Let?s get the failings out of the way first. They need to serve their red wine at least two or three degrees cooler, particularly in summer, and to include the vintages on the wine list. The discordant orchestra of electric drills that splintered the late afternoon tranquillity can go, although in their defence, the place has only just opened and has some finishing touches to apply. And when you request an early check-out, it?s because you have to be up at a godforsaken hour, not because you want to. The quick and painless morning farewell is a work in progress.

But deal with those minor blemishes, as they should quickly and without much effort, and the St. Andrews Hotel and Spa might just have done the remarkable, and turned Bedfordview into a tourist destination.

Or if not tourist, then certainly romantic getaway; unlikely for a corner of Gauteng that hardly inspires visions of honeymoons and anniversaries, perhaps, but escape to St. Andrews for a night, and you?ll see why.

Large, sweeping suites (16 in total), bedecked in muted browns and beiges, offer welcome space, as does a bathroom vested of a deep, standalone bathtub and a shower you could get the better part of a rugby team into. The beds offer similar scale and if you?re in the right room there?s a view of the Gillooly?s Lake as an aesthetic bonus. Not quite Lake Como, perhaps, but in suburban Johannesburg this is about as good as it gets.

The chief delight of the hotel, though, is the spa, a world I venture into cautiously after being savaged by a four-foot blonde at Pezula several years ago. Forget the Russian mafia, the Asian triads and the South American drug lords: the two most dangerous groups of people on earth are physiotherapists, and masseuses.

No worries at St. Andrews, though, where the offerings are far gentler: African hot stone treatments, Swedish deep tissue massages (robust, but great for the body) and the more sensual aromatherapy massages, all available in double treatment rooms for shared bliss.

It?s legal requirement that every spa on the planet play music recorded by stoned Buddhists on pan pipes in Deepak Chopra?s basement, and St. Andrew?s is no exception. It works as aural anaesthetic though, easing you into a state of near-coma as expert fingers work the spa?s signature oil range into weary limbs. My back, apparently, resembled a well-used rope from an introductory Boy Scout knot course, which meant a fair working over at times. It?s an hour splendidly spent though, and depending on your choice of oil you'll emerge de-toxed, de-stressed, or simply re-enervated.

Simple combinations of classic tastes

I opted to de-tox, but worried that I might have overdone things the sensible course of action was clearly to offset the treatment with a good bottle of red wine over dinner. Trent?s, the restaurant at St. Andrews, offers both menu and wine list carefully concise, in a dining room of muted elegance: low lighting, stately furniture, and service more English butler than cloying attendant, a curse befalling so many restaurants around South Africa.

The menu?s built on simple combinations of classic tastes ? the firm sweetness of an onion roasted almost to the point of caramelising, set against the piquancy of goat?s cheese, was the pick of a list of starters that included a squid and calamari salad, the quality and freshness of the seafood allowed to shine on a bed of tomato and basic greens.

Seared tuna made an appearance as the night?s line fish, but when presented with the opportunity to have kudu I find it difficult to pass up. It was a good choice; the deep, dark venison flavours cooked lightly enough to leave plenty of blood in the cut, with the richness offset by a pile of gently stir fried vegetables to add a veneer of healthy eating.

A classic fillet awash with mushrooms was solid, if unspectacular; adding poached pears in red wine with chocolate mousse, an unusual combination that I suspect would have worked remarkably well, was tempting, but the last of a bottle of Dalla Cia?s 2005 cabernet sauvignon (from that famous Italian wine region, Stellenbosch) was sufficient.

Transit stop or getaway?

The hotel?s proximity to the airport (15 minutes if traffic?s light, which usually means between three and four in the morning in Johannesburg) has seen it market itself as an ideal traveller?s stop-off; the combination of fine dining, a grand spa, and luxury rooms, combined with the boutique nature of the establishment, and the solitude (when the drills aren?t at work) of a hotel tucked away in a back corner of Bedfordview, suggests the marketing focus might be off the mark.

As a romantic getaway from the stress of Gauteng life, St. Andrews is ideal; and perhaps the struggle to check out as the sun came up was a simple sign that staying longer would have been the sensible option.

St. Andrews Hotel and Spa, 22 Milner Avenue, St. Andrews, Bedfordview. Reservations/information: call (011) 453 4242, or visit www.st-andrewshotel.co.za>.