If your idea of hotel heaven is a memory foam mattress, attentive 24-hour service and a restaurant that offers a different 5-course menu with wine pairing every night, then you’re really going to like the Clico Boutique Hotel.

With just 9 rooms – one of which offers a self-catering option – Clico is a cozy but stylish stopover for visitors to Johannesburg. Set in the leafiest part of leafy Rosebank, it’s less than a kilometre from the Gautrain station for connections to Sandton, Pretoria and OR Tambo International Airport, and a short walk to Rosebank Mall.

The rooms all have extra-length mattresses, fully-stocked minibars (with fresh milk for the in-room tea & coffee station) and selected DStv channels. Complementing the underfloor heating is a novel bathroom light that doubles as a heater – hardly necessary in a December heatwave, but surely welcome in the depths of the Jozi winter.

WiFi is fast, unlimited, free and accessible throughout the hotel and free – a bonus for business visitors. There’s ample conference and event space too – the high-tech boardroom can accommodate around 25 people with breakaway areas on the deck next to the pool. The glass and steel-bedecked restaurant also doubles as a stylish meeting space during the day, but it really comes into its own at night when Chef Izanne Nawn applies her dazzling skill to the 5-course menu. The dishes change every single night and can be ordered individually, for the less hungry – but opt for the full experience, with wine pairing, and you won’t be disappointed.

The hotel has an ‘open kitchen’ policy, with guests encouraged to engage with the team on their dietary requirements and likes – one regular guest has the same smoothie for breakfast every morning and exactly the same dinner in the evening, and the kitchen staff are happy to oblige. The Clico Restaurant is a regular feature in EatOut’s Top 20 list – and for very good reason. There’s also separate parking for restaurant visitors, so hotel guests won’t find themselves banished to the streets when the restaurant is heaving.

If big meals aren’t your thing, the lounge offers a space to relax and enjoy a snack. The honesty bar is there if you’d like a drink at any hour, but you’d be hard-pressed to pour it yourself, with the ever-attentive staff seemingly always on hand to cater to guests’ needs.

Rooms at Clico Boutique Hotel start at R1490 per night – so even if you’re a Jo’burg local, why not make a night of it with an excellent meal at the restaurant and a relaxing stay-over before facing the real world again the next day? For details and bookings, visit Clico Boutique Hotel.

*This article was originally published in khuluma.