Not to be confused with the stadium, the two establishments are under the same group. The beautifully structured hotel offers a variety of spaces to be utilised for different functions.
Some of these spaces include conferencing for large events, for smaller groups and meetings, a pool deck and lush gardens. I quite also enjoyed the spacious parking options.
One can even park underground to avoid the erratic weather we have been experiencing lately. Due to the Sexual Health and Wellness event Just Sex hosted this past Friday, we had to move a lot of our standard Friday activities to earlier times in the week.
As you enter the venue through the foyer, you are taken in by long glass plain windows reflecting a tall line of symmetrical trees along the full car park; it is magical, with a cosmopolitan feel.
I easily imagine a Vogue like photo shoot using the hotel as the backdrop. Lesego, HOM met us in the reception and ushered us in. We chose to sit outside for fresh air and to further appreciate the views.
Once seated, Alvin, a familiar face to myself and many patrons of local Gabs eatery establishments, approached us to say hello and introduce Unami, who was a super attentive waitress.
Alvin is head of F&B at the hotel who has been in the industry for over 20 years. With a warm smile he made some recommendations on what dishes to sample and it turned out some are on the weekly specials menu.
Kitso, my usual review side-kick, was picky about the type of glass she wanted her drink in and this called for Babiki the barman to come over to take us through his carefully crafted drinks menu.
I have to say, it took a minute for me to fully understand and believe that the weekly specials they have are available all week, they happen to all be best sellers; Quarter Chicken Chips and Salad, Steak Chips and Salad, Oxtail with Pap, 600g Ribs Chips and Salad. Every special comes with beer or a glass of wine. You get what you pay for ‘and then some’. For my beverage, I had a refreshing steelworks. What attracted me to it was that it sounded like summer in a glass.
The pool deck looks out to an inviting infinity pool, high rises from the CBD peaking through the trees into blue skies with a huge garden, very healthy grass with scattered flowers with woven pods in the distance that one can use for some peaceful time out while basking in some sun. We shared an Empress Seafood platter that was a serving of perfectly cooked pink buttered prawns.
We opted for fried crumbed calamari which was not oily, with a light crumbling also cooked well and not chewy. The crumbed hake was also nice. I would have loved for it to be cubed into slightly smaller pieces which are one bite but I suppose the two bites are safer should there be any stray bones.
Chef Chris says he makes his tartar and lemon butter sauces from scratch. Kitso was served a medium Filet Mignon, it comes with prawns and a green salad. Visibly she enjoyed her recommendation of the freshly ordered meat. Between bites she chimed; soft, tender and juicy.
I believe these are characteristics of a good steak. The ribs will remind you of locally famous ribs you have had elsewhere due to the magic Alvin carried with him to the establishment.
The only difference is they are not only available on a Monday but throughout the week. Grand Aria Hotel is definitely on the up and up as a preferred venue of choice. I understand that they have multiple year end bookings. Give them a call and experience the new kid in town because I am definitely returning.
