Not sure where to start... had problems booking online which resulted in getting charged twice for the room, although one of the bookings evidently never showed up in their system, so had to dispute the charge with my credit card (and this was before we even got there). That said the people were nice that I spoke with, although I spent a lot of time (and money) calling from Europe in order to get the issue sorted. One of the reasons we picked the hotel was that it was reasonably priced, close to the airport, and had a shuttle (we were only there overnight between flights and arriving late). I was assured ahead of time that the shuttle was regular and no need to make special arrangements, even with our arrival time (KLM from Amsterdam). Upon arriving, however, we were only allowed to get into the shuttle as a 'favor' because there happened to be a group that was using the shuttle, and so the driver said we were lucky-- that in addition to the fact that while we were waiting around some guys were trying to 'help us' with our bags and hassled us for money when the shuttle finally was sorted (that whole airport shuttle pickup area is a bit sketchy at night-- probably safe, but just too many people trying to 'help' you who have nothing to do with the airport or the hotels). The hotel itself was fine although a bit weird. They upgraded our room at no cost, and the suite of rooms we ended up in was huge, although the windows all looked onto interior hallways, which was odd. The staff were friendly, though, and the shuttle to the airport the next day was easy and straight-forward. Overall not sure what to say, as normally when I go to Joberg I stay in town where the hotels have been pretty straight-forward, and the other option near the airport was a bit too pricey (the Intercon) although it is smack dab in front of the airport, which is nice.

Too expensive for the service they give. I had problems to connect to internet, there is no minibar in the rooms, and service room neither. It's quite noisy on saturday evening, since gangs og teens with their noisy cars and music too loud. The good point is that rooms are big size and it is very clean.

We spent one night at the Metcourt Laurel after arriving in South Africa from the UK, before moving on to safari the next day. Our hotel room was huge – clean and comfortable, with everything you would expect from a reasonable chain hotel. The bathroom was fairly small, although there were two sinks and a vanity area just outside the actual bathroom, which was separated from the bedroom area.

In addition to the facilities at the Metcourt, guests also have access to the facilities in the other two hotels in Emperors Palace (the casino / entertainment complex). We spent the afternoon lying by the pool, which was a good size. There is plenty to do in the evening, if you like that kind of thing, with a casino, indoor fairground type set-up, restaurants, shops etc and it all felt completely safe.

The main downside to the hotel was that our room didn’t have a window. I guess this wouldn’t bother everyone though, and it’s less of a problem if you’re only staying on for a night or so. Our safe didn’t work, but I’m sure that would have been easily fixed if we had been staying longer and had really needed it.

This hotel was absolutely fine for what it was – a stop over en route to the main part of our trip, but I’m not sure I’d want to spend much more than a night or two there.

When we entered the wing of the hotel where our room was located, there was a very strong smell of paint thinner or other paint product. The smell was almost equally strong in the room, so we asked to change rooms. The one employee at the front desk (appeared to be the supervisor) was not impressed that we asked to change rooms, but arranged for another room. He also sent an employee with a bowl of liquid to our original room, likely a type of air freshener. The 2nd room was beside the first, and also smelled. As there were no other rooms available, we told the front desk staff that we were leaving and going to L'Oreale, another hotel in the Emperor's Palace complex (same owner). They told us to take the shuttle. We stood on the front steps waiting almost an hour for the shuttle to arrive. Although two stopped prior, they were going to airport and would not take us to L'Oreale. When we told the front desk staff that we were still waiting, they said they would arrange for a car to pick us up from L'Oreale. No car came. The supervisor at the front desk was clearly very annoyed - all he saw was lost revenue. The woman working at front desk was friendly, professional and helpful - she saw an unhappy guest.

The rooms at Metcourt Laurel were large and clean, except the bathroom ceiling was very mouldy.

L'Oreale was fine, but overpriced. Although labelled "5 star", it is only a step above ordinary.

Our only unpleasant experience during a three week trip to South Africa.