Fodor's Expert Review Palazzo at Montecasino

Built in the style of a Tuscan villa, the hotel is set among formal herb gardens in a location far north of Johannesburg that's good for shopping but somewhat distant from most of the city's sights and the business center of Sandton and the city center itself. Public rooms are on a grand scale, and the whole hotel is decorated in gilt, marble, and terra-cotta, with small touches of trompe l'oeil. The rooms are spacious, with rich tapestry-style draperies, canopied beds, and gilt-framed mirrors and prints. Large picture windows and light terra-cotta tiles lighten the effect. The hotel is done with so much more style, attention to detail, and class than the adjacent casino and mall that it's almost impossible to believe they're connected. The relatively northern location is closer to the business area of Bryanston and Sandton than downtown Johannesburg.