FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Before spending the night in the hotel, I’d enjoyed a few meals at Aurum, the swanky, high-ceilinged, plushly decorated restaurant at The Leonardo and I’d been to a few spectacular parties at Alto234, the highest urban bar in Africa. On the rooftop of the building and with 360-degree views across Joburg, it makes for amazing, gold-tinged highveld sundowners.

The Leonardo makes its presence felt on the Sandton skyline long before you get there. At 234m, it’s the second-tallest building in Africa (after the 393.8m Iconic Tower in Egypt), with 55 floors.

Apart from the hotel, restaurant and rooftop bar, it has 200 apartments and 11 floors of commercial office space. First impressions are of a ritzy, high-end, corporate palace with friendly service, excellent eating and drinking spots and comfortable, classy rooms to rest your head or play in.

Hotel guests have access to a state-of-the-art gym, outdoor lap pool and deck and two-storey Legacy Balance Spa. The hotel has nine state-of-the-art, all-purpose conferencing venues and meeting rooms with food prepared by the team at Aurum. Conference rooms Isabella I-IV can open to create one space with a capacity of up to 330 people.