A cautionary tale, especially for returners

well, since I can't read page 3...(what the heck?).. I will offer my two cents here..Thats why I don't share where I am going..I'm just a little paranoid in the best of circumstances...I was going to bring a carrying case that usually houses my portable dvd player...which I and NOT bringing..but I thought it would make a good case for my husband to carry on the plane...thats out..anything that looks like I am carrying some kind of electronics is definitely out.. Also, wondering, in the OTHER country I visit..(this is getting ridiculous), I am also on the 3rd floor however my balcony is not far from a coconut tree...ever see how easy it is for some people to climb coconut trees? Wondering if there is a tree nearby this 'hotel'?

if u read the posts, you'll see the hotel is pretty much been named.... and I'm a big fan of the hotel and will stay there again.... I never take anything with me, just enough cash for the stay.... I leave the # of the hotel to those that need it at home and can check email whenever at hotel lobby.... Like many, have type of job where I may need reached, and they can, I'll check email daily and the hotel will come find me if someone calls..

Any cop will tell u, its a whole different crime when someone steals ur stuff, then when someone invades ur home/room, while u are there, they are armed, and steal ur stuff..... and these are the types of crimes we are reading about...

if u read the posts, you'll see the hotel is pretty much been named.... and I'm a big fan of the hotel and will stay there again.... I never take anything with me, just enough cash for the stay.... I leave the # of the hotel to those that need it at home and can check email whenever at hotel lobby.... Like many, have type of job where I may need reached, and they can, I'll check email daily and the hotel will come find me if someone calls..

Any cop will tell u, its a whole different crime when someone steals ur stuff, then when someone invades ur home/room, while u are there, they are armed, and steal ur stuff..... and these are the types of crimes we are reading about...

I guess Sadiekat didn't realize she already told us where she was staying... and that all you have to do is click on someone's name and you can see all of their previous posts.

One thing I want to point out is that there is a common theme here when discussing the recent break-ins... someone left a door / window unlocked.

If I was on the 3rd floor I would not have been concerned about locking the windows or balcony. This appears to be the work of an experienced thief. Very sad to hear. Did I read that the hotel had it on video?

How can one suggest "occasional" theft when they have no info on Which hotel????

So,lets protect the hotel that didn't protect and not protect us who get info on this site?

How about we protect each other? How do you know if there was "another" victim who didn't even post it on this site???

Remember foks,when you get robbed,your first though shoud be "gee,I hope I don't upset anyone when I talk about getting Screwed?"

I'm with you...a hotel is a business...a person and their safety...a life....

It is silly to not want to name the place that allowed this to happen. Their feet should be held the fire.
These hotels have no reason to make changes unless they are called out. There is no such thing as "no problem", it's a big problem if it is allowed to continue as is.

I'm so sorry this happened to you. I stay on the 2nd floor & always lock patio sliders (4 levels including 2 in the door, chain, & the lock I bring), 3 on the room door (door lock, chain, door stopper). Much better to be safe. Cat burglers can crawl along balconies on the outside of buildings... learned that in 1987, not by being robbed but by robberies in the neighboring rooms. Always been security conscious since then. So... thefts nothing new. Usually is an unlocked door. No sense wasting time breaking in when doors are often left unsecured.

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Originally Posted by Seveen

Roll call hotels with dates

on-site trip reports

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I haven't done it for years. Besides advertising where I'll be staying, it also advertises the dates I won't be home.

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Originally Posted by original spanky

If I was on the 3rd floor I would not have been concerned about locking the windows or balcony. This appears to be the work of an experienced thief. Very sad to hear. Did I read that the hotel had it on video?

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More than that it appears they knew there would be valuable items left unsecured. They also knew what time was best as they were on site for "20 minutes". In and out with a clear target.

security - sometimes at night i can't sleep and take a walk to the bar area . . . to find the security sleeping . . . and the one at the front not there at all . . .

it's good to remember that the "working" folks on the beach watch us foreigners . . .
we are people of habit and tend to do the same thing day in and day out . . .
they pay attention to that . . .

scary stuff for sure . . .

gerry asked why they steel from tourists? we are easy targets, like robbing little old ladies while they cross the street . . .

first thing i learned about Jam: they're are eyes, and ears everywhere.....I'm glad you weren't physically hurt... Security seems like they dropped the ball...Too bad a persons got lock up everything down like fort knox...Cant even enjoy the evening breeze with a window open..

