Johannesburg: Sleek Backpackers (Hostel)

Address: 477a jan smuts avenue, Hyde park /randburg , Johannesburg 2194, South africa
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Lonely Planet review

A converted house is now a small hostel run with a personal touch. Dorms and doubles are basic but clean. It's in a handy location about halfway between the city centre and Fourways.

A family-run business is always going to win points for offering a personal approach, and Sleek is no exception. Multilingual Brigitte Vigliotti and her son Dominic run a warm and efficient backpackers with a certain individualism - rooms carry names such as 'intombi' (the isiZulu word for girl) and 'umfana' (boy). There is an overall grunginess to the place, and certain elements like the ramshackle backyard and the sense that animal hair resides in every microscopic space don't help (there are dogs and other beasts aplenty) - but rooms are clean and cosy. Bunks are very basic but with just about every required leisure facility squashed into the smallish grounds and offered with such assiduousness, this feels more like your animal-loving mother's house than a hostel.