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Reviews of 12 Decades Johannesburg Art Hotel

2.5 out of 5
12 Decades Johannesburg Art Hotel
286 Fox Street, Johannesburg, Gauteng

Reviews

7.6

Good

Rating 10 - Excellent. 16 out of 63 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 24 out of 63 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 16 out of 63 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 5 out of 63 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 2 out of 63 reviews" "

8.2/10

Cleanliness

6.6/10

Staff & service

5.8/10

Amenities

7.4/10

Property conditions & facilities

Reviews

10/10 Excellent

moses

Liked: Cleanliness, room comfort
Stayed 5 nights in Dec 2022
Response from Thami on 28 Jan 2023
Thank you for staying with us Moses. We will be happy to host you again in the near future.

6/10 Okay

Jeremy

Liked: Cleanliness
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
No soap in bathroom -could not shower Emergency lighting is needed in stairwells during load shedding
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2022

10/10 Excellent

Leticia

Stayed 1 night in Feb 2022

8/10 Good

Mpho

Stayed 1 night in May 2022

8/10 Good

Khetha

Place is aesthetically pleasing, very artsy and hipster like. Area is surrounded by bars pubs restaurants public and private transportation services are 1 min walk or at the click of cellphone. Checking in and out is pretty simple and easy, property owner is available through cellphone. Only problem I had was the WiFi didn’t want to connect, had no iron and no microwave to warm up a meal but they have a stove. Also place is not spotless clean but also no dirty somewhere in the middle. Booking Price is attractive but you pay for what you get. I would definitely stay here again though as I was happy with my stay.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2022

8/10 Good

Refilwe

Liked: Cleanliness, room comfort
Had a good time, the noise might not be worth it.
I had a really good time at the hotel. It was really beautiful and clean and the cleaning staff was especially really helpful. The lift however was not working and you can imagine walking up and down seven flights of stairs everytime you needed something or had to fetch someone. Another thing was the noise on the 7th floor, I was woken up at 2AM in the morning because of people laughing, fighting and shouting in the corridors. I was only able to sleep at 4AM.
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2021

6/10 Okay

Anelly

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, room comfort
The room I was at was very cold even the air Conditioner didn’t have heater and ended up catching flue after I asked for a extra blanket and I wasn’t given any.
Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2021
Response from Megan on 25 June 2021
Good morning Anelly - thank you for choosing us again. We are terribly sorry for the service you received - All units have been enhanced since and we certainly look forward to hosting you again. Kind Regards, Megan

10/10 Excellent

Jacky

Liked: Cleanliness, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2021

8/10 Good

Bianca

Liked: Cleanliness, room comfort
Overall it was good, the room was clean and comfy. What I did not enjoy wa the fact the the lifts were not working as a result of loadshedding. My stay was good and will definitely Book again
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2021
Response from 12 Decades Art Hotel Team on 10 Feb 2021
Thank you for choosing to stay with us! We do hope to host you soon again!

8/10 Good

Siyabonga

Liked: Cleanliness, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2020
Response from 12 Decades Art Hotel Team on 5 Feb 2021
Thank you for choosing to stay with us! We do hope to host you soon again!

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2021
Response from 12 Decades Art Hotel Team on 26 Jan 2021
Hello We would like to thank you for the positive response, we will be doing everything in our power to improve where we lack. your welcome to come again. Kind Regards Thato Mokgampane

8/10 Good

Dennis

Liked: Cleanliness, room comfort
Enjoyable
Enjoyable
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2020
Response from 12 Decades Art Hotel Team on 19 Oct 2020
Thanks Dennis!

8/10 Good

Dennis

Liked: Cleanliness
Cocoon in the middle of the nightlife
I love this particular part of Maboneng. Themba and team went out of their way to make me comfortable and my stay was stellar
Stayed 3 nights in Oct 2020
Response from 12 Decades Art Hotel Team on 19 Oct 2020
Hello Dennis! Glad you could have joined us! I have passed on your message to the staff :) We look forward to hosting you in the future!

