This is a very good place to stay in Joburg if you are in transit. Near the airport and with a free shuttle every 15 minutes.

I do not recommnend this venue at all. My lap-top was stolen from the conference room in the last day (very well planned, so they see me leaving the next day...) but I was staying for an other conference so I could see how security and even the manager handled my issue. They just did not care. My problem. They kept either lying to me that they were following the case (security people) or just not paying attention when I was speaking (the manager). Go at your own risk.As for the rest, huge conference rooms and dinner rooms, hundreds of people, reasonable efficient service (in the sense that they are serving crowds, not individuals) and reasonable food. The rooms are terrible, small, the shower is for people that are very thin or for children.....

Having lived in Johannesburg for 4 years before moving to London, I chose the Birchwood as a stop over on our recent trip to South Africa. I primarily chose it due to the close proximity to the airport, free shuttle bus and extensive grounds so that my 21 month old daughter could run around.

Unfortunately the service was rather disappointing. On the day we arrived I took the shuttle bus to the East Rand Mall to do a bit of shopping. I waited for the return bus with one other couple for about 15 minutes. When it arrived about 10 staff from the hotel arrived out of nowhere and ran towards the bus. This resulted in the driver leaving me and my daughter to walk back to the hotel on our own. Not ideal in 38 degree heat along a busy main road but it was either that or we had to wait another hour for the next shuttle.

We had organised a late check out on the day we left and intended to use the time to have a nap before our flight. Unfortunately reception didnt communicate this to Housekeeping and we had no fewer than 6 interruptions between 11am-4pm. Every time we drifted off to sleep Housekeeping would knock louding and then enter!

As this is mainly a conference venue expect breakfast to be in a huge room with about 300 people. The hot food is good and the choice excellent but the pastriesand scones were stale every day we ate there. I have felt softer rocks!

All in all, a good conference venue or short stay if you are waiting for a flight and need a day room near the airport but stay any longer and you'll be disappointed!

My first impression of this conference hotel was that it was situated in a concrete wasteland, because the Reception is located on a huge barren parking lot edged with a bit of grass and a few bushes. But the first impression is deceptive: the Birchwood is actually a series of conference venues that are surrounded by lush gardens and beautiful trees and lawns. The conference venue we used had a huge main room and three breakout rooms plus a room for the Secretariat and another small meeting room; they were well serviced with conference materials and maintained well through the five meeting days. The food was above average for breakfast and lunch, and the conference venue Manager tried her best to respond to special requests. The greatest challenge was that the hotel kept changing the venue for breakfast and lunch, creating some confusion among participants

Accommodation is a different issue: the rooms in the new blocks are on the small side, but the bathrooms are elegant - although mine was without a plug for an electrical appliance. The older rooms are giant-sized, clean and relatively well-appointed, but on the gloomy side, as there is only a small window to let in the light. The property is so large that guests are ferried about in golf carts: some parts of the property are so distant that it is a 20 minute walk from one point to another. However, as a place to hold a meeting or conference, it is more than adequate, and whatever the shortcomings of the hotel itself, the staff are welcoming, accommodating and try to be helpful.

The shortcomings included difficulties with connectivity (the IT Manager apparently spends his days trying to get guests hooked up to cabled Internet that frequently is out of service even though one has to buy time on the service to use it) and TV that is limited to one movie channel, three South African channels featuring soap operas, four Sports channels and Chinese news. The AC in my room shut itself off at night, and I couldn't figure out how to get it to go back on (when I checked in, I was not shown how the system operated - because my room was on the second floor, the golf cart driver carried my luggage to the top of the stairs and let me find my room on my own).

A serious issue with our conference was the theft of a mixer for the translation system from one of our conference rooms - although the hotel had CCTV at all the entrances, I didn't hear whether the mixer was recovered before the end of the conference.

The Centre is located close to the airport and offers a free shuttle, which worked fairly well provided you were willing to leave at the time the shuttle was scheduled.

As a conference centre the Birchwood is adequate; as a hotel it is impersonal and seriously understaffed.