A couple's luxury holiday at a five-star hotel turned into a nightmare when they had £8,000 worth of items stolen from their room.
James Dobson, 40, and his wife Jayne, 39, claim staff at the the £1,300 a night Hard Rock Hotel in Tenerife 'laughed in their faces' when they reported the theft. A spokesperson for the hotel has said no evidence of theft or wrongdoing has been found following a thorough investigation.
The couple, who were three days into their break with their two children, four and seven, say that ten items worth around £8,000 were taken as they relaxed by the pool.
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This included two designer handbags, three pairs of designer sunglasses, a Nintendo Switch, Bose Bluetooth headphones and James' electric toothbrush. Around 800 Euros (£710) was also taken from James's wallet inside the room's locked safe, the couple has claimed.
James said: "When we returned to the room, although there was no physical evidence of a break-in, we noticed straight away that things were missing. These were obviously not opportunists. They knew exactly what to take.
"They left items like AirPods and iPads because they knew they could be tracked. They also took an Adidas rucksack, which I assume they used to carry the stolen items.
"It looks like the thieves cut the power using the fuse box in the room in order to reset and open the safe. We had a child’s clock with us that flashes the time when it loses mains power – and it was showing the time when we were out of the room."
James, the co-founder of a tech company, immediately reported the incident to the police and when he returned, told the hotel staff what had happened. But he claimed none of them 'apologised' or 'showed any empathy' about what had happened.
He said: "Surely there was someone on the staff other than the hotel manager who could have helped us? I went to the police station as soon as possible and submitted a full report.
"When I got back to the hotel, staff then used the fact that I had reported the theft as a way of washing their hands of it – saying that they couldn’t talk about it as it was now a police matter.
"It was beyond frustrating. Not once did anyone at the hotel apologise or show any empathy. Our holiday was ruined.
"My young children were so traumatised by the theft that they spent the rest of the holiday worried that someone would come back into the room. So much so that my wife had to sleep with them."
Three days after the incident, James was finally able to talk to the hotel manager and ask if they had done or found any of the stolen goods. But he said she 'laughed in me and my wife's face' when he 'suggested that a crime had taken place.'
James, of Leeds, West Yorkshire, said: "I was chasing the hotel every day to try to find out if they’d done or found anything. I eventually managed to talk to the hotel manager after literally refusing to leave reception until she came to speak to me.
"When I suggested that a crime had taken place, she laughed in me and my wife’s face."
James is now warning other holidaymakers to not stay at the popular resort, as he claims he is 'not the only person this has happened to.'
He said: "All I can do is try to make sure that other holidaymakers don’t fall for their false marketing.
"I would warn anyone thinking of booking this hotel to think again and check the review sites as unfortunately I am not the only person this has happened to.
"There are multiple reports of money being taken from people’s rooms. In our experience, the hotel is neither safe nor secure. And when something goes wrong, they will ignore you and hope you go away."
A Hard Rock Hotel Tenerife spokesperson said: "The safety and security of our guests is our top priority, and we take allegations of theft very seriously.
"Hard Rock Hotel Tenerife conducted a thorough investigation into Mr. Dobson’s claims and found no evidence of theft or wrongdoing. Hard Rock Tenerife fully cooperated with local authorities on this matter and defer any further questions to them."
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