Thefts at Iberostar Parisio Beach

[TOMTOES]

 

Sorry to report that when we stayed at IBPB in March, we had our Digital Camera stolen at poolside. I am almost certain it was an employee.There were no other guests within 25 feet of our beach bag except the pool cleaner. by the time i waded back to our bag, the employee had seen me coming and disappeared. The investigation turned up nothing, i personally don't feel there was an investigation as the " Security dept" never was available to me to inquire as to the resolution. Our neighbor in the next room reported that she had forgotten cash money left in their kids back packs. It was stolen from the room on the first day! About $40 Their report yielded nothing from IB.

The Morale of the story is: Watch your belongings very closely at Iberostar! They don't seem to care about your satisfaction as nothing was done to compensate us for our loss.

Other than that, The resort is one of the most beautiful i have seen! i may return, But, with everything under "Lock and Key" !!

Tom

[SallyMac]

I would not attribute this as an Iberostar problem - its the same wherever you go.   I wouldnt leave my bag unattended at a hotel here in the UK, let alone on holiday abroad.  I am sorry you had to experience this on your holiday, but dont blame the hotel.  It would be impossible for them to prove it was their employee or otherwise. 

Sorry dont mean to sound so unsympathetic but it is a lesson to us all - be careful with your belongings on holiday, especially if it is in a "poorer" country.  Leaving valuables on show is only puting temptation in their way.  Always lock things in your safe in your room.   Sally 

[TOMTOES]

Yes Sally, I agree with you about securing ones possessions. I have traveled many, many times to Mexico and the Southern and Eastern Carribbean and this is the first time someone has dug to the bottom of my beach bag to steal my camera.
My original posting was to alert others to be extra vigilant. I have only reported on the two thefts i have personal knowledge about. There were at least four other theft reports made the week we were there! That is per the log sheet i saw in the Customer relations office. Extrapolate that to the other three resorts and week after week of guests......... Watch your Stuff folks!

Needless to say, I am most dissapointed in IB* lack of concern about my theft and others.

Tom
 

[George]

Tom,

The theft at resorts will always be there. We cannot expect Iberostar or others to police each employee.
We have to be always prepared for these unfortunate situations.

Last year I vacationed in Italy and my $1,200 camera was stolen. Of course we were very upset, BUT at the end we've got our money back very fast.

The moral of the story is: Be proactive and purchase the a good travel insurance!!!

The best one in my view is http://www.csatravelprotection.com

Today I purchased 3 tickets to Las Vegas and travel insurance as well. Just little over $30. I also purchased piece of mind.

Hope it helps.

[TOMTOES]

Hmmmm... Must look at my "Policy" from that trip. I always buy trip cancelation insurance anywhere we go, I don't recall seeing anything about "Theft".
Thanks for the tip George!
Tom

[George]

For example:

The Apple Vacations Tour Guard Travel Insurance Plan offers:

Baggage/Personal Effects–$1,000
Coverage for direct physical loss or damage to your baggage, passports, or visas while on your trip. A $500 maximum limit applies to jewelry, gems, watches, cameras and camera equipment, and furs - a $250 per article limit applies to all other items.

The Funjet Vacations Travel Protection Plan:

The Insurer will reimburse You, up to $1,500, for loss, theft, or damage to baggage and personal effects. The Insurer will pay the lesser of the following: original cash value of the item less depreciation as determined by the Insurer; or cost of repair or replacement (limit per article - $250). There will be a combined maximum limit of $500 for the following: jewelry; watches; articles consisting in whole or in part of silver, gold or platinum; furs; articles trimmed with or made mostly of fur; and cameras and their related equipment.

[sba7]

I left a gold bracelet in the room safe. I left it behind when we checked out. (still can't believe I did this)

We were home a few days when it occured to me what had happened. I called the IB Tucan and of course
nothing was found. I am 100% sure I left this bracelet in the safe upon check out. The IB Tucan staff
was gracious and attentive when I called and did call me back to say they checked but found nothing.
I was hoping there was a chance someone would turn it in...I offered a reward, it had much sentimental
value. Oh well. Lesson learned..leave the good stuff at home when traveling.

I can't fault the hotel, it was my fault, but I know that either the cleaning staff grabbed it or
the next person to occupy the room.

[George]

sba7,

We discussed this issue while back. Please refer to the following post:

http://www.iberostar-board.com/boards/index.php/topic,393.0.html

[racer_babe]

I think that happens at all resorts. Since its a poorer country whatever is left unattended they'll get their hands on it and keep it. We like to travel every Christmas and this will be our second time being in Mexico. Last year we went to Dominican Republic and one of the kids left a shirt on the beach and it took us about 3 days to finally get to look in the lost and found.If you do lose something on the beach go to the front desk and ask the to look in the lost and found, if they say its locked up stay there until they can un-lock it because if you leave it will take you days to get it back. So if you go somewhere DO NOT leave you stuff unattended especially money!

