Date Night @ Crowne Plaza

A Stay at Tsogo Sun's - Crowne Plaza in Rosebank.

(Let's just make it a Date Night.)

Some of the finest upmarket rooms & luxury suites in Rosebank - Joburg. The hotel exudes a contemporary modern feel from the moment you walk in the doors. (One of my favourite things is the smell. The whole hotel has a signature fragrance that follows you wherever you go.)

The Crowne Plaza has a 'Date Night' package available at the moment, that I think is some serious value for money for the stay in this 4 star establishment.

Included is Dinner, Bed & Breakfast for 2... 

A romantic turn-down in your room.

Enjoy a 3 course Dinner at CUT, prepared by Nico Brandt.

Be surprised with a complimentary bottle of wine.

Start your morning with breakfast at Fresh Restaurant

So naturally when I was there, I had to venture around to see what's on offer at the hotel. 

Outdoor Pool.

Fitness Centre.

Amani African Spa.

Then they have all the other things that make your stay so much more comfortable.

WiFi. Housekeeping & Laundry Services. Childcare Services. So you really have everything right there that you need.

The 3 Course Dinner at CUT. 

A set menu with a wide variety of options to choose from will leave you drooling.

I opted for the Creamy Mussels starter. Paired this with the Protea Chardonnay & it was a winner.

The Black Mushrooms with Cheese (And Extra Cheese) is full of flavours & if you are a mushroom lover, then this one is for you. 

On to the main meals... The Ostrich Fillet was my first choice. Presented beautifully & with simple elements I was expecting it to be a great dish. Unfortunately, the fillet was more sinew than anything, so I asked to send it back. Our waiter was amazing & then brought out the menu & insisted that they replace my meal with something else. So I then asked for the Calamari, which was deep-fried to perfection & crispy on the outside & tender on the inside. The chicken & seafood curry pot is one big meal that will definitely be leaving you wanting more. Creamy & full of spice.

Before heading up to bed, it was time to head to the new Circle Bar for a final glass of wine. It is a great place to chill & have a few drinks with friends & enjoy the music with some good wine.

All in all, I had a great stay at the Tsogo Sun - Crowne Plaza in Rosebank. It is nice & close to Rosebank Mall & the Gautrain Station if you need to get out, so there are no excuses to venture into Joburg to go sight seeing too. 

Check out the Date Night Special here.

If you need to see more info on the hotel, check out the website.

#TsogoDateNight

#SAFW - JJ Schoeman

When you hear the name JJ Schoeman, you probably think of glitzy red carpet dresses worn by celebrities and high profile business women around the globe. So when I sat down before his #AW16 collection was to take to the runway at #SAFW, I was expecting mostly glamarous ballgowns studded with beading. Well, lets just say that what I was expecting, is not what came down the runway. 

JJ Schoeman proved that simplicity is the key to a very successful collection. This range was completed with a monochromatic palate of greys, blacks and neutrals.

 

 

 

   

Trend Analyst Nicola Cooper (one smart lady that really knows her stuff) spotted these coming trends before they hit the runway. The 'glocal' interpretations that she spoke about on the FashionLabAF radio show during her trend report. Coats & Cloaks in Mono Moods are pretty evident in JJ Schoeman's #AW16 collection as seen below.

 

Oh! Something that I really liked, was that all the models had the exact same hairstyle, done up by hairstylist Wesley Gordon. This one constant element ensured that you are not distracted by the models' hair and stay focused on his elegant and sophisticated garments on the runway.

 

 

A general trend that I did see in many of the #AW16 collections on the #SAFW runway was the women's wear designers using a lot of black in their collections as seen here in JJ Schoeman's chic range, adding some darker shades to the runway. Black Leather. Black Lace. Black Velvet. All of these made their way down the runway at some point over the course of #SAFW.

 

And what is a JJ Schoeman show without the glitz and glam. His range ended with this stunning slim evening gown complete with all the sparkle and a extravagant head piece. 

Find JJ Schoeman on social media - 
Twitter: @JJSchoeman
Facebook: JJ Schoeman - Theatre of Fashion
Website: www.jjschoeman.com

Photo's courtesy of SDR Photo & available here.

#SAFW - Touch Of Bling

Thabo Khumalo aka Thabo Bling has always brought something new, fresh and creative to the South Africa Fashion Week runway. And this season, with his #AW16 collection for Touch of Bling, he did just that again. 'Wearability' is key in the fashion industry now days. People want to wear collections straight off of the runway and so his 'ready-to-wear' collection this season was a very good example of what he knows the market out there wants and he is making his eccentric designs accessible to everyone who is daring enough to wear a jumpsuit or suit printed with brightly coloured dice.

And then Thabo toned it down a bit, well almost. The 'oversized' big stitched knitwear is a personal favourite. According to trend analyst Nicola Cooper, we should have expected to see lots capes and cloaks, and this is a trend that Touch of Bling most definitely has picked up on and used in this collection as seen in these images below.

The colours used in his #AW16 collection ranging from lighter beige and green neutrals to more darker and earthy browns, which I think has made this collection even more of a 'wearable' range, as (lets face it and tell the truth now) many South African men are not too keen on wearing bright colourful clothing which attracts too much attention to them. 

Being different, one thing that Touch of Bling does that makes them unique, specifically when it comes to the pants in his collections is the buttoning which crosses diagonally from the lower crotch over to the waist. I can imagine that this is something that some people would not like as it is not 'normal.' However I think (as being somewhat of a non-conformist myself) this is a rather interesting and unique trademark that he has going and it is setting him apart from  other menswear designers in the country. 

Find Touch of Bling on social media.
Twitter: @ThaboBling
Facebook: Touch of Bling
Instagram: Touch of Bling
Or get in contact with Thabo - ghettobling@webmail.com 

*thumbs up for Touch of Bling*

Images by SDR Photo and can be found here.