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- The Bank opened last year and is a chic 4-star hotel ideally located above Rosebank's pedestrianised streets.
- It's as serious as it is fun, with free direct access to a co-working space, original artworks, and a vibey in-house restaurant and bar.
- It's within walking distance of other trendy bars and restaurants, close to great galleries - and a 20-minute Gautrain ride from the airport.
A palpable energy exists in the lobby of The Bank, one of Rosebank's newest hotels making a strong play for Johannesburg's work and leisure market. And despite a clear sway towards business travellers, it's a comfortable, quirky hotel that's also an excellent bet for holidaymakers overnighting in the city.
The atmosphere on the ground floor of The Bank is primarily thanks to the in-house restaurant, Proud Mary, which opens onto the pedestrianised thoroughfare to Oxford Road. It buzzes throughout the day with hotel guests and the general public. And by nightfall, the classy well-stocked bar is a popular place for guests and locals to pull up a chair.
The Bank falls under the voco brand, owned by hotel behemoth InterContinental Hotels Group, which counts brands like Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn in its portfolio. Yet despite this association, a sense of locality and individual personality starts in the bustling lobby and extends to its rooms.
The hotel's architecture and interior design help anchor its individuality. It's an old FNB building built in the 1970s, but in 2021 it saw a complete refurbishment into the present-day establishment.
For all the modern in-room conveniences - a good tea and coffee station, fully stocked and surprisingly reasonable minibar, flatscreen smart TV, a steamer for clothes, and fast in-room WiFi - the retro-futuristic décor pays homage to its roots.
Imbewu Design is responsible for the look and feel of the rooms and common areas, which all have multiple original artworks rather than generic placeholders. Most are local, and some were specifically commissioned for the building, and the hotel offers informal tours of the collection, which runs into the thousands.
Business travellers will appreciate The Bank's easy Gautrain access to the airport and Sandton, direct free entry into co-working space Workshop17, and fast unlimited in-room WiFi; it strikes a good balance between functional, playful, and convenient.
Cheeky touches like a checklist that urges you not to forget your passport, wallet, and children, along with living houseplants, mirror the image that's defined the broader Rosebank area for some time now.
And unlike the more stilted business hub of nearby Sandton, Rosebank has always had a quirky personality nurtured by its more diverse and sometimes eccentric residents.
This has led to several celebrated art galleries, quirky restaurants, street-side cafes, and boutique and specialist stores, some of which have migrated from Cape Town.
On a weekday, the paved walkways surrounding the ever-hustling Rosebank fill with suited and booted office workers lining up for their morning caffeine fix at niche stores and global chains.
Tourists in town for a day or two can walk or Uber to Circa Gallery or Everard Read, or explore further afield onboard a hop-on, hop-off City Sightseeing bus, which stops nearby.
The Rosebank Arts and Crafts market will likely tick some boxes for gifts and souvenirs. However, several formal retail stores, like Freedom of Movement, We are EGG, or ShelfLife, offer glimpses into a maturing South African retail space.
And come nightfall, there are several fine-dining options nearby. Top-rated Marble continues to impress, and renowned chef Luke Dale Roberts has recently introduced his hit Cape Town restaurant Pot Luck Club to the area.
If it's a more casual meal you're after, several spots are within easy walking distance, including celebrated Indian restaurant Modern Tailors and spirited restaurant and ceviche bar Mamasamba.
Even closer to the hotel is also the trendy Fugazzi, which came as a dinner recommendation from the hotel. This New York-Italian-style restaurant serves delicious antipasto plates, a combination of which would make for an excellent dinner, and they also serve pasta and sourdough pizzas that tick the boxes for a fun, casual meal out.
Returning on foot to The Bank after dinner, it was hard to resist the pull of the Proud Mary bar, so I pulled out a high-top velvet chair and ordered off the vast menu that features niche local and international spirits and dozens of small batch Cape wines.
Sitting there amongst the eclectic mix of night-capping tourists, laptop-tapping businesspeople, and the last of the enthusiastic dinner table conversations, having strolled back in the cool autumn air from dinner, it was easy to imagine myself in Melbourne, Paris, or Milan, where voco also has a presence.
And yet, with its inimitable Joburg energy, as nice as it might have been to be visiting one of these global properties, I felt satisfied that I wasn't abroad and paying in Euros, but instead in the heart of Joburg's resurgent Rosebank.
