In a quiet backstreet of Melrose, wrapped around by a mature, high-walled garden, this small boutique hotel offers guests a safe, comfortable and stylish haven well away from the cut and thrust of the city centre. James Peech completely gutted then refurbished this 1950s house and built two additional garden annexes to create one of the city’s coolest retreats, which happily marries the best of contemporary design with a big splash of afro-ethnic attitude.
A predominantly beige and white colour scheme provides a quiet backdrop for some colourful furnishings and fabrics: ochre velvet sofas and feature wallpapers mix with more ethnic elements like carved ebony tables, blesbok and antelope skin rugs and kuba cloth wall hangings. The Peech’s 32 stylish and airy bedrooms have every mod-con, Basalt and the Garden Restaurant are up to the mark, there’s a rotating exhibition of paintings and photography, and the hotel is imbued by the easy, open nature of its young owners.
Highs
- Spacious light-filled bedrooms with stacks of designer attitude
- A quiet garden, dripping in greenery, with a small swimming pool and lots of shaded spots and loungers
- Friendly, helpful staff
- We hear Basalt serves delicious food, so there’s no need to leave the hotel if you’re looking for top-notch cuisine (plus the Garden Restaurant serves simpler meals)
- Melrose is one of Johannesburg's most attractive suburbs with a great choice of bars, restaurants and shops, and it's close to both Rosebank and Sandton
Lows
- The Peech is a good 20-minute taxi ride away from the city centre and you’ll need transport to get to restaurants, museums, markets etc
- Some feedback suggests that hotel-arranged taxis can be unreliable, so be sure to give yourself plenty of time
- Johannesburg does have safety issues – but The Peech is in a good neighbourhood and is designed to ensure security so that guests feel at ease
- Boutique Hotel
- 32 rooms
- Restaurant and bar
- All ages welcome
- Open all year
- Outdoor Pool
- Spa Treatments
- Beach Nearby
- Babysitting
- Creche / Kids Club
- Car not necessary
- Parking
- Pet Friendly
- Disabled Access
- Restaurants Nearby
- WiFi
- Air Conditioning
- Guest Lounge
- Terrace
- Garden
- Gym
- Concierge Service
Rooms
The Peech’s best value rooms are the 12 doubles in the annexes. These Classic Rooms are quiet and airy with light flooding in through the slatted blinds of their enormous picture windows. And you’re treated to every possible creature comfort: a kingsize bed with crisp white linen, feather duvets and a bank of cushions and pillows, a Nespresso machine, WiFi and a laptop safe in the open-fronted wardrobe.
There are a further two Classic bedrooms in the main house, and two luxury Peech Suites in a separate annex. All have the same seamless commingling of contemporary and ethnic elements: stainless steel stair and balcony rails, Artemide desk lamps, floors of polished concrete or soft grey carpet contrasted by blesbok skin rugs, kuba cloth hangings, and boma-style branched screens which give additional privacy to the ground-floor terraces and first floor balconies. Most rooms have a sofa and the Garden Suites have extra design touches such as a hanging pod chair.
Since our visit, 14 Luxury Rooms have been added. Each has a private patio or terrace, and we hear they feel wonderfully private, though we're yet to find out for ourselves. Six of these on the ground floor interconnect for families or for friends travelling together. Peech Villa has also been added to the mix: a smart two-bedroom hideaway with its own private garden and TV room - perfect for families.
Bathrooms are large and spotless with shining blue mosaic tiles and Grohe taps, heated towel rails, big bathtubs and rain-showers. You get a full range of Molton Brown toiletries, piles of white towels, and cotton bathrobes.
Features include:
- Bathrobes
- Fan
- Safe box
- WiFi
Eating
The family-friendly Garden Restaurant and adjoining bar are the neural centre of this small hotel. They look at their best at night when you look out through the glass frontage to the pool and garden, bathed in ethereal, green light. Enjoy a guest-only breakfast and lunch here either indoors, or under the shaded outdoor patio.
Our breakfast began with fruit kebabs and muesli soaked in honey which was accompanied by a mixed-fruit smoothie, freshly baked bread and croissants, and pot-fulls of tea and coffee. A cooked breakfast is then served: any variant on the full English or, perhaps, the eggs florentine, which gets full marks from us.
Lunch and dinner menus pick and mix from the world cookbook. On our last visit, starters included gazpacho, calamari with roasted onion and beetroot salad and grilled prawns with olives, chorizo and roasted peppers. Mains included filet steak with cauliflower puree and roasted vegetables, Cajun chicken in garlic butter with a sweet potato gratin and grilled harissa lamb cutlets with tzatziki, couscous and tomato and feta salad. And there are some wicked desserts: ‘decadent’ chocolate torte, crème brulée or maybe an almond and cream cheese cheesecake. There is an excellent selection of South African wines, bubbly courtesy of Veuve Clicquot, cocktails and local craft beers.
Since our last visit, Basalt restaurant has opened for dinner, offering contemporary fine dining with an a la carte menu: we cannot wait to try it. It's also open to the public, so check if you need to book a table during your stay.
If you fancy eating out, James has put together his own list of Jo'burg’s best eateries, many just a short taxi-ride away.
Features include:
- Bar
- Breakfast
- Restaurant
Activities
- Put aside a morning or afternoon for the Apartheid Museum. No visit to the city could be complete without a visit to this architectural masterpiece, which tells the story of the darkest period in the country’s recent history
- Take a township tour of Soweto, a highlight of any visit to Johannesburg
- Shop in the nearby malls at Melrose Arch, Rosebank and Sandton, or cruise some of their many art galleries
- If you don’t have time to get to the Kruger, have a big game hit at the Krugersdorp Game Reserve. You are guaranteed sightings of rhino, giraffe, buffalo, hippos and lions
- Chill out in the Emmarenti or Walter Sisulu botanical gardens. Both of these green lungs are great escapes after visiting the city centre
- Get in shape at the mega gym next door - it's one of the city’s best and offers special concessions for hotel guests. It has a 50m lap pool, cardio machines and a weights room, as well as individual trainers to supervise your exertions. There's also a nice park opposite the hotel
Activities on site or nearby include:
- Historical sites
- Museums / galleries
- Nightlife
- Shopping / markets
- Traditional cultures
Best Time to go
Anyone from the city will tell you: the Johannesburg climate is one of the best in the world. It has far less seasonal variation than Cape Town, which means that any time of year is a good time to be here.
Our Top Tips
You need at least three nights to do the city some kind of justice and you could easily spend a week sightseeing and still have stacks left to see. The Peech is a brilliant choice for your first or last night in the city as it has easy access to the motorway which leads to the airport.
Location
The Peech is situated in the northern suburb of Melrose (sandwiched between Rosebank and Sandton), in Johannesburg, South Africa.
By Air
Johannesburg International Airport (30km) is about 30 minutes from the hotel. Click on the links below for a list of airlines.
From the Airport
The hotel can arrange airport transfers, otherwise you can take a taxi from the airport, but make sure you agree the price before hand (see Rates).
By Car
For car hire see our car rental recommendations.
Detailed directions will be provided when you book through i-escape.
More on getting to South Africa and getting around.
Airports:
- Johannesburg Oliver Reginald Tambo 30.0 km JNB
Other:
- Beach 583.0 km
- Shops 1.0 km
- Restaurant 1.0 km