FYI, the corkage fee has been reduced. Photo: Herbmuseum.com

It was a storm in a bottle neck…or bottle cap … A wine lover’s complaint about the excessively high corkage fee at the restaurant at the Saldanha Bay Protea hotel ended up in the newspapers. But wine lovers can relax. The matter has been dealt with.

Spokesperson for the hotelgroup, Danny Bryer, tells Melkbos.net that the management of the hotelgroup agree that the corkage fee for guests who bring along their own wine should not have risen. In the media it has been reported that the corkage fee rose from R30 to R145.

Bryer says, “The management of Protea Hotels by Marriott fully agrees that the amount charged for the corkage in this instance was excessive, and confirms that this is not reflective of any policy adopted by the hotel group.  Steps are under way to investigate the incident and revise the charges to be in line with industry benchmarks. This is in line with our wish to prevent any similar situation arising in the future.” Wine lovers, you can  calm down. All’s well that ends well indeed.