10/10 Excellent

londiwe

Liked: Cleanliness, room comfort
Looking forward to come again
My stay was very very good😍 looking forward to book again
Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2020
Response from 12 Decades Art Hotel Team on 13 Oct 2020
Hello Londiwe! Thanks for staying with us! We hope to host you very soon :)

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
What a vibrant hotel full of amazing art. Room was unique and loved the different concepts. Location was buzzing with locals and tourists alike. Love Maboneng. Will definitely return. They however can upgrade the amenities allot. Add in a coffee machine and bathroom amenities was lacking.
Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2020
Response from Thato on 30 Jan 2020
Hi : Anonymous We appreciate you taking time out of your busy life and helping us improve guests quality of stay in our Hotel, we will do everything in our power to improve in those areas. Thank you. Kind Regards Thato Mokgampane

6/10 Okay

Ethan

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2019

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Travelled with partner
Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Amenities, property conditions & facilities
The young woman at front desk was very helpful with info, however the rooms and building are worn down.
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2019
Response from Thato on 19 Sept 2019
12DECADES ART HOTEL appreciates your feedback ,we will do everything in our power to improve our building.

8/10 Good

Neil

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great place to stay at a good price in downtown joburg. Maboneng is a great place to hang out and see the rebirth of inner city joburg
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2019
Response from Yamkela Z on 24 June 2019
Hi Neil, Thanks for choosing us to be your host in the city of gold. Your review is highly appreciated. Looking forward to hosting you once again in the near future.

10/10 Excellent

Tamba

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
The hotel is situated right in night life district of Joburg. The staffs were so friendly !
Stayed 4 nights in Apr 2019
Response from Yamkela Z on 30 Apr 2019
Hi Tamba, Thanks a million for the fabulous review! Happy Travels,

10/10 Excellent

CH

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Friendly staff. Bright room with high ceilings. Great location in a fun, funky, walkable area of Maboneng. Also note: as promised, they have fixed the Wi-Fi (I was able to work while there).
Stayed 4 nights in Feb 2019
Response from Yamkela Z on 12 Mar 2019
Hi there, Thanks a million for the lovely review! Happy Travels,

6/10 Okay

Adam

Nice stay but not really a hotel.
The hotel was very trendy, with lots of artwork, but it was more like an apartment building with self-contained apartments than a hotel. The area is really cool, but only in the very local vicinity, otherwise, it's not very safe. The room was perfectly fine.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2019
Response from Yamkela Z on 21 Feb 2019
Hi Adam, Thank you for taking the time to review us! Happy Travels,

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Disappointed
Took almost 30mins to be checked in at reception
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2018
Response from Yamkela Z on 5 Nov 2018
Hi there, Thanks a million for the feedback. Please accept my apologies for the unpleasant experience. I hope the remainder of your stay was lovely. Happy Travels,

6/10 Okay

Jordan

Liked: Room comfort
Clean Hotel in a vibrant part of town!
Had a good stay. I would suggest that you arrive during the day (like before 8/9pm) as the front desk staff gets sparse around that time. The room was clean when I arrived. Everyone was really nice. The area really makes this place. Maboneg is an amazing piece of Joburg.

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Love this cool hotel!
12 Decades is a really cool hotel. Clean, funky, right in the middle of a hip neighborhood. I found the service to be hospitable. The space clean and safe. I definitely recommend the 1999-2006 lofted room.

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great hotel
Very nice hotel in a great location, totally funky.

8/10 Good

Antoinette, New York, NY

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Hipster Loft Hotel in Trendy Maboneng
12 Decades is an artsy boutique hotel for hipsters not afraid of neighborhoods that are converting from commercial/industrial zoning to residential spaces. There are a number of trendy shops, art galleries, an independent cinema and foodie haunts within walking distance of the hotel. The staff are incredibly friendly and accommodating and will help organize transportation or places to stock up on goodies for the in-room fridge. Those who enjoy self-catering options will enjoy a stay at this hotel.

8/10 Good

Jessica

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

4/10 Poor

db, Johannesburg, South Africa

Disliked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Not given what was advertised.
When I arrived at 10pm, no front desk staff was available to: 1. Sell me any Internet vouchers (the only way to get online at the hotel). 2. Correct my reservation when i discovered i was given the wrong room, a lesser room than what I paid for. 3. Fix my air conditioner when I discovered that it was not working. Despite trying multiple solutions, including contacting Expedia staff, I was not given any option but to desperately try to sleep in tiny, strangely furnished, over heated room without any way to get online to check in for my 32 hour long international flight that was scheduled for the next morning. The next morning, I mentioned this to the hotel's GM and was basically offered no reparations or viable solution. Overall, the entire experience was very unsatisfactory. I will not be staying here again. Neither will my friends who also had an unsatisfactory experience in their rooms as well. This hotel used to have it together but things are slipping. People should take their business elsewhere.

