Overlooking Nelson Mandela Square, Sandton, Johannesburg · Serviced apartments · 3 nights, July 2026 · Two-bedroom luxury suite · R16,890 for three nights (about $1,030, or roughly R5,630/$345 for 4 people a night)

Three days of meetings and two evening events in Sandton meant I wanted a home away from home, not a hotel room I’d only see in the dark. The Raphael sits directly on Nelson Mandela Square, privately owned apartments managed by Legacy Group and run with hotel-style service, which, on paper, is exactly the brief. In the richest square mile in Africa, it mostly delivers. Mostly.

Arrival: bring a map for the basement

Check-in itself was smooth and friendly. Getting to check in was another matter. The Raphael is on a one-way street. I sailed past the valet entrance and ended up in the public parking of a very large shopping centre shared with several hotels and a conference centre, where the signage assumes you already know where you’re going. I navigated up from the basement on my own. For what it’s worth, the valet parks your car in that same basement anyway.

A note for South Africans with Admyt: it works in this parking, there is no workaround. Even though valet parking is included in your accommodation rate, you will still get billed R151 per day through Admyt.

The apartment: space, glass, and a kitchen that means it

The suite is 130 square metres with floor-to-ceiling windows, and it feels like it. Because the apartments are individually owned, decor varies from unit to unit. Ours matched the listing, but treat the photos of any specific apartment as indicative rather than contractual.

The bed was the highlight. King-sized, firm mattress, and linen that was genuinely excellent. The kind of quality that recalibrates you after a run of self-catering stays in Cyprus. The blackout curtains actually black out, which mattered in an east-facing room, and the double glazing kills the daytime noise from the square below. Air conditioning has a proper self-controlled thermostat; it coped fine with a Johannesburg winter, though I can’t vouch for it in the height of summer.

Two clean bathrooms. One with a shower, one with a bath and a separate shower. Both stocked with local Charlotte Rhys toiletries, which is a nice South African touch. Plenty of shelving for your own products. The shower temperature control, however, requires a degree in negotiation. There’s a walk-in wardrobe, a proper desk with decent lighting and power, and a fully equipped kitchen that puts most self-catering rentals to shame. Coffee station with filter, instant and tea, though with Tasha’s downstairs, I voted with my feet each morning.

The balcony overlooks the square, furnished and softened with planter boxes so you don’t feel like you’re perched in a concrete jungle. It’s a genuinely pleasant place to sit.

The apartment is clean but showing its age, most visibly in the kitchen cabinetry. Nothing broken, just tired.

The Wi-Fi: unforgivable

Here is the part the brochure leaves out. The Wi-Fi is patchy, at times extremely slow, and, I’m still not over this, capped. Guests are allocated a data limit. In a luxury apartment, at this price point, in the business heart of the richest square mile in Africa. If your stay involves video calls, do not rely on it. This property is pitched at business travellers, but it fails the single most basic business-traveller requirement. 2/8, and I was being polite.

Nights on the square

The square is lively, which is the point of staying here, but the bass from the Hard Rock Cafe travels up into the apartment at night, and you feel it more than hear it. There’s supposedly a 10 pm noise cut-off during the week. On Friday night, it seemed to be operating on a 1 am interpretation. Light sleepers should ask for an apartment that doesn’t face directly over the square.

Facilities and service

Pool, gym, sauna, laundry service, plus a washing machine in the apartment. Daily servicing with daily linen changes, which, on a three-night stay, is unnecessary and not remotely eco-friendly. The facilities, like the apartments, show general wear and tear. No breakfast included, but you’re standing on top of more restaurants than you could work through in a month.

Service is friendly but near-invisible. Reception sits on a floor with no parking access and no mall entrance, so unless you seek staff out, you won’t encounter them. For some travellers that’s a flaw; for a work trip, the independence suited me fine.

Location: the whole point

This is what you’re paying for in Johannesburg. Nelson Mandela Square and the adjoining Sandton City are safe and easy to walk around, the Gautrain station is close by, and the concierge arranges transfers. My honest caveat for international visitors, outside that immediate precinct, don’t wander with a visible phone or laptop. It invites opportunistic crime. Inside it, relax.

The scorecard

Category	Score	Why
First impression & arrival	7/10	Friendly, smooth check-in, once you’ve found it, which the basement signage does nothing to help with.
Bed & sleep quality	9/10	Firm king bed and genuinely excellent linen.
Room cleanliness	9/10	Spotless throughout, though the kitchen cabinetry is showing its age.
Blackout curtains & air conditioning	9/10	Curtains that actually black out an east-facing room. AC handled winter fine but is untested in a Joburg summer.
Bathroom quality	6/8	Two clean bathrooms with Charlotte Rhys toiletries and plenty of shelving, points deducted for a shower that fights you on temperature.
Wi-Fi speed & reliability	2/8	Slow, unstable, and capped. Indefensible at this price point in Sandton.
Location & neighbourhood	8/8	Directly on Nelson Mandela Square with the Gautrain close by. It doesn’t get more central.
Facilities & amenities	5/8	Pool, gym, sauna and in-apartment washing machine, but everything shows general wear.
Service	7/10	Friendly when found, invisible otherwise, and daily linen changes during a three-night stay are a waste, not a luxury.
Value for money	4/8	Cheaper options nearby include fast internet or breakfast. You’re paying for the apartment format and the address.
The X-factor	5/8	An apartment-style stay on the square, but the location is doing all the lifting.
Total	71 = 7.1/10

The verdict

Would I return? The location is the best thing about it. But next time I’d probably try something that doesn’t face directly over it. The nights are the price of the view. Best suited for: anyone who needs to be in central Sandton for more than a night or two on business and wants a home rather than a hotel room. Just bring your own data.

7.1/10. Superb bed, unbeatable location, capped Wi-Fi. Two out of three shouldn’t cost this much.

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Check current rates for Raphael Penthouse Suites on Booking.com.

Stayed somewhere in Sandton that got the Wi-Fi right? Rate this review and tell me in the comments.