Money missing from safes at Laguna Beach Resort, Utila
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Randy43068
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give Dick Piston a call, he'll sort it out for you. 
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You've been a SB Member now for 4 years and just today you made your very first of two identical posts?
I don't know how you "remove the battery" from inside of a locked safe (that's how they work). What should we watch for in that regard?
How about a trip report? How was the diving? The boats? How was the Island? What did you see in terms of critter life?
I don't know how you "remove the battery" from inside of a locked safe (that's how they work). What should we watch for in that regard?
How about a trip report? How was the diving? The boats? How was the Island? What did you see in terms of critter life?
parrotheaddiver
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Hit and Runuttahere
uttahere
robint
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Actually, that is possible, I think.
The room safes at one place we stayed in Cozumel, the former Plaza las Glorias, had an electronic system and key pad where you set your personal code. We thought it was safe so we put all our money and passports in it while out diving. Well, one day we returned from diving to discover our safe wouldn't open. We called front desk and they said they would have to call the technician. We told them that we needed our money so we could go out to eat lunch but they insisted we didn't have to wait in the room, the tech would let himself in and fix the safe for us. We told them no way, we would wait for him. Well, 2 hours later he showed up and was very nervous. He told us that the battery was dead and he would replace it.... my hubby stood right next to the guy, watching everything he did in order to make sure he didn't take anything out of the safe. This guy and the whole system made us very nervous and suspicious! No way we wanted a hotel employee just coming into our room and getting our safe open while we weren't there! I would bet these "batteries" went out there at hotel alot..... what a great scam.
The room safes at one place we stayed in Cozumel, the former Plaza las Glorias, had an electronic system and key pad where you set your personal code. We thought it was safe so we put all our money and passports in it while out diving. Well, one day we returned from diving to discover our safe wouldn't open. We called front desk and they said they would have to call the technician. We told them that we needed our money so we could go out to eat lunch but they insisted we didn't have to wait in the room, the tech would let himself in and fix the safe for us. We told them no way, we would wait for him. Well, 2 hours later he showed up and was very nervous. He told us that the battery was dead and he would replace it.... my hubby stood right next to the guy, watching everything he did in order to make sure he didn't take anything out of the safe. This guy and the whole system made us very nervous and suspicious! No way we wanted a hotel employee just coming into our room and getting our safe open while we weren't there! I would bet these "batteries" went out there at hotel alot..... what a great scam.
Sadly the exact same thing just happened to us and another traveling companion last week at Laguna Beach Resort. Our room and safe were locked and money was taken from the locked safe while we were out of the room. The resort contacted the police on our behalf and we filed a report. The resort did come through and provided checks to both us and our traveling companion for our losses which we will deposit tomorrow.
We were in cabana Q, which is the next to the last cabana from the main resort area. It is not visible from the dive shop, the office, the main dining area, or the pool. Our friend was in cabana O, same situation regarding being visible. We were diving every day, leaving our room at approximately 7:30AM (we stopped back after breakfast to pick up our camera gear) and didn't return most days until 12:30PM-1:00PM. Our cabanas were usually the last ones cleaned every day so that gave the thief ample time to access our cabanas and in room safes.
The only reason we discovered it mid week was we were calculating how much we needed for dive staff/kitchen/bartender tips. We were lucky that we checked it then rather than the night before our departure. They took all our $100's and $50's and some $20.00's, leaving all the smaller bills. The thief didn't touch jewelry, a laptop computer, or credit cards. However, they appeared to take a liking to my husband's leatherman which was the only other item missing from the room.
My husband took the safe out (ours was not bolted down although our traveling companions was). Here's how they did it.
Here's a picture of the safe
Here's a picture of the safe with the battery panel removed.
Here's a picture of the safe with one battery removed, notice the key slot
Here's a closeup of the key slot. This is how they open the safe if you forgot your code. The thief either had a copy of the master key, or had figured out how to pick the lock. Since neither the lock on the room or the safe has visible damage, it leads one to speculate that the person was either an employee or a former employee that had access to both of these things.
The scary part is - once you put the batteries back in and replace the battery panel, it reverts back to the original code and works just like it did prior to the opening.
