Saxon Hotel, Villas & Spa

Impossible to imagine, but the Saxon, on the fringes of Johannesburg, was once a private residence — not bad, considering it now sleeps about fifty. And surrounded as it is by a ten-foot wall, it’s about as private as a boutique hotel can get. This is where Nelson Mandela came to work on his autobiography after his release from Robben Island — quite a step up, from a cell to the suite that now bears his name, a sprawling compound within a compound, equipped with its own reception hall, dining room, steam bath, and colonnaded bedroom.

From there the basic suites are a bit of a step down, though anywhere else they’d be top-of-the-line. They’re open-plan, but come complete with dining and lounge areas, and they’re decorated in an elegant contemporary-African style, with all the modern musts: enormous plasma-screen televisions and remote-controlled everything.

Along with some fine suites the Saxon steps into resort territory, with a big outdoor pool, a stylish restaurant and bar, even a spa, complete with fitness studio and exercise machines. There’s a conference center as well, a reminder that you could do worse than to be sent here on business — get yourself a job in African politics and it could all be yours, at least for a few nights.