The Best Hotel in Melrose and Illovo, Johannesburg

Part of Marriott's Autograph Collection, this ultramodern hotel is within Melrose Arch, a high-security gated community with good dining and shopping options within safe walking distance. The Afro-chic decor mixes modern and traditional African influences that carry through from the lobby to the rooms, all anchored by the beautiful baobab tree. The rooms are well equipped, and each has a view of the pool and garden or overlooks a square. The pool area highlights the eccentric and modern taste that is echoed throughout the hotel, with trees planted in larger-than-life steel buckets, and tables and chairs set out in a few inches of water. There are two on-site restaurants: Aduna offers all-day dining while Sebule offers a grillhouse experience for lunch and dinner.