South African tourists to Athens for the Olympic Games have fascinating stories to tell, but none like Old Eds hockey player Samantha Krog and her travelling partner, Karen Kennedy, who found themselves booked into a brothel.
They had a surprise waiting for them when they arrived at the hotel they had booked on the internet from Johannesburg.
”You know you’ve got problems when an Athens taxi driver says ‘wait here’ while he goes in to check out your hotel at reception,” said Krog. ”When we came out of our lift and saw a condom machine in the passage, we knew we’d been ‘screwed’ for €270 a night.”
They entered the ”Turquoise Room” to discover they were in a haven of passion-purple haze and tinsel.
”It was like walking into a room decorated for Christmas,” said Kennedy. ”It was an irony.”
They were the victims of an initiative by the Athens authorities to cut prostitution off in Athens during the Olympics. Call and street girls were forced underground during the Olympic build-up so hotels such as the Hellenico on the southern shore of Athens opened their rooms of business to tourists.
”Instead of three stars, we got three Xs, ‘out of season’ prices,” said Krog, who shares a quick wit with Kennedy. ”But I must say that we turned the whole experience into an adventure. It’s been great.
”After travelling here, I’ve never slept so well. The bed was well worked in and gave an amazing sleep.”
They told of an Australian and Chinese couple who were introduced to the ”Leopard Room” and the ”African Room”.
”They told us they were getting the hell out of there. Their walls were covered in mirrors that they thought were cupboards. They showed a photo on their digital camera of a reflection in the mirror of the hotel’s banner that spelt a vertical ‘Hell’ — the balcony cut off the last five letters of the hotel’s name.
”We were in Hotel Hell. But what the hell,” said Kennedy, ”we’re South Africans. We enjoy a good adventure.”
They finally knew the hotel was a brothel when their lift inadvertently stopped at the basement.
”The door opened and there were these obvious prostitutes,” said Krog. ”These girls were working from underground. They’d being moved out of the rooms we’d been put in and were now working from the hotel’s basement. It was, literally, hotel hell.”
The Johannesburg pair had moved out of Hotel Hellenico by Sunday and were set to join a group of four youngsters from Pietermaritzburg — twins Belinda and Debbie Garner, Christy Webb and Mark Robson — on a camping site on the beach.
They decided last Wednesday to come to Athens and were travelling to their camp site on the beach on the verge of Hellinco when they saw the South African flag flying from the Emmantina hotel, the South African Olympic clubhouse in Athens.
Webb walked into the foyer on Saturday straight into Donovan Cech, who had that morning won the heavyweight pairs rowing bronze with Ramon di Clemente.
”It was the most amazing coincidence,” she said. ”He’s from ‘Maritzburg where we were brought up. So was Darian Townsend, who was also here today.
”We have two medallists from ‘Maritzburg at the Olympics. So much for the ‘sleepy hollow’, hey?”’
They joined the throng of South Africans who converged on the hotel from all over Athens to watch the Boks beat the Aussies in their Tri-Nations triumph.
”It’s an experience I’ll never forget,” said Belinda Garner, who decided impulsively last Wednesday to bring her sister and friends to an Olympic experience in Athens.
”As they say back home,” said Belinda. ”You can’t take South Africans anywhere.” — Sapa
Special Report: Olympics 2004