Birchwood Hotel and OR Tambo Conference Centre

I recently visited Birchwood Hotel for venue scouting, and overall, it provided a positive experience. The hotel has a spacious, well-organized layout, making it easy to navigate through various areas. The staff was friendly and accommodating, and the facilities were clean and well-maintained, including the rooms and event spaces. The venue’s infrastructure stood out, especially in terms of IT capabilities. Birchwood is well-equipped to handle modern event needs with reliable Wi-Fi and a variety of audiovisual equipment, making it ideal for conferences and corporate events. The hotel also features beautiful outdoor spaces and gardens, offering a peaceful setting for outdoor events or casual gatherings. However, I had an appointment during my visit and had to wait for 20 minutes, despite having called ahead to confirm the time. This was a bit frustrating as it affected the flow of my visit. Overall, Birchwood Hotel is a great choice for events, providing a good mix of comfort, professional services, and solid infrastructure. With a few improvements in communication, it would be an even more seamless experience.

While the rooms are comfortable and the premises beautiful (lots of trees, pretty little water fountains etc.), the overall service leaves much to be desired - communication doesn't work particularly well. Among other things, we had to go through an 8-hour power cut without generator and no prior announcement. Responses to requests are slow and almost reluctant. Room service is okay, but below standard (my bathroom floor wasn't washed once in two weeks). Food is nice, but somewhat repetitive - after a few days you've seen it all.

The rooms are comfortable, but the service has been disappointing. When you call reception to request something, there’s often little to no follow-up. The tea options mostly have unhealthy selections that you are guaranteed to pick up weight after spending a week there. The food quality has also declined — it used to be fresh and well-prepared, but lately, meals are either overly salty, heavily spiced, or not fresh at all. Unfortunately, my colleague and I both had diarrhoea last night and couldn’t sleep. I called reception twice in the morning to request vinegar to ease the symptoms before heading to the workshop, but it was very difficult to get any assistance.