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Re: Room "safes"
Posted by Dean and Cindy of D/FW on May 24, 2000 at 13:49:14:
In Reply to: Room "safes" posted by 6onthewaytoPDC on May 24, 2000 at 12:50:02:
:
: Are the room safes safe to use? How do they work? I know, kindof goofy question, but need to know if we should just carry our money with us or trust these. We will be at the Riu Yukatan. Thank you!
Room safes vary from hotel to hotel. Many use electronic locks into which you enter your own security code of four or more digits. The hotel will have a master combination that will unlock this type of safe, in the event you forget your combination. This leaves the safe vulnerable to theft by an unscrupulous employee. Some hotels and many cruise ships have safes operated by any credit card or other card with a magnetic strip (phone calling card, health club membership card, you name it). These will also have some kind of master card that can be used by the staff to open the safe in case your card is lost or quits working, so they are vulnerable as well. Other hotels, like the Riu Palace, have safes which use an old-fashioned keyed lock with a removable cylinder. They have a box of them at the front desk, and when you check in, they grab one and hand it to you. The key comes with a neck chain or lanyard so you can keep it with you. Any mechanical lock can be picked, of course, but that takes time and is risky for the thief (who might get caught when you suddenly burst into the room). I was told that no master key exists for these locks at the Palace. If you lose your key, they have to call a locksmith to come in and remove the lock... and they charge YOU the $50 fee! We have always trusted the room safes in hotel rooms and on cruise ships, and have never had anything stolen. That doesn't mean it won't ever happen, but we feel safe enough doing it. Hope this helps!
Dean