Set in the top three floors of the former headquarters building of Barclay’s bank, this huge (2,600sqft), newly renovated penthouse, with a private decked roof-terrace, outdoor Jacuzzi and access to a rooftop swimming pool, is in the heart of Jo’burg’s trendy CBD.
The apartment is minutes away from the Gautrain station, giving direct access to Rosebank, Sandton, Pretoria and the airport. The CBD is a major hub for Uber (www.uber.com), making this is the perfect spot from which to explore all that Johannesburg has to offer.
My apartment is available for rental or points bookings.
It's spread over the 9th, 10th and 11th floor of the heritage (listed), former Barclays Bank HQ, building on the oldest street in Johannesburg.
It's about 30 minutes from Johannesburg airport, where most international visitors land before taking another flight to South Africa's coastal cities or other countries in Southern Africa.
The layout of the apartment was designed so that the communal living spaces would all benefited from outdoor space on the rooftop (our garden) and the amazing city views.
On the entrance floor of the apartment there is a Master bedroom suite which incorporates a large en-suite bathroom, walk-in-wardrobe and extra length queen sized bed; a second bedroom which also has an extra length queen bed, cupboard and a desk; a third bedroom with two extra length single beds; and another bathroom.
The middle floor of the apartment has an open plan living area (with a woodburning stove), dining area (with a six-seater dining table) and kitchen, with a wrap around balcony that gives some of the best views of Johannesburg’s historic old city centre, available.
An iron spiral staircase leads up from the living area, to the top floor deck room, with access to the roof deck which has ample seating around a fire pit, plus a built in bbq and Jacuzzi.
The apartment also has a Sonos wifi sound system in the lounge and Master bedroom, so if you have downloaded the Sonos app (www.sonos.com) you can play music from your phone, PC or tablet wirelessly, in any of those rooms.
The CBD, it's the oldest part of Johannesburg with a 9 or 10 block area that was originally modeled on neoclassical city centers. Thus it has a very old New York/City of London feel. It's thriving during the week and very quiet at the weekends. It has become the 'new trendy' part of Johannesburg. Whilst the cafes and art galleries have always been around, the growth of the weekend farmers/flea markets, in the surrounding suburbs, over the past five years, makes it a great base for weekend excursions. Neighbourgoods market (Braamfontein), Arts on Main (Maboneng) and The Sheds@1fox (Fox street) are all 5-10 minutes away.
2015 is the year that Johannesburg finally emerged from the shadows of its prettier, but less hip and friendly, sister city of Cape Town.
It ranks as #1 in The Rough Guides (www.roughguide.com) 2015 List of the Top Ten Cities, #37 on Travel and Leisure's (www.travelandleisure.com) list of the Best Places to Travel in 2015, is listed on BBC (www.bbc.com) Travel List of the Hottest Cities, as well as in The Times (www.thetimes.co.uk) as "The latest hip city break"
Uber works extreamly well and is very affordable, in Johannesburg. Thus pretty much all that Johannesburg has to offer is within 30 minutes, either by car or the Gautrain.
But if you really want to see Johannesburg, I’d recommend a day pass on the hop-on hop off Citysightseeing (www.http:/www.citysightseeing.co.za) tour bus, that has a stop 3 minutes from the front door. Tripadvisor also has one of the best ‘3-days in Johannesburg’ Travel Guides that I’ve seen (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Guide-g312578-k379-Johannesburg_Greater_Johannesburg_Gauteng.html ), that pretty much hits the spot re things to do, with all the recommended places to visit on day one, being less than 1.5km from the apartment.
