I frequently leave several thousand dollars worth (ipad, ipod, laptop, etc...) of electronics in the room along with my passport, hang the DND sign on the door when I am out and have never had a problem, not one. I have probably done this for at least 500-600 nights, most likely more.

So I think it is quaint that so many people are having these issues. Maybe I should go buy a lotto ticket with my luck.

We stayed in a hotel in Rio that had one and the key was a big, clunky affair we had to carry around with us. They told us there was a $100 charge if we lost it.

I bought a $1,000 bracelet on that trip and kept it in a dirty sock- I figured the safe was more likely to be robbed than my dirty socks. The socks and the bracelet made it home safely.

After a scare in Vienna (we put our passports in the hotel safe and couldn't get it to open up again until we made multiple attempts), we rarely bother to use them. I leave 95% of my jewelry at home and wear the rest, so there's not much left in the room to steal.

Do you think Fairmont etc. publish how many thefts from safes are reported to them?

If I were going to steal from a room safe, I would do it at the beginning of the vacation trip, when the tourist is going to have the most amount of cash (the pesos and dollars they brought from home). Once stolen, I would hardly go back the next day to try and steal anything more.

I use hotel safes for things like moderately priced watches (under $1,000), cameras, cell phones, tablets, etc. When sleeping, my passport/wallet goes into the room safe.

My thought is that it is at least "safer" than leaving valuables laying around or hidden in a dirty laundry drawer.

If I have anything of real value, I use the hotel safe, not the room safe. If I'm traveling abroad, I keep my wallet and passport with me at all times on business. If I have to leave them behind for whatever reason, they go into the hotel safe.

Fairmont publishing? I thought the reviews were posted on trip advisor, or by a customer in a hotel room.

I'm not saying its completely safe.. of course we need to be aware with what's going on. Its certainly illadvised to carry large amounts of cash when staying at a hotel or on vacation.. safest place for that would be the bank, myself included.

They were, my point was how do you notice a pattern with such self reported instances. For example, I'm taking a trip soon, place has been open years, tend of thousands of guests, 260 reports on trip advisor. Many people could have a problem, but without hotels reporting, there is no way to know if a trip advisor report was a one off, or one of hundreds.

Definitely empathize.. My wife wears a 2K diamond on her ring finger.. worth market value 50K. Tip: Don't leave something like that in the safe.;)

My rules are to never bring more than $150 worth of cash, and leave as many valuables as possible at home. With us travelling to Europe, we'll need to research and figure out how to deal with travel documents (passports). That would be my biggest concern.

although most of europe is safer than disney land your wide should not travel with a 50k diamond showing period.

$150 cash(€100) lasts a lunch, and does not cover a dinner. i usually carry €300 to a meal. the swipe fees of american CC's in europe are outrageous, and i refuse to support banks. also in italy CASH IS KING.

go to the travel store, and get a wearable pocket. one that goes under the armpit, or on the chest. even the best of pickpockets have trouble getting under my armpit, or into the wrinkles of my lower chest.

the watches, the computer, and the camera are disposable. if stolen, no great loss.

if you must carry a 50k diamond, or show an Audemars Piguet Men's Royal Oak, i recommend getting a knockoff or a cubic zirc. no one can tell the difference.

As in Germany. (And Amex cards are still not that commonly accepted in many places, including in France) Completely off topic, but having an account with DeutscheBank/BNP Paribas/Scotiabank/Bank of America is very useful to avoid ATM fees.

I still encounter a lot of keyed safes as opposed to electronic ones. The Disney resorts come to mind (which are often quite far behind in terms of product and technology)

I'm thinking we'll leave the real one at home for the Europe trip and bring the 2K cubic zirconia domicile which I picked up for purposes like this. Even though the real diamond ring is ensured, who needs to have a problem with loss and theft.

Found out that Fairmont has lock boxes at the front desk for no charge. So perhaps good to be a bit more conservative. Will keep this service in mind.

Sadly I think that is the best decision.

My bad. I meant to say I did not use the safe.

I once had a room where the safe had been left closed by the previous guest. The hotel had to send up a security guard complete with ID and a plug-in thingy to reset it. But it failed. Very safe!