Described as a hellhole by recent visitors, the woes of the once-popular Summerstrand Hotel on Port Elizabeth’s beachfront have deepened, with more than 50 employees being told not to return for the next three months.

The workers, already out of pocket because they were paid only part of their wages in July, have struggled to get answers from hotel owner Mark Hartmann – who was declared a delinquent director by a judge earlier in 2019...