but it did feature a very comfortable bed and a bathroom with a soaking tub, and Cape Island bath products. There was free gift of sherry which was refreshed nightly.
Bedroom and bathroom – Source: You Are Travel
On the other side of the bedroom was another outdoor area with an outdoor shower and yet another jetted tub, ensuring that you would be squeaky clean for your hotel stay.
The penthouse suite’s draw is its outdoor spaces. There is plenty of space to lounge comfortably and relax while reading a book or simply resting while watching the sunset.
Great place to post up – Source: You Are Travel
Grounds and Amenities
The decor around the hotel is, for lack of a better word, heirloom-y. In many ways, and judging by the hotel’s name, this shouldn’t surprise; each room feels like a themed trophy case depicting one chapter of an old wanderer’s travels—with sprinkles of modern furnishings. It works, though.
Decor around the hotel – Source: You Are Travel
As far as things to do around the compound – there’s a pool and a fitness center. The hotel advertises three pools, one of which is the main one, which is heated, though when we tested it out, it felt very cold. Additionally, I’m almost sure there is only one pool in operation (not counting the private pool in the villa suite), as one other water structure seemed to be a fountain (and it didn’t look like one could enter it), and a third looked to be a pond, or halfway to an aquarium.
The pool – Source: You Are Travel and theresidence.co.za
A fire pit to sit around for a night cap.
The fitness center is small and modest, but it has enough to give you a solid workout. There are free weights, a water rower, a stationary bike and treadmill, and space for bodyweight exercises or calisthenics.
Fitness center Source: You Are Travel
Additionally, I believe there once was a tennis court (and there might still be one) on site though I did not come across it. Here’s a photo of what it might look like though.
Photos of the tennis court that may or may not still exists – Source: Google
To enhance your relaxation, you could also treat yourself to a service at the spa. I didn’t get a service, so I can’t speak to the quality, but if you’re after a massage, you don’t need to find a spa offsite to get one.
Although we didn’t partake, there is a Rolls Royce house car you can book for transportation to and from the airport or hire for sightseeing around town.
Dining
The food at the Residence is fantastic and a highlight of the stay. The on-site restaurant, The Dining Room, serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. A piano bar with live music is also adjacent to the dining room. We ate breakfast twice and ordered room service for dinner twice as well. As mentioned before, breakfast was included in our rate and was valuable. There were several cooked-to-order items to choose from and a small but robust buffet as well.
Dinner menu and breakfast buffet – Source: You Are Travel, Google and theresidence.co.za
The Truffle Scrambled eggs, Vegetable Fields, and Turkish Eggs were all quite delicious.
An array of breakfast items – Source: You Are Travel
The presidential suite naturally lends itself to romantic dinners, so we opted for in-room dining on both nights.
Service
I found the team to be very friendly, helpful, and efficient. We only had a few interactions with the staff over our two nights – almost all interactions came through dining – breakfast and dinner – and service was top-notch.
Conclusion
Overall, our stay at The Residence was relaxing and pleasant. The hotel was at low occupancy, with five to six other parties present throughout our two nights around the grounds. I’m unsure how the experience would be at busier times, given that it’s not a huge property. That said, with spacious, comfortable rooms to retreat to, friendly service, and tasty food, with enough amenities to get you by, you could certainly do a lot worse. I’d definitely stay at the The Residence again the next time I’m in Johannesburg.
