Neighbour pays R3.6m to get rid of 'eyesore'

AN abandoned and incomplete hotel in Bluewater Bay was sold for R3.6-million yesterday – to a neighbour who bought it because it was an "eyesore".

The elated buyers – a Belgian couple – own a holiday home in front of the hotel, on the sea side of Whales Way.

A visibly nervous Rita Casteleyn was on the phone with her husband, Jimmy, in Belgium, during the auction as several bidders vied for the land. Bidding started at R1-million. The property consists of four plots and the structure of an unfinished hotel.

Casteleyn said the property, which had been in a state of disrepair for several years, was a "real eyesore".

"We do not know yet what we will be doing with the property. We are considering all our options, but one thing I do know is that we will not be putting up a hotel," she said.