Tourism figures – two very different reports. Figures for business tourism good  http://www.whalecottage.com/blog/cape-town/sa-business-tourism-is-booming/  but those for leisure tourism gloomy. http://www.fm.co.za/Article.aspx?id=166928

After 14 years of success in Cape Town, The South African College of Applied Psychology’ (SACAP) has expanded to accommodate Gauteng students.  Located in Lower Rosebank a mere 2 km from Liz at Lancaster Guesthouse, the College is located at 160 Jan Smuts Ave on the corner of Tyrhwitt Ave. See http://www.rosebank.co.za/view/index/psychology_college_opens/62/1/139

The AA’s assessor visits anually to monitor and check on the standards of the Guesthouse. Nothing escapes Bev Balusik’s eagle eye! Here are some comments from her report submitted to the  board of the AA Quality Assurance:
Such seamless but thoughtful touches in all areas:

a splendid, attractive notice board in main core public area
guest internet station [...]

Gerald Garner who wrote Spaces and Places Johannesburg as well as Johannesburg 10Ahead, has recently started walking tour of Jozi’s inner city.  On 28th Jan a tour will leave from Mary Fitzgerald Square at 9 am. Billed to see the public art in Newtown, Turbine Hall, Chancellor House, the Anglo American campus, the Ashanti Hotel and [...]

Southern Sun recently bought The Grace hotel  in Rosebank  for R85m.  They are planning to do major refurbishments to the 73 room hotel and turning it into a boutique hotel targeting corporates, but with an intimate feel.  Southern Sun managing director Graham Wood said it will be Southern Sun’s first “boutique deluxe” in Johannesburg. This will be [...]

Ghandi’s philosphy of Satyagraha (non-violent non-cooperation) was born in South Africa and more specifically in what was then the Transvaal, in the first decade of the 20th Century.  Ghandi arrived in Johannebsurg in 1893 and stayed at various places during the 12 years he was in Johannesburg. For more on this see Eric Itzkin’s excellent book [...]

Another excellent review for Liz at Lancaster on Tripadvisor the influential international travel site. See http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g312578-d574068-Reviews-Liz_at_Lancaster_Guesthouse-Johannesburg_Johannesburg_Gauteng.html

The Luxurious Monarch Hotel, which was supposed to hit the auction floor on September 28, has been withdrawn from auction by the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC). The hotel will remain standing empty until the IDC decides what to do with it, according to Warren Aronson of Auction Alliance. For more on the Monarch Hotel see [...]

The Gautrain station opening in Rosebank has added a further impetus to the fast growth and development in Rosebank which is seeing  an increase in new office and retail spaces.    see http://www.rosebank.co.za/view/index/additions_to_thriving_rosebank/62/1/134  Liz at Lancaster is ideally place for easy access to Rosebank being a mere 2.8 km from the Gautrain station. And where possible,  we [...]

What makes Rosebank so different from say, for example, Sandton. While Sandton’s leisure and shopping area is focused on  the huge enlcosed megamall of Sandton City and the central space of Mandela Square modelled on an Italian piazza. Rosebank however has a greater variety of smaller malls linked by open air areas each with their own different [...]