ColoradoTraveler1120
Google
If five-star places are for you, then you will love Fairlawns. If you like your stays to come with more than a bit of pretentiousness, then that is doubly true.||Fairlawns, on the outskirts of Jo'burg, is majestic. Everything is overdone. It used to be a private estate. I read that it belonged to the former head of DeBeers. That shows.||Each room is unique and themed. We stayed in the polo room with all decorations of horses and polo gear. The phrase "over the top" comes to mind.||We had very mixed feelings about this place. On the one hand, it is top tier in every respect. We are not adverse to nice places and five-star resorts. Fairlawns is every bit that. On the other hand, like an oversized diamond, there is lots of flash here and little understatement. Given the extreme poverty endemic to much of Africa, including neighborhoods less than a mile away, the whole presentation is a bit much.||We were glad to be booked here and had a nice one-night stay. Complete with an excellent dinner. Though the next morning, we were also glad to leave.