INSIDE THE RITZ HOTEL, TITANIC OF SEA POINT

Amid the decay, hints of former glory remain

- VIVIAN WARBY

A MATRIC certificate lies in a pile of other abandoned materials in a room in the condemned Ritz Hotel in Sea Point.

In another corner is a fire fighter certificate. Under an old duvet cover is a job rejection letter.

During Covid, the once glamorous Ritz Hotel was taken over by hijackers, alleged sex workers, drug dealers and an 88-year-old woman who walked 17 flights of steps a day to go to “her” abandoned room in the building.

A building, that even without water and electricity, completely run-down, and with almost no maintenance over the years, still boasts the best views in the city.

It's no wonder then that there is an offer of close to R300 million on the table for it by a foreign hotel consortium - not Dutch, not Spanish, not French, not even from Europe.

They have almost signed the deal, says Bruce Hendricks, MD of Hendricks Harmse Attorneys, one of the representatives of the owners and whose company is managing the Ritz Hotel building.

It could be a done deal by Friday, he says. Or not. “Let’s say it is about 80% there.”

The present owners - the Hurwitz and Roffey families, have been in no rush to sell the building.