In response to our story from yesterday, titled “Things Are Really Falling Apart For The Ritz Hotel In Sea Point“, an email popped past our inbox.

This is normally an exciting thing, because sometimes people get angry and call us names and threaten to sue.

Given that our story was based off two Times LIVE articles, that’s clearly not an option, but we will afford the Ritz Hotel’s management company the right of reply.

We will publish the statement in its entirety, but a little shade will be thrown from time to time.

Here’s the statement, received by an employee writing “in the capacity as the Perception Management Company for The Ritz Hotel”.

Essentially, it’s the hotel’s management company, which signed a 20-year lease, fighting back against the judgment in favour of Ritz Plaza, which owns the hotel itself:

Ritz Hotel Management Company (Pty) Ltd (“RHMC”) and Ritz Plaza (Pty) Ltd, the owner of The Ritz Hotel, are in dispute over the lease over the Hotel.

Although RHMC is disappointed that Judge Gamble found that the lease had been validly cancelled and ordered RHMC to vacate the Hotel by 22 June 2018, RHMC intends to appeal the judgment and has instructed its legal team to do so.

RHMC remains confident in its case that that the lease has not been validly cancelled and that it remains in place.

We all make typos, so we shall forgive the “that that the” blunder. Also, I think ‘Gamble’ is a great name for a judge.

RHMC’s defence is that its failure to pay rent was the result of the delay in opening of the Hotel, which was caused by Ritz Plaza’s failure to provide it timeously with some of the agreed upon funding to upgrade the Hotel.

Until the finalisation of the appeal process, everything remains in place at the Hotel and it is business as usual.

The same issues in dispute between the parties are the subject matter of Ritz Plaza’s winding-up application and RHMC’s action for damages (which it instituted last year) for Ritz Plaza’s breach of its obligation to provide critical funding timeously.

As per yesterday’s story, a “winding-up application brought by Ritz Plaza was postponed pending the outcome of the eviction case, and will be heard on June 28”.

On we go:

RHMC has invested in excess of R90 million of its own money in the improvement of the Hotel, which included extensive infrastructural and environmental upgrades that were critical to ensure that the Hotel complied with the regulatory requirements to safely and legally operate as a hotel.  Ritz Plaza refuses to acknowledge the investment made by RHMC in its asset which has doubled in value as a result of RHMC’s renovation and investment in the Hotel.  RHMC is proud of the job it has done at the Hotel which has resulted in The Ritz Hotel receiving a nomination for best new hotel in Africa.

RHMC remains committed to the Hotel, its staff and guests and dedicated to achieving the true potential of The Ritz.  It has appointed a strong management team with the intention that The Ritz becomes one of the leading hotels of the world, assisting in the growth of both Cape Town and South Africa as world-class destinations.

Says Johann du Plessis, General Manager, for The Ritz; “Since the Hotel opened in December we have had over-whelming positive feedback on the Hotel’s world-class transformation.  Already CASA restaurant and the iconic Top of the Ritz revolving restaurant are firm favourites with both local and international guests.  In addition, we have also garnered the support of our valued travel industry and trade partners with bookings looking very promising for the 2018/2019 summer season and beyond.”

What about winter bookings? Seems to me like they need bums in beds and pronto, too.

There you have it.

I guess now we just have to wait for the application to be heard on June 28, and at the very least they’ve bought themselves six more days from that June 22 eviction date handed down by the judge.

As we said yesterday, things are really falling apart, but at least they’re emailing around wordy PR spin emails.