8/10 Good

Andreas, Joburg

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Exploring our hometown
Some small gripes but loved the hotel and the cultural buss. Constitution Hill visit a must. Great insight to what is possible in SA

8/10 Good

kabelo

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
great
it was cool, some good memories

8/10 Good

Adjoa B., New York

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Art wonder great location
Really nice stay, loved neighborhood

10/10 Excellent

Lisa NYC

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Hip and Happening Hotel in Jozie
Having stayed at the 12 Legends Hotel a few times in the past month I can honestly say that it feels like home to me. From the first time we visited and Sydney spent the time to show us every unique room and even the fabulous rooftop view, to my first stay a few weeks ago to my last visit yesterday, I really can't say enough great things about how fabulous the decor and artwork are, how comfortable and spacious the room is, how the hot water is plentiful and HOT (my first great shower in 6 weeks), the beds are comfy but the crowning jewel and charm of the Twelve Legends are their smiling and warm staff - Lebo, Sydney and the others made me feel like a long lost friend and welcomed me and my traveling companion, Buzzie (my rolling bee suitcase) with a warm embrace that truly was the African experience!

10/10 Excellent

David and Jo, Melbourne

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Excellent and safe location
We stayed for 2 nights and were very impressed with the art design of the room and corridors. My first time in Johannesburg and I was concerned about safety. The location, in the art district, was well patrolled by security staff and had many interesting cafes and restaurants as well as a cinema and small theatre down stairs. We attended at stand up comedy night and a film. Most pleased and would stay there again if we visit Jo-burg again.

4/10 Poor

Kopano

Liked: Room comfort
Disliked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities

10/10 Excellent

Christopher

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Liked: Property conditions & facilities
Disliked: Staff & service, room comfort
A nice concept, poorly executed.
The concept was a great idea, however it proved to be the opposite. The hotel is actually inside an apartment building, in the middle of Maboneng which is a nice redevelopment isolated from the rest of the city on an "island" with terrible neighbourhoods on all sides. The Bed faced giant windows, and there was NO air conditioning on the 7th floor on a steamy Johannesburg summer weekend. Needless to say, the room was smoldering and opening the windows was ineffective. On top of this, once the sun went down the bugs came out. No AC and no screens on the window meant we had to douse ourselves in Deet prior to going to sleep, still awakening with mosquito bites. The third party employed security guards were rude, and questioned us on the way out in our car as to why we couldn't tap our security card to leave the car park. On further discussion with the hotel reception, I Was told that there is a specific key for the people who live in the building and hotel guests do not have this. This was news to the security guards, who every time we left and came back would badger us about entry. On top of this, in attempt to have a flat tire fixed that had happened over night- the Security would not allow myself and a uniformed car rental employee into the car park to be able to assess the flat tire. The front desk staff were not able to help us with most of our questions or issues with security.

6/10 Okay

EH

Disliked: Staff & service
Not for everyone
For those who haven't visited Joburg, Maboneng is a small district that has been secured and restored (read: gentrified), but it's not the kind of place where you can wander off into the neighborhood for an evening stroll. Research different options to find what fits your needs best. If you know what you're doing and have a car or someone to drive you around, Maboneng is a good way to get a taste of the city. I would not recommend it to anyone traveling alone. And it's not really a "hotel," more like a group of apartments with poor staffing. The staff members are very sweet, but the desk is often empty with no way to contact anyone. We also got stuck in the elevator and were told the capacity is actually half of what is listed on the placard inside (it's a huge elevator). You pay for wifi at reception and get a paper voucher for 500 MB (paying by credit card doesn't work), and they ran out of vouchers during our stay. Housekeeping is inconsistent, some days nobody came by the rooms and other days the housekeeper had gone as far as organizing and moving around my clothes/shoes/toiletries, which frankly makes me really uncomfortable. All in all it was really weird, they could use more amenities/services but it's a cool place if that's the sort of thing you're looking for!

10/10 Excellent

Daniel, Washington, DC

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
A quirky & fun hotel in center of the art scene
We traveled here to have a couple of days in Jo'burg before going to cape town. The hotel was awesome and has a ton of space a great mini-kitchen, and is in an awesome neighborhood. If you are here and there is some art scene stuff going on you couldn't be in a better spot. That being said the neighbor has seasons, and is completely dead around Christmas and New Years, as all the restaurants and bars shut down from Dec 20th-Jan 8th or so. This isn't the hotel's issue obviously, but it has a big impact on the neighborhood score, so just know the season you are visiting. If everything is shut down taxi's are expensive and you will need them to get out to other places. Saying all that we found about 3 places still running and had drinks and dinner with locals outside a local BBQ place and ended up hanging out drinking wine for hours and having a lovely time getting to know some 'starving' artists. The hotel is really fun and quirky and we were very happy with it.