I respect your choice not to name the hotel but i personally think its a good idea too give tourits the heads up about a property's security(or lack of it)..for all you know they could be in on it...

for every reported robbery, bet there is as many that don't get reported . . .

FYI-i didnt mean the hotel itself- but some type of inside job...

I would think that a reference to "occasional" here would be to Negril in general and the hundered of thousands of people visting versus incidents of theft per year not "occasional" to one particular property.

Not knowing the full story regarding personal responsibility, security staffing and procedure on site, hotel staff response, police response etc I would be hesitant to name the hotel if I felt all was done in my best interest. Could be wrong and it won't be the last time either.

I think from now on I'll bring along a sit/stand alarm we use on confused patients and attach alarm to wall and clip to door knob....open door....wake up the dead.....

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Originally Posted by Yesihunt2

I think from now on I'll bring along a sit/stand alarm we use on confused patients and attach alarm to wall and clip to door knob....open door....wake up the dead.....

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Pretty funny

and next thing, people will be recommending bringing along their own security guards.....I know its common sense to be safe and to bring items to help with you security-but do you ever get to a point where its not worth it to be so on guard on your vacation...???

I think the door alarms are the way to go..The ones I bought were from Walmart..they have 2 pieces..put one on the door frame and one on the door..they touch each other..when the door opens and they are not touching...an alarm goes off..I would imagine you can use them on windows also..anywhere really.. I just want to know when the door opens..after that... I will scream while my husband clobbers them..(thats my plan and I'm sticking to it!!)

Sadiekat I am so sorry for this happening to you. It should not have. We've stayed at this hotel several times and it's also one of our favorites. Being candid it's flat out the properties responsibility to ensure their guests safety, certainly this would include room invasions, whether the door or window is accidentally left unlocked. From our brief contact with management, owners I know they have very honorable intentions concerning their reputation as well as their guests safety and enjoyment of their property.

Something just doesn't seem right here, if I read this correctly the time elapsed on the tape for the bad guy & gal being on the property is 20 minutes? Ok, now their nervous as hell, supposedly going from door to door and also floor to floor or even tougher yet balcony to balcony at a property they would hopefully be unfamiliar with, and lets not forget how dark it is? Factor in tourists leave stuff on porches, like shoes, flip flops, beer cans, stuff that makes noise if you trip over it or step on it, chairs left out to move around and possibly brush up against?? Follow me? Basically it's an obstacle course, except in pitch black. All that being said they magically punched their version of a lottery ticket on the 1st or 2nd try by pure random luck?? Come on, sorry not buying it at all, smells bad, real bad to me, like something that's rotting from the inside out in this case. Knowing this place I absolutely do not question the hotel it's self as they have a well deserved good reputation, but this was no random act. The only random part was that particular door being left unlocked on that night but the bad guy on the property was not random at all.

Not up to me to figure out, but let me ask you this, don't you think the really good ones at this vile profession reach out to security, and employees of these properties that are potential targets to "look the other way", provide inside info, be allowed to have a few practice runs or walk thru's to size up everything. Unfortunately it does happen, but also here in states only on a much bigger scale. Trust me when I say dumb luck for these idiots when they are committing these crimes rarely happens. The ones that rely on random dumb luck are the ones that are caught very quickly, again this was well thought out and probably performed several times at different spots both tourist and local, sooner or later he'll slip and hopefully he's the one that's hurt and not a tourist, resident or law enforcement official or innocent staff member.

I'm sorry but if I were a property owner looking to protect my revenue stream I'd be all over the local law enforcement for increased patrols, and also just a greater physical police presence, and if they cant do the job, besides on site security at my property I might be reaching out to my colleagues who rely on the same revenue to hire our own patrols. That's been done with great success in my area at a couple of popular well known shopping and bar and rest. scenes when the police were not getting the job done.

As a soon come tourist I do believe this will be the 1st time I use the pac safe, door and window alarms as well as a little thicker envelope to security at the end of our stay if all is as irie with us as when we arrived.

Once again Sadiekat I am so sorry you had to go thru this.

Events like these if unchecked will cost anywhere they occur untold amounts of future business possibly even mine.

All of this is my opinion only.

Jamb, frequent visitor since 1997

I cannot count how many times I have read or heard that Jamaicans despise thieves. Sure.....

