Saxon Hotel, Villas & Spa

Rooms are all spacious and well fitted, although the light controls and especially TV controls take a bit getting used to. Service was OK, staff at restaurant sometimes seemed a bit frazzled by simple requests. For example ordering two of the same drink at the same time but having them delivered 10-15 minutes apart. That being said food was pretty good once it arrived. Internet went out during our stay and it was impossible to reach front desk at times. Not sure how this happens but not answering phones for in house guests is unacceptable. A lot of constriction also going on, indoor restaurant non existent and one of the pools closed. Food is served in what seems like a temporary space. Not sure I'd recommend this hotel unless you must be in Johannesburg and specifically in that area.

I have stayed at the Saxon before and had some good memories, unfortunately this time I was a bit disappointed. The property is really nice, very private in a big garden, very quiet and relaxing. The Roma’s are really nice, big and have all necessary amenities. They are a bit dated but still nice. The service in the restaurants is unfortunately not up to the level of a leading hotel. We had lunch in the main restaurant and then dinner in the fine dining restaurant. The service at lunch was extremely slow and very inattentive. I had to ask several times to get served. I also realized that the staff were more attentive to the local guests - this was very irritating. The service in the fine dining restaurant was better although not perfect. At breakfast again I experienced a very bad service. We were very early, the restaurant was almost empty. But it took the staff more than half an hour to bring me cereals. In total I spent more than one hour for a simple breakfast. I had to rush afterwards as I had to catch a flight. Lastnot least there was absolutely no service at the pool. Nobody ever asked if we were good, the staff preferred to speak among them…. Not really professional. The food is ok, but not on the expected level. Some dishes were good, some not. For example the beef for lunch was not tender and very greasy, definitely not the level I am used to. The fine dining experience was ok. But also not really fine dining for me. Also here room for improvement. It is a pity, the hotel has potential but needs service to be improved significantly in order to be on leading level. I hope they will work on these issues because it could be a really nice place.