Hip Penthouse Hotel in Maboneng

The neighborhood:

In general it’s not very safe to just walk around Jburg and you’re going to have to take an Uber to most places, even sometimes if they’re just a few blocks away. Ubers aren’t expensive and are pretty easy to hail (especially if you choose Uber Comfort).

That being said I liked this location because you have a solid 3-4 blocks you can walk around worry-free. There are quite a few shops selling art, clothes, and other cool things (Drew bought some pants he had tailored right there, I bought some shoes and a backpack). There’s also some good restaurants and cafes.

If you’re white you’re going to stick out. One of our Uber drivers said, indeed, the only white people that come around Maboneng are tourists. Nevertheless, unlike other places where I look like I'm obviously a tourist, no one bothered me or approached me in any way, which was really nice.

It’s not advisable to just have your cell phone out while walking around so I didn’t take many pictures of the neighborhood. But take my word for it; it does look cool and artsy.

The space:

There are three different “penthouses” available at Fox Street Studios, designed on themes: Glass, Copper, and Wood. I actually booked Copper but we got Wood for some reason (no explanation provided). They seem similar though on the website.

I liked how much space we got for a good price. We paid $470 total for four nights (about $118 per night) and had a big kitchen, sitting room, media room, and balcony.

While it looked pretty good in the pictures, it was a little dingy, with random garbage in the cupboards and this dirty dish on the floor. The washing machine also didn’t work and we washed our clothes by hand in Drew’s bathtub.

Comfort

The beds were nice and cozy. I took the smaller bedroom while Drew took the master bedroom.

My shower did not have hot water, unfortunately, but Drew’s shower was seriously amazing and was basically like a waterfall. So I just used his.

The rooms are located directly across the street from several night clubs, which you will hear going strong until 2am or so every day. Even load shedding did not stop the party at one of these clubs, which apparently had a back up generator. Maybe if the hotel provided some ear plugs that would’ve been helpful.

The media area is cool and had a big TV with Netflix and comfortable couch. We watched Chappie, a movie set in Jburg, one of the nights we were here.

All in all, Maboneng is an adventure and Fox Street Studios was a safe and fun place to be based while we explored the city. Curiocity also offers a bunch of different tours and social events, which I really liked. I booked my safari with them!

Certainly it would not be for every traveler but if you are down for something a little bit different this could be a great place to stay.