207 Raphael Penthouse

The apartment is spacious and well maintained, though it feels old fashioned. Staff are kind, and the daily service is impeccable. They replenish four water bottles each day. The mall is super close, but there’s no restaurant in the building, so you have to go there to eat. There are several things that made the stay difficult. Wi-Fi is slow, videos often freeze, and the connection drops while working because it keeps switching back to the password screen. The room phone also rings briefly about once an hour for no clear reason. And when someone smokes on a nearby balcony, the smell drifts into the room straight away. The bathwater looks yellowish, possibly from rust, and the plumbing fixtures feel dated. The wall mounted hair dryer is in the middle of the bedroom, so you can’t use it in the bathroom. The gym is small and dated, though I rarely saw anyone there. Getting to breakfast is a trek: walk five minutes through Nelson Mandela Square, take two elevators, then ask staff from another hotel to open two gates. The front desk can be a gamble too. Requests are often forgotten, so I had to call or visit two to three times and speak to different people. If you happen to get someone proactive, they sort it out right away, but it comes down to luck.