Belgrade, Serbia - The hotel offered to the Serbian team for the World Cup is a "decrepit dump," the Belgrade daily Press said on Tuesday
The three-star hotel Lakes and Conference in Benoni is surrounded by an "odour of staleness," the walls need a paint-job, the rooms offer only double beds and bathrooms are tiny, Snezana Malusevic of the Plavi, Plavi travel agency told the newspaper.
The agency has been put in charge of finding accommodation for Serbia at the World Cup, set to start on June 11 and end a month later.
"We haven't yet booked Lakes and Conference, because we're trying to find something better," Malusevic said. "We'll send the team there only if they fix what we asked."
Lake and Conference does however have a football pitch and other recreational facilities, it is only 30km from Johannesburg airport and 80km from Pretoria, where Serbia is to play its first World Cup match.
Malusevic said Serbia has until January 31 to select the venue for its team base. Organisers have offered 52 hotels to the 52 World Cup participants. - DC