Monday, June 29, 2009

Meeting the world


We love meeting the world and the world comes to us. In the photos are guests from Singapore, Johannesburg and Atlanta region... we heard tales of Aligators, St.Helena Island and Singapore... always interesting and varied personal accounts from differing parts of the globe.
In the photos are (top) Andries, Llewellyn and Johnathan, and (bottom) David, Peter and Llewellyn (guesthouse co-owner).

Friday, June 19, 2009

Durban mid-winter

Can you believe it is mid-winter in Durban and this is still the weather we enjoy?.. it's an all-year city which is why we love it. Our temperature ranges between 18c in winter to 35c in summer. And today is another glorious day.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

SunCaost Casino takes my credits


As former Deputy Mayor of Durban and member of the Durban Publicity Association and Durban for the Olympics Committee, I am usually one to publicise the good about our city.

However the local
SunCoast Casino and Entertainment Complex comes in for stern criticism for deleting the credit balance on my casino card and then after a protest offering to re-instate half of the balance.

This is unacceptable.

I am not a gambler at heart but as a member of
Gold Circle Racing I like to entertain clients and guests in their private suites at the Horse Racing complex just down the road from our Guesthouse.

In turn the Horse Racing club and the Casino have a joint agreement to promote their respective facilities which grants free betting vouchers to their members each alternate month.

I usually enjoy the facilities at the Casino complex which includes restaurants, beach access, movies and entertainment, and I took up their betting offer prior to the expiry of the voucher period. I traded the voucher in and the credits due were loaded on to my Club Festival Card. Similarly you can load cash on to your card as well as winnings and then carry this card around or even leave the casino and return when you wish to resume your gambling.

WIPED OUT!

Imagine my surprise when I returned this week and found that my credit balance had been wiped out by the casino!! R0; zero on the card. I see credits on my card as my cash and taking them away in my view amounts to theft of this money by the casino.
The casino's response is absolute nonsense - the printed terms and conditions on the voucher indicated that the voucher was valid for the limited period only, and I maintain that I surrendered my voucher within the validity period and that once the credits were loaded on my card, ownership of those credits and the funds they represent passed to me and may not be unilaterally cancelled by them.
I challenged the casino on this and their view is that because I didn’t spend the credits by the date that the voucher expired, they were entitled to zero the remaining credits on my card.

PUBLIC BEWARE!

I don’t believe members of the public are aware that the casino has control over the money loaded on to their Club Festival cards and that the casino can tamper with their balances and by the click of a button alter those balances and I feel a public awareness campaign needs to bring this to the public’s attention. I am dissatisfied with the way in which my challenge was brushed off by them and I was offered 50% of the credit value.
* SunCoast Casino have since apologised and are re-crediting my account with the exact amount of their debit. *

Thursday, June 11, 2009

View from Durban View roof-deck

Llewellyn captured the moment from our rooftop sundeck as the moon rises in it's full glory over the city of Durban.

Trying out the various settings on his new camera from our Durban View Guesthouse rooftop has produced a stunning glimpse of the view we enjoy each day.

Monday, June 01, 2009

Dave and Llew back from Sydney


After a whirlwind trip to Sydney and Auckland, we arrived back home in Durban yesterday. In the photos are the Sydney Opera House, the city centre and the Sydney Harbour Bridge seen from the Milson's Point side of the bridge. We climbed the bridge, walked across it, went on the Ferry underneath it and crossed it by bus and by train.


Sydney harbour by night on the Ferry back from Manly village.


Llewellyn with the city, bridge and opera house in the background.

Durban harbour seen from our window seat in the SA Airways plane.

The best way to enjoy a long flight is to have a drink or several on the plane. Dave and Llewellyn say cheers, and it's good to be back.