3/5 Vernon N. 1 year ago on Google
Note:
this
review
has
nothing
to
do
with
the
facilities
(conferencing,
etc.),
More,
my
experience
of
the
food
and
a
few
other
little
things
that
might
matter
to
some.
Uber
fancy,
but
in
the
final
reckoning,
a
big
disappointment
for
this
reviewer
😒.
Walking
into
the
Radisson
Blu
Gautrain
Hotel,
one
is
immediately
impressed
by
the
tasteful
decor,
easy
(yet
professional)
atmosphere
and
truly
amazing
staff
(I
was
cordially
greeted
and
welcomed
by
the
maitre
de,
to
the
cleaning
staff).
The
room
was
pretty
pedestrian.
Don't
get
me
wrong,
it
was
of
a
good
size,
well
appointed
with
a
work
area,
a
bar
fridge
and
all
the
other
amenities,
but
there
was
(in
my
opinion)
something
lacking...
I
know
that
the
room
was
not
an
executive
suite
-
just
a
standard
room,
but
it
felt
like
I
was
walking
into
a
room
at
the
Park
Inn
(one
of
the
Radisson's
other
hotels,
which
I
had
stayed
in
before).
I
had
expected
to
be
blown
away
by
my
room,
considering
the
price
paid,
but
I
was
left
feeling
a
little
underwhelmed.
"Maybe
the
view
would
make
up
for
it"
I
thought
to
myself,
but
all
I
saw
was
a
dark
office
block
across
the
road
and
a
minimal
view
of
Sandon's
lights.
"Oh
well,"
I
shrugged,
"I
guess
that
they
could
not
dictate
the
view
that
they
got,
considering
the
boom
in
construction
in
Sandton.
It
was
late
and
I
was
tired,
so
I
ordered
some
food.
Thank
goodness
for
room
service.
The
prices
of
the
meals
raised
eyebrows,
but
I
thought
"Hey,
this
is
Radisson
Blu,
the
food
must
be
excellent,
so
it
should
be
worth
it."
I
was
not
so
thankful
almost
an
hour
later
with
no
sign
of
dinner.
Both
my
wife
and
tummy
were
getting
a
little
short
tempered
at
the
long
wait.
A
call
to
the
room
service
desk
just
got
us
a
"It's
being
prepared
and
will
be
there
soon"
with
no
indication
of
when
"soon"
would
be.
When
the
food
arrived,
the
cloche
was
removed
with
a
flourish
and
our
food
revealed,
and
it
looked
good!
After
quickly
paying
for
the
T-Bone,
Grilled
Chicken,
and
beer
(330ml
-
the
size
will
soon
become
apparent),
we
tucked
in
hungrily.
What
followed
was
a
miserable
meal
that
I
would
have
expected
at
a
struggling
roadhouse.
My
wife's
chicken
was
as
dry
as
a
bone,
and
she
was
reduced
to
emptying
the
tiny
little
bottle
of
mayonnaise
that
was
provided,
to
hydrate
her
chicken.
While
she
was
busy
trying
to
revive
her
mummified
chicken,
I
was
resolutely
sawing
through
the
slightly
wet
biltong
that
was
masquerading
as
my
medium
rare
T-Bone
steak.
I
looked
up
at
my
wife,
wondering
if
the
water
shortages
in
KZN
had
suddenly
afflicted
the
hotel's
kitchen.
It
wasn't
all
bad
though.
The
spinach
accompanying
my
"biltong"
was
fairly
decent,
but
the
squash
had
a
slightly
sour
taste
-
one
that
I'd
never
tasted
before
(new
recipe?),
and
my
wife's
chicken
skin
was
well
seasoned.
However,
the
rest
of
it
was
tasteless
and
left
us
wondering
if
it
had
marched
across
the
Kalahari.
At
least
the
beer
was
good
(not
as
cold
as
I
would've
liked)
but
enjoyable.
That
was
until
I
saw
the
price
of
it
on
my
receipt.
I
will
not
divulge
the
cost
thereof
-
let's
just
say
that
the
the
hotel
had
made
a
R21,00
profit
on
it...
Our
night's
sleep
was
fitful,
which
saw
us
waking
up
continuously,
trying
to
fluff
up
the
pancake-like
pillows.
Maybe
some
people
like
that
kind
of
pillows,
but
if
you
don't,
I'd
suggest
you
asking
for
some
other
pillows
before
you
turn
in
for
the
night.
So,
in
the
final
analysis,
I
was
left
wondering
about
the
qualifications
of
the
hotel
chef
(should
Gordon
Ramsey
for
am
intervention?),
the
hotel's
pillow
suppliers
and
the
people
that
set
the
prices
(I'm
not
sure
what
they're
called
-
gougers?).
A
330ml
bottle
of
beer
which
I
could
have
bought
almost
2
quarts
()
for
the
same
price
