Harare — Picture this. You invite guests to your house with the intention of showing them how hospitable your home is, but then everything goes horribly wrong as your family decides to show its worst possible side.

This scenario sums up what happened at Rainbow Towers Hotel, on Monday evening, when Jamaican stars Brick & Lace, who are in Zimbabwe as part of the ZTA's celebrity host programme, booked in ahead of their long-awaited show in Harare on Saturday.

Brick & Lace say it took around an hour to check into their rooms as they had been booked to share one room.

They turned down that arrangement saying their star status could not allow them to share a room. On going to their 15th floor rooms, they found the taps dry and had to use water from buckets. As if that was not enough, the two beauties say it took more than one hour for room service to bring them the drinks they had ordered.

The sisters - Naila and Nyanda Thourbourne - have since transferred to Meikles Hotel. "We are quite used to staying in hotels wherever we go on tour and we encounter such problems sometimes," Naila said at yesterday's Press conference when asked about the experience with casualness that belies her star status.

However, Rainbow's communications and brands manager Elta Nengomasha played down the dry taps and other reported gripes. The manager said: "I am informed it took longer than necessary for them to check-in, but the issue is logistical on the part of the organisers who made a wrong booking for their visitors.

"They had been booked in as ordinary visitors but when they arrived they preferred premium rooms and the changeover process took a little while, which is normal anyway." She confirmed the dry taps, but was quick to add that Brick & Lace were not supposed to notice since it's part of routine maintenance the hotel normally carried out when all guests are deemed to be asleep.

"It's only unfortunate the group actually noticed there was no water at the hotel but the process is actually supposed to go unnoticed. That is why it is done when everyone is supposed or at least thought to be asleep." She also dismissed claims that it took over an hour to serve drinks to the celebrities saying the standard time was 15 to 20 minutes.

Nengomasha also trashed reports doing the rounds that Zimbabwe Challenge Rally participants booked in the hotel were facing the same water problems. "People are now taking advantage of the unfortunate incident that Brick & Lace faced to downgrade us. These reports are purely malicious," she said.

Zimbabwe Tourism Authority chief executive officer Mr Karikoga Kaseke said he had heard of the complaints and would personally attend to the issue.

"I am aware of the complaints of poor service at Rainbow Towers and I will personally see to it that the problems are rectified," Mr Kaseke said at Tuesday's Press conference.