Break-In

petepie · Post by **petepie** » Sun Jul 12, 2009 10:14 am

So sorry to hear about the break in. Would ruin my vacation too. Glad to hear that you weren't home at the time though, that is what really frightens me. We've been coming to St. John for 10 years now, with a few years between each trip, and it seems like these breakins are becoming commonplace. When we came for the first time, each break in seemed to get its own news story, now they only get mentioned if someone gets hurt.

54b · Post by **54b** » Sun Jul 12, 2009 12:27 pm

Now that's a buzz kill...and it's really sobering (for me at least) to hear it happened in Chocolate Hole. I thought for sure you were staying somewhere closer to Cruz or at least in a villa closer to the beaten path.

Last time we were there, we stayed near Chocolate Hole and we always locked the doors to our villa when we'd leave even though it felt silly considering the fact that if someone wanted in bad enough, they could get in easily. Not exactly Fort Knox.

So we pretty much just carried the things we knew we couldn't live without (ID's, Credit Cards, Passports, and Cash) on our person the whole time. I probably wouldn't have been able to relax if we hadn't.

I'd be interested to know if anyone on the forum has any other precautionary measures they like to take while there...does anyone else even bother to lock the doors to their villa? Management actually encouraged us to leave windows open during the day because they wanted us to turn the A/C off while we were gone.

SunnySal · Post by **SunnySal** » Sun Jul 12, 2009 12:29 pm

Our Gallows condo was robbed during our stay 4 years ago. Being from a very small town with little crime we were not use to thinking about putting things in safe. It was our second day and I hadn't removed my cash from my wallet to the safe. We went out for the day and as soon as we got back and opened the door my husband says "someone broke in here". The screen on the lovered doors had been cut and somhow they were able to reach in and unlatch the door. I went and reported it at the main desk. Management came right down and asked that we not report it to the police. They took the 500.00 that was taken and credited it to our room bill.
It turned out that during the day a maintenence man had been in our unit fixing the a/c. I suspect the $$ ended up in his hands as I still can't figure out how someone got a hand through those closed louvers. We think he just cut the screen from inside to make it look like someone came from the outside. Lesson learned: First thing we do is put ALL valuable and cash in the safe.

Pete (Mr. Marcia) · Post by **Pete (Mr. Marcia)** » Sun Jul 12, 2009 1:00 pm

A couple of years ago we stayed with our kids in a large villa that was virtually impossible to lock. We told the kids not to bring any cash with them on the trip. Did they listen? No.

While we were at the beach, someone stole all of the kids' money. Our money was safe because it was, well, in the safe.

There was construction going on in the area and we always suspected someone on the crew. They would see all of us coming and going and wave to us as we passed by. In other words, they knew that we all were together and when we would be away. Just a hunch.

bevm · Post by **bevm** » Sun Jul 12, 2009 2:42 pm

We always close the villa up completely. Lock all of the windows and doors.( Yes, it's hot sometimes when we get back but it cools down quickly). Never leave anything laying out for someone to see if they look in the windows or doors. (i.e laptop on counter, IPod, etc.).
Just like at home, if someone wants to break-in they will. I just don't want to make it easy for them. Very rarely will someone break in when people are home. They want to get in and out quickly.
Don't make yourself an easy mark. And don't dwell on the "maybes".

bayer40601 · Post by **bayer40601** » Sun Jul 12, 2009 3:01 pm

I'm with Bev. We always lock up everything and put valuables in the safe when we go out. Although the place we stayed last summer didn't even have windows on the front part of the house, just screens. Needless to say, we will not be staying there again.

I think using the safe is the best advise, but of course, they don't make them big enough to protect everything you would like to protect.

Pete (Mr. Marcia) · Post by **Pete (Mr. Marcia)** » Sun Jul 12, 2009 4:08 pm

The villa where our break in occurred had five bedrooms, each with its own door to the exterior. The only way to close the place up was to shut and padlock the hurricane doors to each bedroom...not an easy task.

