'No new bookings' at Sun City's main hotel for two weeks following severe storm

The main hotel at storm-ravaged Sun City will be out of commission until the new year.

The world-famous holiday resort said on Wednesday that it had completed most of its mop-up operations after a severe storm on Saturday caused damage running into millions of rands and left two people injured.

The damage comes during the resort’s busiest time of the year, and just after Sun International had spent millions upgrading it.

"The Soho Hotel, which is the resort’s main hotel, suffered the greatest damage to its rooms. An insurance assessment indicated that damage is greater than anticipated," said Raul de Lima, Sun City group executive.

De Lima said the Soho Hotel would not be taking new bookings until January 7.

"Repairs will be undertaken during this time and as rooms become available, so we will share this information."

Booked guests had the option of cancelling their booking or moving it to a future date.

While the Cabanas and The Palace of the Lost City were now fully operational, the Cascades still had 60 rooms out of commission.

De Lima said the resort had targeted for 80% of these rooms to be ready during the week of Christmas.

The casino, restaurants and bars and Sun Central were all operating normally, as was the Valley of the Waves.

"We worked through the night on Saturday, Sunday and Monday and guests or visitors arriving at Sun City now would not believe that a storm of this magnitude took place," said De Lima.