This restaurant is best avoided in Gauteng.

The weirdest (in a bad way) we have ever had in a Sheraton / Marriott Hotel.

When we parked in the underground parking, we saw that parking would be charged at 8R for an hour or 80 Rand for I think 8 hours. Which hotel charges its paying customers for private parking?

The 3 of us arrived at 2pm & went up to the lobby and inquired about their restaurant Magnolia which they said was serving lunch. When we reached the restaurant, they wouldn't let us sit in the restaurant, but seated us in the coffee lounge. Large comfortable chairs, but tiny, low tables - not at all conducive to eating a meal.

Service was extremely lackadaisical & the staff seemed irritated that we had even walked in.

They brought us a half page menu with 8-10 items on it. All of which were either carb heavy or deep fried, the one salad had a sugary honey dressing. So we decided not to eat here, but we did want to have coffee.

We asked for their drinks menu, they said they didn't have one. What? How is a customer supposed to know how much they will be charged?

Anyway, given we were tired and it was hot outside, we ordered coffee and the bill. The server quoted an amount. We said that we would need a printed bill. When the printed bill arrived, the total was 15% less than what she had quoted!

We paid that and then headed to the front desk to pay the parking fee. They insisted that the parking rate was 10Rand. They said they did not issue tickets and insisted that we pay in cash. They signed something at the back of the parking validation, which the parking attendant kept when letting us out of the garage.

The whole experience was extremely unsettling. If we hadn't already had brilliant experiences at Sheratons across the globe, we would never return to a Sheraton based on today's experience. We are definitely never setting foot in this one ever again.

Avoid, avoid, avoid!