Engaged couple concerned about wedding after confusion swirls around Elk Ridge Resort
David Shield | CBC News | Posted: May 15, 2020 8:00 PM | Last Updated: May 15, 2020
Dillan Radomske booked ceremony for next year, worried about losing deposit
A couple looking to tie the knot at Elk Ridge Resort is concerned that they may never see their deposit again.
In February, Dillan Radomske and his fiancée Christine Dumais went to Elk Ridge Resort near Waskesiu, Sask., to look into booking a wedding for early 2021.
They paid a $2,000 deposit to hold their date and believed everything was fine.
Then, COVID-19 hit. Concerned, Radomske began contacting the resort to make sure the booking was still on.
He couldn't get hold of anyone.
CBC has learned most of Elk Ridge's staff received a permanent layoff notice on April 17.
Now, Radomske wants answers.
"Nobody's answering the phone," he said.
"We kept getting put through to voicemail ... They haven't been returned."
How is it ethical and how is it moral to essentially cut off all communications with the customers and people who have paid you money?
- Dillan Radomske
For sale
While Elk Ridge Resort is currently listed for sale by Colliers International, a former employee said owners have been looking for a buyer for the past six years.
Radomske and his fiancée are both front-line health-care workers. He said conditions are stressful enough without having to worry about their upcoming big day.
"We had planned this wedding and that rock has kind of been pulled out from underneath us," he said.
"We feel very uncertain about the future."
Radomske said he feels frustrated that he was left in the lurch and no one has called him back.
"How is it ethical and how is it moral to essentially cut off all communications with the customers and people who have paid you money?" he asked.
"And to refuse to return their calls or e-mails when they've given you a significant sum."
On March 26, the resort posted a message on Facebook stating it would be temporarily closed and that new bookings would be available starting May 15.
CBC has reached out to owners and board members of Elk Ridge Resort. Calls were not immediately returned.