If you’ve never visited the Protea Hotel Balalaika Sandton, imagine a city hotel oozing class and elegance, but with a welcoming country and homely feel about it, all in the heart of Johannesburg’s premier business district and offering all that the business traveller might need.
The Protea Hotel Balalaika Sandton has been fulfilling the needs of its guests for 64 years.
The hotel was established in 1949 as a tea garden and quaint country house, in the days when Sandton was not the hustle and bustle centre it is today, but rather a ‘countryside’ area located on the outskirts of Johannesburg. The hotel has a rich history and has witnessed its surroundings grow up around it, as Sandton emerged as Johannesburg South Africa’s premier business district.
Almost every Balalaika guest has a story to tell, and the hotel is filled with memories, a rich cultural history, and a secure and stable legacy.
The Protea Hotel Balalaika Sandton has managed to retain that ‘home away from home’ feel, despite now finding itself in the financial epicenter and commercial hub of Sandton, in Maude Street, long regarded as the ‘Wall Street of Africa’. Big banking entities such as Investec and Nedbank have large presences in Sandton. The hotel’s location is ideal for business travellers looking to move quickly in and around Sandton and its surrounding areas, with the local Gautrain station – which links Sandton with O.R. Tambo International Airport and Pretoria – just a five-minute walk away. The hotel also offers a complimentary shuttle service to the Sandton Gautrain station throughout the day.
But it’s inside the Balalaika’s environs where guests will truly appreciate what the hotel has to offer, and why it is such an established and popular fixture on the Sandton hotel scene.
The hotel has 330 bedrooms spread over two sections – the Balalaika and the Crown Court – with each room air-conditioned and tastefully furnished in a classic, comfortable style with its own en-suite bathroom featuring a separate shower. Both sections of the hotel have inviting pools set in lush, landscaped gardens with raised rose bushes and abundant bird life.
Guests can enjoy the atmosphere of a traditional English pub – The Lords Bar – where patrons can grab a drink, order tasty pub fare food, or savour a variety of imported cigars from across the world.
Connectivity is a key element of all business travel, and the Balalaika is well-equipped, with complimentary Wi-Fi available throughout the hotel as well as in the neighbouring Bull Run restaurant. The Bull Run is a premier dining establishment, famed for its prime cuts of exquisite South African beef – stored and served via its own in-house butchery – and an extensive selection of the finest South African Cape wines.
The Balalaika is also a popular conference and function venue, and the hotel’s conferencing offering was beefed up in 2013 with the upgrading of the conference venues. It now offers a range of options, covering events right through from small intimate gatherings to larger events for up to 300 people.
The Protea Hotel Balalaika Sandton – a business traveller’s Sandton refuge.
Contact
Address: 20 Maude Street, Sandton
Tel: 011 322 5000
Email: reservations@balalaika.co.za
Web: www.proteahotels.com
*This article is an advertorial – paid for by client