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Review: Intercontinental Johannesburg Airport
En Route back from Zambia, before heading onwards to Japan, we opted to stay right at the airport. Originally, our plan had us heading back to the Intercontinental Sandton towers, but the commute back and forth is laborious for just an overnight. So while we were in Zambia, I hopped on the IHG site and checked to see if any rewards nights were avail. Lucky for us…there were, for 30,000 points. Factoring in the 10% discount with the Chase, IHG credit card gives us, we’re talking 27000 points. The cash rate was roughly, $250 plus tax. $250 was a no go, but 27000 per room, yes sirree bob. Now that’s not a bad use of IHG points, considering you can buy them for $0.07 at the time of booking – that’s less than $200 and my family has a huge stockpile of IHG points.
The Intercontinental is located just across from arrivals. We’re talking 5 mins MAX from the time you get your bags, clear customs, and exit the hotel. That’s a damn good deal.
Yes, this swanky patio is literally a hop, skip, and a jump.. and like a 200 steps from the airport.
Intercontinental Ambassador is definitely worth the 200 bones ( 150 after the first year ) if you stay at a few Intercontinentals a year. In fact, the free weekend night ( when staying 2) completely pays for the annual membership, but for stays like this one, it gave us nice upgrades, great breakfast, and a nice welcome amenity. Alone, not worth $150, but after a few stays, most certainly worth it, and after factoring in the free night, you’d be way ahead.
Excuse me sir, but where exactly is it beer o’clock?
The hotel is completely geared towards flying. Almost feels like an airport lounge in the lobby. 
I almost prefer this to the Sandton Towers – it isn’t just a convenient airport hotel, it’s legitimately great.
Rooms: 315/316
The rooms had a private door that separated just these two rooms from the hallway. Every floor had the same layout, and despite lacking a living space, it actually provided what seemed like a suite, private set up.
The rooms were fantastic, and we made use of the spa and pool on the top floor which overlooked the main runways of the airport. It was very crowded and honestly didn’t feel comfortable taking pix of people in their bathing suits and lounging around. So here are a couple pics from the hotel website:
The spa was nice, nothing out of this world, but I think makes for a great spot to relax and rejuvenate. Had we opted to stay here on the way into town, it would have made for a nice refuge and also a great place to recover from jet lag. As we did it, it was on our way out of the country and made for a great spot ( with a late check out of 2pm) to stay pre-flight.
Quills: breakfast and dinner
Great lobby level restaurant, with both indoor and outdoor seating. My dad actually thought his main entree, a seafood risotto, was one of the better dishes he’d all trip. That says a lot, because South Africa is a wonderland of culinary delights!
The breakfast spread, which was delicious and on the house, really set us up nicely before the long flight to Tokyo. Having status really reaps benefits.
All in all, I would highly recommend this hotel. In hindsight, to start the trip I may have even stashed us away here rather that go into the Sandton Towers; however, Sandton was a great hotel with outstanding food and wonderful staff. South Africa, I’m excited to see you again. Hopefully sooner than later.
This is part of the Around the World 2015 Mega Trip
- Etihad Business and First Class Lounge Washington DC
- Etihad Business Studio – IAD to AUH
- Review: Etihad Arrivals lounge and Etihad Chauffeur experience
- Grand Hyatt Dubai
- Hyatt Capital Gate Abu Dhabi
- Etihad Business and First Class Lounge Abu Dhabi, AUH
- Etihad Pearl Business Class – AUH to JNB
- Intercontinental Johannesburg Sandton Towers
- Blue Train Johannesburg to Cape Town
- Queen Victoria Cape Town
- Chitwa Chitwa Sabi Sands Luxury Game Reserve Kruger National Park
- Royal Chundu Zambezi River Lodge – Victoria Falls
- Intercontinental Johannesburg Airport
- Review: S(h)ongololo Lounge JNB
- Cathay Pacific Business Class – JNB to HKG to HND
- Ritz Carlton Tokyo
- Japan Airlines First Class Lounge Tokyo, NRT
- American Air Flagship First Class – NRT to LAX
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
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