Hotel Des Alpes BEWARE

It's unfortunate, but theft can happen anywhere. How is the hotel responsible?

They were aware of a previous theft at this hotel last year. I believe they might have chosen a safer hotel. It happened in a private room for a Rick Steve's dinner. The only people in the room were our tour group and hotel staff.

I'm sorry it happened, but I'm curious where your purse was when it was stolen? I'm assuming that you didn't have it on you. I'll be honest, I would never leave my purse anywhere, whether I was in a private area or not.

And I certainly wouldn't remove the hotel from the tour just because of one reported theft. I honestly don't see how you can consider this Rick Steves' fault. I understand that you are upset, and I really don't blame you, but I don't think it's the tour group's fault.

I had it on my chair. Thank you for blaming me
They had previously had theft reported at this hotel so it would only make sense to take further precautions.

So sorry this happened to you. A member of my tour group had things stolen on our scilly tour this year and I know how upsetting it can be.

Yours is particularly upsetting because you know it wasn’t a random person off the street but a staff member at the hotel. If you haven’t already filed a police report, you should do so immediately.

I don’t believe in blaming the victim for a crime that was done against them. None of us know the whole story here.

Naturally there are things we can do to reduce opportunities for criminal behavior, but we are not responsible when others choose to act in a criminal manner. They hold that responsibility themselves.

RS Europe contracts with hotels up to a few years in advance. It is probably not that easy to effect change in lodging arrangements as one might guess when talking about a large number of rooms in a busy tourist location.

I hope you can move past this and enjoy the rest of your tour. I would hate to see the joy of this tour stolen as well.

Thank you for your kind reply.

I wasn't blaming you. And like I said, I am sorry it happened to you. I was just letting you know for future use that it's smart to keep anything that has value on you at all times when you're in a public place. Even though it was a private area, the restaurant is still public.

One possible solution is to carry a small crossbody or sling bag that can be worn across your chest and that you don't have to take off. I don't know what size your purse was, but that's usually what I do. And I never let it get out of my sight.

I also don't think that you should be blaming the hotel. Theft occurs all over Europe, and that's just something that everyone has to be prepared for when they go there. In fact, if you were to eliminate all areas that have theft from pickpockets, you probably wouldn't be able to travel much at all. I just don't think it's a good idea for a first-time poster to come here and disparage a hotel because of one incident.

I don’t believe in blaming the victim for a crime that was done
against them. None of us know the whole story here.

Agreed! But as I mentioned on the other thread, caution should be used before disparaging the hotel and its staff.

The tour group is not locked in a room. Anyone can come and go.

I was just at that hotel last month. It is busy with a lot of people coming and going.

One issue I do have with the hotel is their left luggage policy of just storing luggage in the lobby. Perhaps that invites trouble if others are aware of this.

Have you filled out your tour eval form yet? Supposedly Rick reads every one and this should get his attention.

Is it also listed in the RS Switzerland book? If so, you can also add feedback on this form.

https://www.ricksteves.com/forms/guidebook-feedback-form

I hope your guide will also be proactive about this. They have a lot of latitude in restaurant choices and after 2 incidents this should be off the list. One of my early RS guides said he never worried about things getting stolen from a RS venue as companies liked having the steady business and knew if things went missing they would be dropped.

I’m so sorry this happened to you. Thanks for posting.

Very sorry that this happened. I also don't believe in blaming the victim. This type of crime has become more and more common in Switzerland, according to local police and residents. My service apartment in Zurich was broken into a few years ago.

Unfortunately, one can no longer let their guard down, anytime and anywhere.

Yikes! What a rotten break. I’ll be there next May for the RS tour. Quite concerning that it happened where only the tour group and hotel staff were present! Sorry that happened to you. Hope the tour is awesome otherwise.

I'm sorry to hear this happened. We stayed at Hotel Des Alpes last month on our RS tour. It was fantastic. The room, the location, the meals, the staff. The entire tour was amazing!

Nearly 10 years ago on our Best of Ireland tour we were at a group dinner as you describe. It was a private room just us and the staff.
I had my purse on the back of the chair. When we went to leave for the evening it wasn't there. Panic! I started to question myself; had I not brought it? I quickly ran back to our hotel; not there. Ran back to the restaurant while our group was still there. Was met by our wonderful tour guide who had it in his hand. Whew! Apparently our waitress had a tight squeeze between our tables and decided without telling me that she had moved it to a ledge at the end of our table. Yikes!

Anyway, because I don't love the keeping a purse slung over my knee at meals...for the trip last month I found the perfect solution. Look at Bandolier products. I bought the lanyard phone case with magnetic wallet and the extra pouch which is the perfect size for our passports. It takes up no space and I just wear it cross body all the time. It was perfect!

The Hotel Des Alpes is a charming hotel. I’ve stayed there twice including just this past May. My accommodations were very cute, clean, and as described. The staff in all areas were phenomenal. The very lovely restaurant is open to a sometimes busy waterfront promenade with both indoor and outdoor seating.

I’ve dined with a well traveled sharp individual whose purse was stolen in a public establishment (not the above). We were not surrounded by anyone nor had we seen anyone come near our secluded table. The fact was that the purse was gone. We (a group of four) could not surmise what happened. While it was initially an overwhelming and disappointing moment these situations occur and it was necessary to move forward with the next critical steps. I chose to not blame the establishment but rather recognize that a combination of actions led to the outcome.

One cannot undo what has happened. It is important to ensure that blame is not inappropriately placed. I would gladly return to the Hotel Des Alpes feeling comfortable about staying there and about dining there.

My heart aches for your loss. My friend’s incident is a mystery that continues to remain with me.