8/10 Good

Visitors, uk

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Unique location clean hotel
Loads of character, large clean rooms. Room was a bit noisy until nearby venues closed but if you're staying here its likely to be to absorb the character of the surrounding area so unlikely to be an issue.

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
For the hipsters in Africa
Maboneng is an amazing neighbourhood, and the 12 Decades is a great way to experience it without feeling like you're bound to the hotel. Definitely recommend it if you're an artsy soul looking to connect with the spirit of Joburg.

6/10 Okay

John, Austin

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Worth A small amount of suffering for ART!
This was perhaps the perfect place for me to stay in Jo'burg. I'd been traveling for a while and needed a place to cool my heels. The hotel is generally fab, though lack of push/pull signs on doors (and other signage that might be helpful is absent so as to not cramp the art on display). I absolutely loved the hotel art and my room. One tiny problem, tiny rubbish bins with pop-up levers that failed to work, so you just collect trash in a corner. There was security every few feet in the Maboneng district but I did not want to venture outside the secured area as I was hassled at the local ATM. That said, everything I needed, from cafe to movie house (the director was present) to convenience store was within this secure area. Hotel service ranged from very helpful to being ignored.

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness

10/10 Excellent

A P, Johannesburg

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great
Great, just the parking was a bit of a problem otherwise all good

6/10 Okay

M and T, California

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Interesting, different kind of hotel
I would recommend this hotel to anyone who is adventurous and self-confident and doesn't rely on the hotel staff to provide much information to its clients. The hotel design is great, and the room was fantastic. However, the staff didn't always follow through with what they offered to do. No maps were offered to us. We had to figure out where we were in the city pretty much by ourselves. Two of us were traveling together, but we had to beg for two copies of the room key. The internet didn't work unless we purchased a voucher from a service around the corner from the hotel. This hotel will appeal to those that like to figure things out for themselves and enjoy independence. I would stay here again, knowing what I know now about how the hotel works and how it is situated within the city. The neighborhood is developing, and I felt comfortable roaming around it.

8/10 Good

Michele, Seattle

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Creative hotel!
Great hotel for the weekend. Lots going on during the weekend around the arts scene.

6/10 Okay

jtm325, London

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Disliked: Staff & service
Great location and concept........but...
Really enjoyed the location in central JHB as well as the concept of the hotel. Rooms are spacious and with a different design style (of local, historical importance) for each. Staff can't be bothered though.......try checking in early (before 9) or later (after 7) and you'll be on your own hoping someone has left your room key. No one else, including all the security people seem to have a clue about where the hotel staff are. Also........forget wifi in the rooms, doesn't exist. The whole neighbourhood has wifi, though where to get a password seems to be a closely guarded secret. Also, parking here is ridiculously stupid. There's a garage, though the garage staff are beyond terrible about letting you in/out if they key fob they give you doesn't work. Best part? The garage is half occupied.

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, room comfort
Disliked: Staff & service
The Studio Room was quite comfortable and clean.I find it strange that there is no microwave.The numbering of your rooms is complicated and also the access.People at the reception do not answer phone or they do not bother to oriented clients, for example where you do breakfast? When I checkout there was no person at the receptopn, because of time I had to check out by myself and leave all the keys because of time. The dustbins in the parking lot are messy,some items are out on the floor.

6/10 Okay

Krista, Miami, FL

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Disliked: Staff & service
Great rooms, poor service, poor location
The hotel itself, regarding the rooms, lobby, etc. was great. The rooms were spacious and clean and the wifi was really cheap (not free). The rooms were huge and stylish, walking through galleries was great. But there was little on the end of service (no maps, nothing in the way of suggestions from the people working at the front desk.) and the location left a lot to be desired. We did not feel safe walking around at all. The few blocks surrounding the hotel (the reason why we stayed there) has galleries, shops and cute restaurants, but all of that was closed on the weekends so it felt pretty deserted. We drove everywhere to get anywhere we wanted to be. We were not able to walk around the area we stayed in at all. I would not stay in CBD JoBurg. Had the hotel not already been payed for I would have changed to another location.

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
funky
more a studio flat than a hotel