The Palazzo Montecasino

The decision to land in Cape Town and rest for a day before continuing our journey to Johannesburg turned out to be a very good decision indeed. Hubby had arranged for the Hotel in Johannesburg to send a driver/shuttle to collect us from the airport, he had also given strict instructions for a baby seat.

The Palazzo Montecasino does not have it's own drivers but outsources for airport shuttle services. Unfortunately there was a misunderstanding so the driver arrived with no baby seat. I have lived in South Africa long enough to understand the complications and the length of time that it can take to sort out these kind of issues so I decided to just go with it and get to the hotel.

As I stood on the pavement I watched our driver double park besides a white Mercedes Benz. As the driver of the Mercedes tried to reverse he nudged our double parked vehicle, our driver lost his temper and kicked the Mercedes. Fortunately the Merc driver had the sense to realize that he was outsized by 'Goliath' our driver (fictitious name - in case you didn't get that) - so he just got back in his car.

Then it really got interesting. 'Goliath' aka Michael Schumacher in disguise - hit speeds that I have never experienced before in my life! I held on to my little English rose for dear life and closed my eyes silently praying The Hail Mary - actually I didn't even know that I was Roman Catholic until that very moment.

When 'Goliath's' mobile rang and he proceeded to sms somebody (with one hand on the wheel) whilst we were doing a speed of what felt like 160 km/hour - I nearly lost my mind. I don't actually know how fast we were driving because there was no speedometer to be seen but we were overtaking every single vehicle on a four lane highway. It was at this point that hubby leaned over and gently put his hand on 'Goliath's' should and said: "Do you think you can slow down. You see my wife is from Norway and in Norway they drive very slowly. My wife is very Norwegian so you must drive slowly for her". I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

The Palazzo is a grand hotel in every sense of the word. Unfortunately I was so stressed after the drive from the airport that it completely destroyed my first impression of the Hotel. We were asked to pay the generous sum of R450 for the privilege of our nightmare shuttle experience. Talk about adding insult to injury.

It was at this point that I decided that I needed a stiff drink if I was to get over this experience and enjoy the rest of our time in Johannesburg.

The staff were welcoming and pleasant and thanks to Naomi we discovered that there had been two drivers waiting for us at the airport. One with a baby seat and the wrong surname on his board - the other with no babyseat and the right surname on his board. Don't ask - I don't work there.

I found the room sizes to be smaller than expected although they are beautifully decorated and luxurious. The larger suites are really stunning and spacious but don't come cheap. It is a big hotel so there are various different room types to choose from.

The restaurant overlooks the most beautiful gardens and pool area (this they really did get right) and the breakfast they offer is fresh and tasty. Unfortunately I can not say the same about the food they serve for room service. Since hubby was speaking in the evenings I decided to stay in and have a relaxing evening with baby. The roast chicken could have been tasteless had it not been drowning in thick sweet dark gravy. The vegetables were so soaked in gravy I don't know what they tasted like. The club sandwich was dry and unimpressive. On the second night I had the seared salmon which was actually quite nice. A bit too much sauce on the plate but the salmon itself was fresh and done to perfection. In general I found the presentation of the food to be lacking for such an upmarket hotel.

What the Palazzo really does have to it's advantage is it's location, it's right next to the bird park and Montecasino. The birdpark is really quite awesome! Baby and I spent the whole morning at the bird park and we had lunch there. We got back to the hotel at 1.30pm and baby was so exhausted that she slept for three hours! Excellent entertainment for children and adults.

Montecasino offers a variety of restaurants, a few clothing shops and a theater. It's an interesting place although I'm not into the loud buzzing noise of casinos. The architecture is very interesting and very unique.

Hubby was speaking for both the evenings so baby and I spent most of the time entertaining ourselves. We had fun and I enjoyed the experience but I wasn't blown away. I found the Palazzo Hotel to be overpriced and over rated.

Fortunately we had a different driver for the return to the airport. This driver had a baby seat, a nice vehicle and never once drove faster than km 120. He charged us R600 - I think it might have been extra because he was wearing a suit. It was a pleasant drive.

Hubby and I both breathed a sigh of relief as we got on the plane to fly back to Cape Town........