SOMERSET East's oldest hotel, the Somerset East Hotel, which was established in the Eastern Cape town sometime during the 1860s, has closed down, leaving its previous owner on the brink of bankruptcy after a sale - that was to have left him comfortably off - went "horribly wrong".
André Ingram, who was proprietor of the hotel for 12 years, told Travel Now that he sold the hotel to a Gauteng businessman for R260 000 in December 1998.
"He did not honour his bond at the bank and he did not provide the necessary sureties, so his debt to me - in excess of R40 000 - was never paid."
As a result, Ingram himself remained liable for municipal taxes and bond repayments but, because he couldn't pay, the hotel was closed down last month.
Ingram also claims that the businessman - who has not been able to be reached for comment - had caused R250 000 to R300 000 worth of damage to the hotel after he opened it up to local tenants for R150 each a month, hoping to allegedly "make his money at the bar".
"Walls have been broken down, carpets ruined and doors have been removed. The kitchen is practically non-existent and the curtains are torn and filthy."
Ingram says that, bearing in mind financial restraints, he feels it is pointless to instigate a civil suit against the businessman as "he is just going to tell me he is broke".
A source at the local publicity office in Somerset East told Travel Now that it was rumoured that the Gauteng businessman had been running a shebeen (township tavern) out of the hotel.
The property is currently carrying too much debt for it to be a viable option for potential buyers, says Ingram, and he "doesn't see his way clear" to reopening the hotel himself.
The Somerset East Hotel was, for a long time, the town's only hotel, but local businessman, Pieter Nel has rebuilt another of the town's hotels which had burned down a few years ago; the 30-room self-catering Royal Hotel was opened late last month by Nel and his wife, Dolly.
Since opening, reports Nel, the hotel has housed up to 33 international guests - including an FIT group from China.
(Adéle Mackenzie & Rosemary Wilson)
