Montcalm

"Since there were no other prospective buyers, Sol carved out a fabulous deal for Southern Sun that left Stanley and Bea almost nothing but the “Roller” and the diamonds. However, in addition to the three buildings in Johannesburg, the deal included a small hotel near Marble Arch in London – the Montcalm, a curved white terraced building that the Tollmans had recently acquired. It seemed nice, but neither Sol nor I had seen it. I was quite pleased that a hotel in central London would shortly be added to my portfolio. It would be useful to me personally. I was, however, somewhat taken aback when Sol and I were driving to the meeting to sign off on the deal and Sol suddenly announced, “You know what? We should let the poor Tollmans keep the Montcalm. Neither of us has even seen it, it’s not very big and how are we going to manage it from here? No, let’s be nice. Let’s let them keep it.”"

"The Montcalm became the small stepping stone that got them back on their feet. Many years later, the success of Red Carnation Hotels harked back to the Montcalm and the kind gesture of a competitor."