Who would have thought that 960 posts down the line I would be sitting in a hotel room about 15 minutes from my home, blogging about a day of hotels of outrageous pampering. Some things never change and as I sit on a bed that I wish I could sneak into my handbag and take home, still sipping on tea for as long as I have been blogging, I'm so excited to share such a great experience with you.
Project Me started as a totally self indulgent blog, filled with me and my life story ... oh wait, that hasn't changed either.
What has changed is how far I have come as a blogger and the absolute gratitude I have at the moment, watching the sunset through the window of the third Tsogo Sun hotel I've had the joy of experiencing today and passing time before dinner and then a sleepover THE Southern Sun OR Tambo International Hotel.
I remember having a conversation with Greggie once and him being totally fascinated at my love for hotel rooms. My love for any excuse to sleep over, drink tea from my room and experience different beds ... in a totally innocent girl kind of way. What better way to do it but ... um, that's what I had to figure out. I'm sure one day my life will take me on wild travels and I will hop from city to country telling people how to do fabulous thing with their social media profiles ... but in the meantime, my blogging takes me to amazing places.
This isn't my first spoiling from Tsogo Sun and the adventures only get better. So day is the three main hotels around the OR Tambo airport (that's our international airport for my foreign readers).
I can imagine the busy-ness of traveling business people and decided to try and put myself in that space for a day. I got as much work done as I could last night, with the mindset that I wouldn't be in reach for most of the day. That went well ... not! I didn't think that for every email I set to fire off this morning, there would be a response I would have to get to. Trying to get to as much as possible and the Gautrain on time was as interesting challenge.
Thank goodness for the free wifi access at each of the hotels we went to. It is a perk for guests, but that's what you want to be when arriving in Joburg ... a guest of one of these amazing hotels.
We did a trip between 3 stars, 5 stars and I'm not settled into a 4 star hotel for the night.
Starting at the Garden Court hotel, where the hospitality was so unbelievable that we battled to leave.
Bouncing between conference rooms and stopping off for a delicious cup of coffee that was much needed because getting to the hotel was interesting enough. Did I tell you that the doors of the Gautrain close so fast that only two of us managed to get off and the rest of us had to do the trip to the airport and then back where we were supposed to be? What's a day without a little adventure.
The Garden Court also has a gorgeous Irish pub ... we don't see those around often enough, so I'm going to be sure to make a trip and enjoy a real pub lunch ... and maybe wait patiently for a Irishman.
Next was off to the luxurious 5 star Intercontinental hotel and a gorgeous hot stone back massage at the Camelot Spa. It's all the way on the 8th floor with a view of the airport ... with a twist. The rooms are all sound proofed, so the silence is unbelievable. Whisked through the different types or rooms, we ended up in the Presidential Suite where we were treated to high tea. Oh wow ...
Of course, there is a purpose to all of this blogging and hotel hopping, with a focus on the difference conference facilities each venue has. I haven't managed to get my A into G and get a #FollowSA event going at all this year and all i could think about is how easy it is to gather and conference or network with an array of facilities directly on the Gautrain line. I do need to get myself organised though ... seriously!
Ending the day and spending the night at the Southern Sun OR Tambo International has been a fascinating experience. Of course, the conference centre attracts an interesting mix of people and so do the planes that come and go. The accents that filled the dining room was amazing ... but then so was the food, hospitality and behind the scenes tours of everywhere from the pristine kitchen to the rooftop where we got a glimpse of the perfect moon watching over the SAA planes coming and going.
Dinner was fab ... I had ice cream and lamb and all the stuff that my dad said I should have that I can't get on a regular basis at home. A great legacy he left!
I could go on for hours and this isn't the first time I have been invited to be a blogging guest at Tsogo Sun ... but I can promise that it won't be my last time as ?a guest. This personal touch was way beyond what I ever expected and is totally one of those "the thought that counts" gifts, which just shows what the Southern Sun OR Tambo International is trying to give to their guests. The Garden Court, with it's superbly friendly hospitality and lunch and the Intercontinental with treatments and high tea, each show something unique that they offer their guests ... and I'm honoured to have been a part of the experience.
A special thank you to our divine host, Sheena, for just being amazingly fantastic and caring of all of our needs. Not to mention the cause of every embarrassing moment to and from the hotels on the Gautrain.
A blogging experience I will never forget!
