We have just listed this great property on our database / website :

Jewel on 32 – situated in the northern suburbs of Johannesburg.

The 6 beautiful guest rooms all have a “gem theme” , and each has its own en-suite bathroom, desk and chair and appropriately-coloured décor options. Each room comes standard with a flat screen television with satellite (cable) channels, air conditioning / heating, tea / coffee facilities, a safe for your valuables and a hair dryer.

The 4* guest house is located in Jukskei Park, just minutes away from Monte Casino with its bird park and excellent shopping and dining attractions. The guest house is also close to the Fourways shopping centre and the Coca Cola Dome (for musical events / concerts). The Cradle of Humankind, which offers heritage sites of cultural, historical and geological interest, is about 45 minutes away. Sun City and the world-famous Pilanesberg National Park (a Big Five and malaria-free zone) is a drive of about 90 minutes.

Transfers from either OR Tambo International or Lanseria airports can be easily arranged.

The rates are fantastic … just R1,450 per double or single room per night, including a full English breakfast.

Contact us today to check availability and to make a booking !

Delta Airlines have just announced that they are adding more services from Atlanta in the States to Johannesburg in July and August.

This is in response to an increase in demand for flights – and as a result, more than 4,700 extra seats are being offered over these months alone.

The additional flights will be on a B777-200LR aircraft, which offers 45 fully flat / 180 degree seats in BusinessElite and 233 seats in economy class. In seat entertainment is available on demand at every seat too throughout the aircraft.

Here’s to welcoming even more American tourists to South Africa soon !

Travel Butlers are delighted to announce that the latest Fair Trade in Tourism South Africa (FTTSA) certified business is the 4* Peech Hotel in Melrose, Johannesburg.

Fair Trade in Tourism South Africa is a non-profit organisation that promotes sustainable tourism development. They award businesses who demonstrate their commitment to Fair Trade by adopting policies for fair wages and working conditions, fair purchasing, fair operations, equitable distribution of benefits and respect for human rights, culture and environment.

The hotel has a proven track record of operating in an environmentally responsible manner, and this has been the mainstay behind their recent FTTSA certification.

The hotel’s policies include solar water geysers which service the entire property as well as drinking water that is filtered on site. They also make use of refillable glass bottles, thereby helping to minimise the evergrowing use of plastic bottles which is unfortunately a growing concern for environmentalists worldwide.

On top of all this, the hotel gardens are watered with processed and recycled rain and bath / shower water.

The Peech Hotel also invest in the local community, and has actively supported Little Eden Children’s Home for a long time. Help includes donating items such as linen and crockery to the charity, and the staff of Little Eden are incentivised with offers of hotel stays.

Hotel guests are also welcome to support this charity by voluntarily contributing R5 for each night that they stay at the hotel, and the hotel then matches the donation.

The Peech Hotel gives preference to local and BEE-rated businesses and purchases Fair Trade products on a regular basis. Support for new and emerging suppliers in the local area is significant: for example, the hotel assisted a local man to obtain a car loan and guaranteed that they would utilise his services for guest transfers and staff transport. In addition, the hotel also assisted a local woman to establish her laundry business by supporting her on a regular basis.

Johannesburg is becoming more and more accessible !

A new daily direct service is soon to be launched by Jet Airways between Mumbai and Johannesburg, starting on April 15, subject to regulatory approval.

Jet Airways will be running an A330-200 aircraft, and will offer 30 seats in Business Class / Première and 190 seats in Economy class.

Première passengers will enjoy a 180-degree flat bed with lumbar support and massage systems, oversized table, laptop power, telephone, SMS, email and live text news and on-demand in-flight entertainment.

Flights will depart Mumbai at 02h05, arriving in Johannesburg at 07h35 – so absolutely ideal for then connecting with an onwards flight over to the Kruger for a safari, or getting down to Cape Town in time for a spot of lunch !

The return service will depart Johannesburg at 11h00, arriving in Mumbai at 23h30.

The Bush Babies Monkey Sanctuary has recently opened in Hartebeespoort, about an hour from both Johannesburg and Pretoria. The facility, located next to The Elephant Sanctuary on the R512 Rustenburg / Sun City Road, takes in rescued monkeys that have been raised as pets or have been bred or imported for the pet trade. The sanctuar already offers a new home to nearly 70 rescued primates.

The facility then rehabilitates them and releases them back into a wild forest.

Guided tours are available seven days a week with the first tour starting at 8.30 am and the last tour at 4 pm. The facility is ideal for families.

A new exhibition celebrating the life and times of former South African president, Nelson Mandela, has been launched at the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg. The multimedia exhibition explores Mandela’s life and provides a fresh look at the story that is known around the world.  It will run until the end of November 2009.

British Airways’ South Africa routes are doing well despite the current global slowdown, and the airline will be adding five more flights between Johannesburg and London for 2010, says BA chairman Martin Broughton.

“The immediate outlook for our South African routes is reasonably encouraging, and the 2010 World Cup should bolster demand from at least mid-2009,” Broughton said at the opening of the airline’s new lounges at OR Tambo International Airport at the weekend.

“We will up our current double-daily Johannesburg/London flights to 19 a week from May next year, and will operate our expanded Cape Town schedule over the South African summer peak from the end of October”.

Broughton said that despite the current challenges, “we remain absolutely focused on the interests of our customers”.

The combination of declining demand due to the global economic downturn, oil prices and a fall in consumer confidence had created the “perfect storm” for BA to soar, he said.

The South African Airways  arrivals lounge at Johannesburg OR Tambo International has been temporarily closed due to construction.  The departure lounge is open as normal.Business-class, Platinum and Gold Voyager members will be accommodated at the Airport Sun InterContinental Hotel’s exclusive Premier Club.  Features of the lounge include full hot breakfast, reading rooms and business facilities.