Hotel Safes
 

Has anyone ever had issues with hotel safes in Spain? I plan to leave my passport in there and just carry a photocopy out with me when sight seeing. Is it better to just leave it in my locked luggage?

Safes work. You need to carry some ID. (I know, you would think after WW2 it would not be required but some countries..) and tourists often carry photocopies. You may find your hotel wants to hold onto your passport for a period (until they can photocopy it) don't let them keep them in your key slot for all to see for long.

A safe is much more secure than leaving valuables in your luggage in the room. Generally speaking, housekeeping staff won't have access to keys or the means to get into a combination safe. The hotel does have a method of opening a locked safe, especially for those who leave the safe locked and then check out.

That doesn't mean that a determined prepared thief won't get in, but we've used hotel safes for many years and never had a problem. I wouldn't walk around with a passport.

The safe at front desk is -- er -- safer than a room safe. I have read stories of robberies from room safes. Former employees have keys, etc.

Simply do a Youtube search for "hotel safe" and you'll see these things are anything but!

I agree with Rubicund and bilboburger. I disagree with Mimar. (There are no keys to hotel room safes!) You can read thousands of reviews of hotels with safes online and you will not see any stories about theft from room safes. If you are booking hotels you should be reading reviews. Travelers are very quick to yell about theft and safety issues and you shouldn't book any hotel where reviews raise any doubts about the safety and trustworthiness of the hotel.

A lot of the answers you get about security questions really refelct the convictions of individual travelers. Some people will NEVER use money belts or they will NEVER carry their passport while sightseeing while others will ONLY carry their passport on them and NEVER leave it at a safe etc etc. And almost everybody will tell that they've heard stories that back up the way they do it and everybody else gets robbed.

You know what... I have never seen a safe in a Spanish hotel.
Reading the OP's history they could have the impression that Spain is full of thieves.

The OP's history????? Where was that?????

I always use hotel in-room safety boxes when they are available. I normally leave credit cards, passport, cash bills (I tend to take out larger sums at the ATM and keep the excess in the safe), laptops (when they fit inside) etc. In other words anything that I do not plan on using while out and about. Never had any issue, whether in Europe, Asia or in Latin America. If a particular establishment would have such security issues in this day and age, I am quite certain that it would very quickly become a well known fact (through reviews, comments, etc.)

I actually feel more at ease this way than trying to disperse everything left and right on my person.

We always carry passports - so if anything happens to them - and nothing has in more than 100 trips to europe - we would know right away - versus several days later when we are leaving and find it gone. (Yes, I have had one friend and one colleague have things disappear from in-room safes - one italy and one Hawaii).

I also have to say we that live in Spain have to carry around passport or ID car; drive with our car documents in the car all of the time. Use ID to prove who we are when using credit cards. If asked by a Guardia Civil/policeman you must show your ID so copies are not acceptable.
So why when one is on vacation would you not want to carry around your ID etc. Just do what the locals do.

"I have never seen a safe in a Spanish hotel."

I have - several times.

Safe's in hotel rooms are quite common, but not everywhere, which is why there is always one at the front desk. The only ID you will need, unless you are purchasing something in a store that requires you to produce your passport, is your state driver license.

As ribeirasacra mentions, a photo copy of a passport is totally useless if you happen to run into trouble, but your driver's license will work as a real photo ID.

sandralist, try googling "theft hotel room safes." You will find many such stories. And, yes, hotels do need to have a master key or a special code for the room safes -- in case a guest forgets his combination or, when leaving, forgets to unlock the safe and remove his stuff.

This may not be your experience -- but that doesn't prove anything.