I for one will never again use an in room safe. Normally we do not travel with as much cash as we did on this trip. However, Laguna Beach Resort charges a 7% surcharge if you pay for incidentals (Nitrox, bar tab, gift shop purchases, and tips) with a credit card. We mentioned this when we reported the incident as the resort is forcing people to bring cash. You could bring travelers cheques, however we like to tip dive staff, boat captains, etc., in person, and I doubt they'd be too thrilled receiving travelers cheques. I've also had a lot of problems with places accepting travelers cheques.
Other than this event and the no-see-ums, we enjoyed our stay, loved the staff, really loved the dive staff and boat captain, the resort, and the diving. I plan to write a trip report on the resort, the diving, etc. We are thankful that the owners reimbursed us for our losses. However, as it appears this is not the first time this has occurred, I do feel they have an obligation to keep their guests safe, especially since the resort is in such a remote location. In my opinion they should remove the safes from the rooms as it creates a false sense of security. Placing all the safes in a central location that requires a staff member present would be a better alternative.
We were in cabana Q, which is the next to the last cabana from the main resort area. It is not visible from the dive shop, the office, the main dining area, or the pool. Our friend was in cabana O, same situation regarding being visible. We were diving every day, leaving our room at approximately 7:30AM (we stopped back after breakfast to pick up our camera gear) and didn't return most days until 12:30PM-1:00PM. Our cabanas were usually the last ones cleaned every day so that gave the thief ample time to access our cabanas and in room safes.
The only reason we discovered it mid week was we were calculating how much we needed for dive staff/kitchen/bartender tips. We were lucky that we checked it then rather than the night before our departure. They took all our $100's and $50's and some $20.00's, leaving all the smaller bills. The thief didn't touch jewelry, a laptop computer, or credit cards. However, they appeared to take a liking to my husband's leatherman which was the only other item missing from the room.
My husband took the safe out (ours was not bolted down although our traveling companions was). Here's how they did it.
Here's a picture of the safe
Here's a picture of the safe with the battery panel removed.
Here's a picture of the safe with one battery removed, notice the key slot
Here's a closeup of the key slot. This is how they open the safe if you forgot your code. The thief either had a copy of the master key, or had figured out how to pick the lock. Since neither the lock on the room or the safe has visible damage, it leads one to speculate that the person was either an employee or a former employee that had access to both of these things.
The scary part is - once you put the batteries back in and replace the battery panel, it reverts back to the original code and works just like it did prior to the opening.
I for one will never again use an in room safe. Normally we do not travel with as much cash as we did on this trip. However, Laguna Beach Resort charges a 7% surcharge if you pay for incidentals (Nitrox, bar tab, gift shop purchases, and tips) with a credit card. We mentioned this when we reported the incident as the resort is forcing people to bring cash. You could bring travelers cheques, however we like to tip dive staff, boat captains, etc., in person, and I doubt they'd be too thrilled receiving travelers cheques. I've also had a lot of problems with places accepting travelers cheques.
Other than this event and the no-see-ums, we enjoyed our stay, loved the staff, really loved the dive staff and boat captain, the resort, and the diving. I plan to write a trip report on the resort, the diving, etc. We are thankful that the owners reimbursed us for our losses. However, as it appears this is not the first time this has occurred, I do feel they have an obligation to keep their guests safe, especially since the resort is in such a remote location. In my opinion they should remove the safes from the rooms as it creates a false sense of security. Placing all the safes in a central location that requires a staff member present would be a better alternative.
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coldwaterlloyd
Contributor
What a drag . Obviously nothing is sacred .
DiveMaven
Contributor
Great heads up about looking closely at the safes prior to putting valuables in them. I'll be sure not to every trust a safe where there's a visible battery compartment because of your post.
Sad news...I really loved this place. It certainly sounds like an inside job.
Many thanks to you, Scubagal, for giving us such a detailed a thorough report of how this dastardly deed is accomplished! I think we'll have to pay more attention to the in-room safes from now on. I've heard of reports of safes being dug out of the wall in Bonaire, but I wonder if they are also as easy to get into as the ones in your photos? Is this the norm for these in-room safes?
Many thanks to you, Scubagal, for giving us such a detailed a thorough report of how this dastardly deed is accomplished! I think we'll have to pay more attention to the in-room safes from now on. I've heard of reports of safes being dug out of the wall in Bonaire, but I wonder if they are also as easy to get into as the ones in your photos? Is this the norm for these in-room safes?
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