We were earmarked for VIP treatment which, a la airport check-ins, happens at a separate red carpeted counter. While I'm not naïve to expect that this is the largess every guest enjoys, it proves to me that they can do it, and do it very well. This proves there are tangible benefits to being part of The Cullinan's regular-guest loyalty programme. Also, booking one of the 12 new suites on the 10th and 11th floors (the existing six suites and all bedrooms were also upgraded as part of the property's R40 million investment), gives you access to the best the hotel has to offer.
The wisdom in property purchasing parlance is to buy small in a good area rather than go big in a less affluent one. The converse applies to hotel stays. I think you get the best value by buying up in a four-star property, where rates are sharper and staff hungrier, than an entry level room in a five-star one. Based on our experience that takes into account room facilities, food and beverage options and customer service, our stay at The Cullinan was a five-star one in every way.
When I think Cullinan I immediately think diamond. I'm not sure if the hotel took its name from the street address, or if the street was named after the hotel, but either way I really like how they have included smart historic photographs from the diamond-rush era into the decor. The design is a bit of an oddity: It has an impressive neo-classic copula that reminds me of the Excelsior Hotel in Rome or part of the Capitol building while the reception area is positively cavernous with its impressive triple-volume ceiling and arched windows - a cross between New York's Grand Central Station and The Parthenon.
Previously I'd complain about hotels designed in such a way that access to the spa and pool is via publicly accessed areas. Now I take a perverse pleasure in sauntering around the lifts and lobby in my bath robe and slippers en route to the pool - proof that one is in-residence rather than simply using the hotel as a hook-up.
The pool suggests a Roman bath house with its colonnade and as an inner-city property this is one of its most attractive features. Shielded by high walls that visually screen out the busy city, lying poolside it is hard to imagine oneself at the epicentre of the city's busiest traffic intersection. Magically the building's design seems to deflect traffic noise which you'd imagine being unbearable yet is hardly noticeable.
The new-look rooms are smart with an emphasis on textures that made me want to drag my hands against the brocade wall finishes and tactile upholstery. Glamour is in the form of over-sized framed mirrors and smoky glass frames. The colour-palette is taupe and grey with the occasional deep purple flourish.
Bucking the trend of hotel restaurants with direct street access, the Peach Tree restaurant is on the mezzanine level and looks down onto the pool. I found the buffet unexpectedly excellent in terms of variety and quality and they must be congratulated on successfully providing the a la minute-experience we expect from a fine-dining establishment by grilling beef and salmon fillets to order and caramelising crème brule as you select them. I also especially appreciated that the chefs were on hand to explain the ingredients of every dish as I follow a low-carb, no sugar diet which sometimes makes selecting from a buffet difficult. The breakfast buffet was also excellent.
If you're still making Valentine's Day plans, consider their 50 Shades of Pink promotion which offers 6 king prawns long with flute of Pongrácz Rosé for R99. If you can book a room perhaps, like in ours, you will find an expectedly lavish bathrobe in the suite - more unexpected is that, like ours, it will carry The Ritz Carlton, Moscow monogram. This Cullinan is certainly a diamond in the rough.
For more information go to www.tsogosunhotels.com.