Funny thing thing is most security guards I have come across are little guys or are old and probably couldn't handle most of the punks thieving. Places need to take Chris' lead at Seastar and hire some muscle. I pity the fool who gets caught by Rambo stealing. And the man handling daytime duties is no slouch either. Another great reason to stay at Seastar.

I agree that the hotels need to be called out, and this is coming from a business man who hates the bad press, however it drives action and change. The sad thing is it will never happen because many tourist make up stories of thievery or are victims of booty calls ripping them off.

Sorry to hear what you had to endure Sadiekat. Glad you were not harmed in any way.

Something I take every time I go on vacation. Or one like it.

http://www.amazon.com/Rosewill-RSHS-...vel+door+alarm

Sadiekat I'm glad you were not harmed!Went thru a similar thing years back and we weren't harmed either. Sure taught us to recheck the locks and put things away when not in use during the day.

Well, a gal goes to work and see what happens! I'm glad you're all paying attention and discussing reasonable (and often funny steps) you can take to assure your safety. Thanks for taking the time to read this, and enjoy your travels- JA is still a lovely country.

Not another disturbing post about someone being robbed in Negril?
Its never good when a thread starts out with "I wasnt sure if I should post this or not".

So very sorry to hear about your unfortunate incident and I am glad you were not hurt.....or worse.
It sure seems like this problem with thievery in Negril is not going away any time soon. :mad:

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Originally Posted by booger

I cannot count how many times I have read or heard that Jamaicans despise thieves. Sure.....

Funny thing thing is most security guards I have come across are little guys or are old and probably couldn't handle most of the punks thieving. Places need to take Chris' lead at Seastar and hire some muscle. I pity the fool who gets caught by Rambo stealing. And the man handling daytime duties is no slouch either. Another great reason to stay at Seastar.

I agree that the hotels need to be called out, and this is coming from a business man who hates the bad press, however it drives action and change. The sad thing is it will never happen because many tourist make up stories of thievery or are victims of booty calls ripping them off.

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Oh my,you would defend yourself? Such a brute !!!!

One questions,,,one Big question........Show me an article in the Gleaner,the local paper where ANYONE was Ever arrested for robbing a tourist??

Your'e on your own folks. Yes there is crime everywhere,more crime actually in US but UM Lots more police.Lots more actual Arrests?

Hey they caught the guy who robbed Hussyband last month,right? OOPPSS still working on that case too,right?

It helps no one to hide the name of this hotel. In fact, it sets the rest of us up for the same problem, and the ONLY way these problems get fixed is when concerned groups - like on this site - demand better. That happens with either a change of policy by management driven by customer concern, or by groups such as this preparing, looking out for, and protecting each other. I understand you do not want to harm the hotel, but the greater responsibility is to fellow people who you may be able to spare the same material loss, or worse, the bodily harm so many here have been thankful you were not inflicted, simply by letting other guests know where you were staying and what to watch out for. What about the next couple who are gravely harmed because nobody said anything? If the same thing happened in your home, the city where you live, with any significant purchase you made such as car, appliance, etc. you would demand better and likely be vocal about telling others, which in fact better informs and protects them from similar problems. To hide the name of the hotel is a little like sitting in the dark hoping the problem goes away on it's own, and how many times does that happen?. At worse it's setting fellow travelers up for the same unfortunate experience, or far, far worse. As one post already stated, unfortunately you can expect no help from local law enforcement, and all we've got as tourists are each other. I will look out for you, but will you do the same for me?

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Originally Posted by jar77

I would think that a reference to "occasional" here would be to Negril in general and the hundered of thousands of people visting versus incidents of theft per year not "occasional" to one particular property.

Not knowing the full story regarding personal responsibility, security staffing and procedure on site, hotel staff response, police response etc I would be hesitant to name the hotel if I felt all was done in my best interest. Could be wrong and it won't be the last time either.

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How would you ever know the full story? How do you this is not the full story? Let me ask you,do you think there are more robberies at a Sandals where they have More guests? A Sandals can have 200 guest and Zero robberies,,while a small hotel on the cliffs with 50 guest can have More victims.

Why ?? Because Sandals has TONS of guards,so therefore the "occasional theory" does not wash. Why try to dilute a crime by saying,,oh well,it's just occasional?

I'm also having a problem with the amount of time these snakes were on the property. If this did happen on the property we stayed at on the beach then its quite disturbing because as i said earlier, I did not like the fact they they sub contracted their security out. I trusted the staff since iv known them for a long time now. We may as much as it hurts stay at a different location next reach if they are still sub contracting their security out.