[soccermom]

Just got back from IBPB.  I too had money stolen from my room.  Forgot that I had tucked two $20s in my pocketbook.  My sons had given them to me to hold on to.  When we got back to our room one day - my youngest noticed that my pocketbook was moved.  It had been in the nightstand facing a certain direction and know was in the back.  I immediately looked inside and noticed that there was now only one $20 bill.  A cheap pair of earrings was also missing (no big deal).  A further examination of the room indicated that some of my suitcases were also gone through.  Nothing else was missing but suitcases left zipped were now unzipped.  I reported the theft to Public Relations and was told I most likely took it myself and forgot about it.  I was told that happens often.  I was not happy.  I realize most people say that Loreto is very helpful - I did not find her to be at all.  She was very condescending and rude.  I realize it was only $20 - but one should not expect the staff at a resort to rifle through their luggage.  The moral of the story - watch your stuff and put all valuables and cash in the safe!

[Lisaonthebeach]

Yes...use the safe. It's there, it's free. It can happen anywhere, any hotel, any country (even the USA).

[paulm]

Just back from the Lindo, and a pair of diamond earrings worth over $1,000 was stolen from our room, and I was particularly disappointed by the attitude of the resort staff. If interested the full report of this is here;

http://www.iberostar-board.com/boards/index.php?topic=1338.0

[raider]

First off let me say i am sorry to anyone who has had something stolen that sure puts a damper on the trip. Second i am sorry that your complaints fell on deaf ears. I have been lucky i have left my safe open on several occasion with nothing stolen. the only theft's i have endured have all been here in the states and guess what the cops didnt care, my housing development didnt care. Nobody cared because it is a waste of time and they arent going to catch anyone.

 We dont bring any expensive jewelry other than our wedding rings we lock our suitcases while there but remove before going to the airport and i never leave my bags out of site at the pool if im going to get a few drinks i move it closer to me. I dont know what people expect the resort to do, do you think a line up will flush out the perp? do you think they will pay out of pocket everytime someone reports a theft? Do you think the criminal will confess if asked? That doesnt happen anywhere else why would it happen there?

Nobody who gets something stolen is at fault but blaming a country or resort doesnt make any sense if you had something stolen at the Comfort Inn in the states(i have had that happen) guess what they dont care either. They may say they will check but they probably wont and if they did it wouldnt render anything anyways.

So watch your stuff protect yourself and help out your chair neighbors and keep an eye out on their stuff too that is the only way to combat these types of events. Good luck and sorry again for you bad luck

[Lisaonthebeach]

HEAR! HEAR! Well put, raider.

I just have to say that there are a lot of good and honest people out there. On our vacaction in July to the Ibero* Bavaro my husband and I were a little absent minded after a day at the beach and left a snorkeling jacket on the back of a chair. Didn't realize it until 2 days later when we were packing up to go home. We went to the towel hut to see if anyone turned it in and yes, they did have it for us! I have to assume that it was a hotel employee (the guy that picks up the chair pads) that turned it in, because we never left our chairs until about 6pm. It's was not anything incredibly valuable, but it did make us feel good about getting it back!

[deb4ever]

I too am sorry for all who have ever endured that feeling of violation that accompanies a theft.  That said, I agree that you can't blame a whole country or industry for the problems encountered from a few individuals even if it happens at a particular resort more than once. We are not frequent visitors to other countries but have spent our share of time in hotels/motels in the US.  I prefer to avoid tempting anyone with unsecured items that we may value.  We use a safe to secure our travel documents and extra cash whenever available.  We choose not to travel with any jewelry other than our wedding bands regardless of where we're going.  The most expensive item we travel with is our camera which is usually with us 24/7.  On our last trip to an IB resort(not this resort but another IB), we discovered we left our camera in the car at the airport parking lot.  Rather than risk a missed flight, we purchased 4 disposable ones at the airport gift shop.  We also had 2 disposable underwater camera's in our luggage.  While on our trip, 1 of our underwater cameras was noted to be on the arm of one of our fellow snorkel tour participants shortly after it was noted to be "misplaced".  We had set it down to don our masks and fins, when we looked up it had "walked off".  One of the regular disposable ones was "lost" while enjoying a show at the IB.  In neither instance did we choose to address the suspected "thief".  Both instances the suspect was a fellow traveler. 

I have never had a problem with missing items following any visits from housekeeping staff EXCEPT in my own home.  My diamond anniversary ring was mistakenly left visible in my bathroom.  I noticed it was gone immediately upon my return home.  I notified the cleaning service who assured me it must have fallen down the drain as none of their employees would have taken it.  We took the drain apart, no ring.  When  filing the police report, the officer said one of the cleaning service's employees had already been down to the station to deny she took it; BEFORE I had even reported it stolen!   The ring was never found, the cleaning service (who was bonded and insured but was an individually owned franchise) suddenly "went out of business" the next week and I was left to pay my insurance's deductible in order to file the claim on my homeowner's policy. 

My point is there are trustworthy people and untrustworthy people everywhere.  Just be smart when caring for valuable items whether at home or on a trip.  Before I pack it, I decide if it is something that I don't have a particular attachment to or value.  That way if it's lost, stolen or ends up in Laos instead of Taos with me, I'm not going to be heartbroken.