The size and condition of the safe is a key inquiry for us when renting a villa.

petepie · Post by **petepie** » Sun Jul 12, 2009 6:13 pm

We lock up. Windows and doors. Last villa we stayed in, we couldn't really lock up the main pod, with the living room/great room, but we could lock up each bedroom, so we put cell phones, etc. in there. Anything too big for the safe was sort of hidden away.

We had a break-in at our regular house in the States, and after that, we became much more cognizant of locking and hiding things whereever we are.

bnsilly · Post by **bnsilly** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 2:41 am

I am so sorry to hear about this...I was just looking into planning another trip and I am sure tourists renting villas are a huge target..I realize stuff happens everywhere but yes it does put a bad spin on your vacation..I hope you guys can enjoy the rest of your stay, and I hope this doesn't continue, but unfortunately it is probably a sign of the times..

Margy Z · Post by **Margy Z** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 8:01 am

So sorry - unfotunately, crime is up everywhere but that doesn't make it any easier to swallow when it happens to you.

We lock up everything when we leave and always leave our a/c off - as Bev said, it cools off quickly when you return (especially with split system a/c). We might leave a ceiling fan on low to keep the air moving but that's it. Cameras and iPod go into my large bag and come along for the ride unless we are going to the beach - then we try to find some creative places to hide things in the villa. We also try to not establish a routine about leaving and returning - we mix up our times away and at the villa. We also travel with two "randomizers" for lights. Regular timers just establish a schedule but randomizers will turn a lamp (or TV) on and off at irregular intervals - never at the same times or for the same length of time. They are small and easy to just plug into a wall outlet then plug the lamp/tv cord into them.

- Margy

tjwgrr · Post by **tjwgrr** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 10:17 am

We stayed at Miles Away which had an alarm system. It works- I tripped it accidentally- the siren scared the snot out of my wife and I. It's also monitored - we received a phone call from ADT in the States within a minute or two asking us if everything was alright..... not that the VIPD would have gotten there in time to do any good anyways.

It was comforting to have- another nice feature of that great villa.

rebelbeachgirl · Post by **rebelbeachgirl** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 12:23 pm

We stayed at a villa last year that had two new, small safes. However, they were just sitting in the closets...not attached to wall or floor! So, needless to say we did not use them. Cash was split daily - some with us, some hidden in villa. Credit cards and passports went with us each day. As did all of my camera equipment, but if I did leave it at the villa, I removed the memory cards. At least if they had stolen the camera, I would still have our photos.

waterguy · Post by **waterguy** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 2:33 pm

Last night in my drive at home I had the window of my truck broke and it cleaned out the worst thing is I left my wallet in the center consule so it can happen any where. Just spent 2 hours at the DMV to get my drivers license back.

Lulu76 · Post by **Lulu76** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 2:39 pm

Right now I am sitting here reading this thread thinking two things: 1) My Tom Tom is attached to my windshield even though a Metro Nashville police officer told me to stop doing that and 2)My laptop is sitting on a table in my living room, near the window.

I think we get familiar with our surroundings and get comfortable. We're tired when we get home, so we just leave our purse on the front seat of the car because we think our home is safe.

It stinks to get robbed at home or on vacation (probably more so on vacation) but at least no one was hurt.

Lulu76 · Post by **Lulu76** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 4:32 pm

I think it is interesting how different villa managament companies vary on their views of crime. We had one villa management company tell us they would give us keys to the villa but we didn't really need them because there was no crime. In that villa, there was not really any way to secure the main pod or the master bedroom.

Another company told us that we needed to lock every door and window, even when we were sleeping (our room didn't have AC, and I put the smackdown on that really quickly). Even when we left the last day, we were instructed to lock everything up and put the keys on the kitchen counter.

I guess it's just a matter of perspective. I don't like an overinflated feeling of security, which I definitely had in that first villa when I was a newbie, but I don't want to live in fear on vacation either. I live in fear everyday here in Nashville.

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Break-In