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Originally Posted by Fred Stripe

How would you ever know the full story? How do you this is not the full story? Let me ask you,do you think there are more robberies at a Sandals where they have More guests? A Sandals can have 200 guest and Zero robberies,,while a small hotel on the cliffs with 50 guest can have More victims.

Why ?? Because Sandlas has TONS of guards,so therefore the "occasional theory" does not wash. Why try to dilute a crime by saying,,oh well,it's just occasional?

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I bet a Red Stripe there have been robberies at Sandals.

Sadiekat, I, too, am sorry this happened to you but I have to agree with others, including Jambarney, on certain issues. I believe that by telling us who the hotel is, instead of protecting them (why?), it might put more pressure on them to have better security. If people protect the hotel it doesn't motivate them as much to make changes as opposed to getting their name out there. Don't you think if their business suffered from being known they would do more about it? I'm also curious about one thing that is never mentioned in robberies of room. Did they also take your money and passports? If so, how do you even finish your vacation with no money or get home with no passports? Also, are there safes in the rooms? I know of hotels in Negril that don't have safes and that alone would be a big reason for not staying there. Let's face it, we all come with money and that would probably be what they really want the most.

One clarification- I'm not 'protecting' the hotel. The fact that it happened at X resort, or Y Rooms or Zbeach makes no difference. My post is not *about* any one hotel- the point of my sharing this with you all is a PSA to everyone to remember to always lock your doors and take care for your belongings. If you focus on just one hotel, it becomes "oh, this will never happen to me because I stay at ....", instead of "crap, this happens everywhere".

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and for agreeing that it's good we weren't harmed :). Our passports and wallets/credit cards, etc were locked in the safe so we were able to get home safely and without that kind of hassle.

Sorry to hear you got robbed, so happy you are all O.K.! Jim always lines up a few red stripe bottles in front of the door for a noise factor. LOL I guess we will hit them with the bottles~
seriously, happy you did not get harmed.

Donna, What a wonderful way to recycle those Red Stripe bottles!!!

x l ent, those are the same alarms I am talking about...I got mine at Walmart and the only difference that I can tell is mine take the small round batteries..~~Jim-Donna...Awesome!! Red Stripe bottles!! I'm going to start working on that security system as soon as I get there!!!

I just returned yesterday from the hotel mentioned. Woke up to a thief in the room (as he was going out the door). I yelled "Hey", he took off running toward Norman Manley but then cut back down to the beach through the next property. My friend yelled for security and ran toward the beach. He reached the front as the thief passed the gate. He described him as a young man (early 20's) with short dreads tied back in a knot armed with a knife. Although he was then pursued by Security, he got away. The Security at the beach was asleep when my friend reached there -- not sure where the one was at the Security shack, as the thief passed there before he cut back to the beach. Only lost an IPhone and a bottle of perfume in the whole thing. However, I have stayed at the same place for years and have the same concerns about the "rent-a-cops" on the night shift as well as the amount of time the thief was on the property checking for open rooms. I also think that the hotel needs to update the lock system, so that the door knob always remains locked from the outside. Also, the use of the rental security company needs to be re-examined in my opinion.

Holy crap!thats awful. Was it the same night as the other robbery. Gotta be an inside job. Did you have a pretty good stash of valuables that might have been stolen if you had not waken up?
Door locked?

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Originally Posted by JahC

I just returned yesterday from the hotel mentioned. Woke up to a thief in the room (as he was going out the door). I yelled "Hey", he took off running toward Norman Manley but then cut back down to the beach through the next property. My friend yelled for security and ran toward the beach. He reached the front as the thief passed the gate. He described him as a young man (early 20's) with short dreads tied back in a knot armed with a knife. Although he was then pursued by Security, he got away. The Security at the beach was asleep when my friend reached there -- not sure where the one was at the Security shack, as the thief passed there before he cut back to the beach. Only lost an IPhone and a bottle of perfume in the whole thing. However, I have stayed at the same place for years and have the same concerns about the "rent-a-cops" on the night shift as well as the amount of time the thief was on the property checking for open rooms. I also think that the hotel needs to update the lock system, so that the door knob always remains locked from the outside. Also, the use of the rental security company needs to be re-examined in my opinion.

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Looks like Rondel is the place to stay these days.