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Welcome to the beautiful sunny city of Pretoria and all its wonders. Come on, relax and enjoy the Jacaranda trees (they don’t call it the Jacaranda city for nothing) and its cultural diversity. First lets start where you are going to stay, anything from expensive, moderate and affordable. With the influx of tourists over recent years, guest houses have started popping up and out numbering the hotels. At present the city has more than fifty, listed guest houses situated in the city’s best suburbs, offering excellent accommodation.
Arcadia
You know that the best things in life don’t come cheap, and neither does the accommodation in Arcadia, one of the loveliest suburbs of the city. Lets start with the Sheraton Hotel, which played host to Queen Elizabeth II when she visited the country last year. The hotel has an exclusive pub with a very African feel and a contemporary pub where you can sit and listen to classic music, very civilized. Moving on to guest houses, Villa Via, Berg Via and Birdwood Guest House are where a home-style reception is offered, but at a cost. These houses offer luxury, en-suite rooms and personal hospitality.
Hotel 224 is affordable but still maintains quality accommodation. Villa Monica, Meintjieskop Guest House, Best Western Hotel, Karos Manhattan Hotel, Arcadia Hotel, Courtyard at Arcadia Hotel, Court Classique, Manhattan Hotel and Bryntirion House all offer comfortable, elegant accommodation with easy access to the city centre and with the added bonus of a reasonable price tag.
There are some hotels which have been around for a while, and offer simple accommodation in Arcadia, these include Malvern House, Host International and Ronde Geluk.
Brooklyn and Menlo Park
Brooklyn and Menlo Park are some of the best known suburbs of the city, earning their reputation from the class and style they have managed to keep. With most of the new shopping malls in these neighborhoods, they enjoy some of the best accommodation too.
One of the most exclusive places in Menlo Park is the Battis Guest House, which is run by a well known artist and decorated with some of his great works (you’ll think you are in a gallery). Some more costly, but deservedly so, places are Brooklyn House, Anderson House, and Brooks Cottage, which all offer luxurious accommodation.
Avalon, Paula’s Place and Rozenhof are moderately priced and are cosy accommodation with en-suite rooms and bathrooms.
Sunnyside
This part of the city is moderately priced with limited accommodation close to the city centre. Over the past 10 years the area has developed into a real cosmopolitan area and more particularly so for businessmen from West and Central Africa with French as one of the major languages. The best accommodation to visit, billed as reasonable, are Tshwane Guest House and Kosmos Guest House.
Clydesdale
Clydesdale is an up market area of Sunnyside and is commonly known as the village of Pretoria. You will find many inexpensive and well-regarded three to four star B&Bs to choose from. This area is a well established, and popular amongst academics from the nearby Pretoria University. It is in close proximately to most of the Embassies in Pretoria as well as hospitals, Union Buildings, the Sheraton Hotel, various shopping centres and the Hatfield area that is well known for its restaurant and night life. Some notable accommodations are That’s It!, Oorkant Loftus, Intermezzo and Chancellor’s Court.
Waterkloof
The best, and most expensive accommodation, in and around the suburb of Waterkloof, are The Belvedere, Marvol Manor House and Annette’s Bed and Breakfast. If it is a touch of class you are looking for, these are definitely the places to stay. Apart from their beautifully furnished rooms and surroundings, these guest houses make the best South African breakfast in the country, and don’t forget continental and English breakfasts too.
Brandon House, Domien Bed and Breakfast, Green Gates, La Rochelle, Tip-Toll Guest House and Milner 246, have all been around for some time. With new competition coming up, they may look a little dated, but they offer excellent accommodation.
For the cheapest accommodation make sure that you visit Merino Bed and Breakfast, Kielkiewync and Ted’s Place, they are not plush, but you will sleep on clean sheets in a clean room and have a delicious breakfast.
Hatfield
For the best, don’t miss Mutsag and La Maison; they embrace the finest in décor and style.
For moderately priced and comfortable accommodation visit Hatfield Manor Hotel and The Holiday Inn Garden Court. These are everyday hotels, simple and plain, nothing fanciful.
City Centre
The city centre is probably the oldest area of Pretoria, and most of the buildings are ancient. However, the Holiday Inn Garden Court, Capital Protea Hotel, Holiday Inn Express and Pretoria Hof, have just been renovated and some rebuilt to bring back that city feeling. These hotels are famous for accommodating tourists, especially diplomats and ambassadors. They offer the finest cuisine and are constantly changing to keep up with standards.
Places, which are more moderately priced, include Boulevard Protea Hotel, Park Lodge and Malvern House. These hotels are not that classy but try to keep up with the competition.
New Mucleneuk
New Mucleneuk is a new suburb of Pretoria. Being new, most of its places like Brooklyn Lodge, The Bay Tree Guest House and Sentosa Guest House offer the best in standards. They provide guests with en-suite rooms bathrooms and beautifully furnished lounges.
Reasonably priced and not all bad are St Aden’s Bed and Breakfast, Fraunstein and Illyria; simple but classically decorated, they promise warmth and hospitality to their guests.
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