Billionaire British sex addict Lord Laidlaw is being treated at an elite R75 000-a-month Cape Town retreat - but the facility has been ordered to close because it is not registered.
Laidlaw, who has a home in Noordhoek, made headlines last week when he was exposed in the UK for flying prostitutes to his £6 000-a-night (about R90 000) Monte Carlo hotel suite for sex parties.
He later admitted he was a sex addict and has been fighting the "disease" his entire adult life.
This week people working in addiction rehabilitation in Cape Town were abuzz at the news that Laidlaw was being treated at Montrose Place in Bishopscourt.
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A source said Montrose was much more exclusive than other rehabilitation centres in the city. "It is the rich taking care of the rich."
Montrose Place is owned by the wealthy and connected Graaf family. It boasts that 99% of its clientele are foreign, it does not accept medical aid; clients pay with credit cards or cash. Treatment can cost up to R75 000 a month and includes five-star en-suite bedrooms, with mountain and ocean views.
It caters for a maximum of 10 patients, but now has just seven.
Montrose's website states it is South Africa's first luxury extended-care retreat specialising in addictions, eating disorders and compulsive behaviours. Patients' meals are prepared by a chef, and they get counselling, access to a Harley Street psychiatrist and therapy.
But the business is unregistered and the City of Cape Town's inspectors served notice on Montrose in mid-April, giving it 30 days to stop operating.
Montrose has drawn the ire of wealthy neighbours who opposed the application to change its zoning. The city is awaiting Montrose's response to the objections.
Montrose Place advisory board member, Martin Coetzee, confirmed the notice, but said the city would "sort this out".
Laidlaw is at number 100 in the latest richest Britons list with a personal fortune of R11,3-billion.
- This article was originally published on page 3 of Tribune on May 11, 2008
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