How 'safe' are apartment/hotel safes?

[janeypoos]

We will be staying in a small apartment block and I was planning to rent a safe box when we get there as I'm taking all cash with me but after reading many comments on the various money related threads I'm beginning to wonder how wise this option is as so many people take travellers cheques 'to be on the safe side'.
Is there a problem with room/safe thefts at all? I'm really worried now but as I've already changed most of my spends up there's not a lot I can do about it

[Fanny]

Hi Janey, they are safer than leaving your money in the room or carrying it around with you! pardon the pun haha
Went to Dalyan in June and the maintenance man was using a spare key to help himself to money from room safes!!! Goodness knows how long he'd been doing it for, but he was rumbled when he greedily helped himself to 2000TL from a couple who'd just arrived!! WHen others checked their cash, they found that some was missing - though not huge amounts. When the police looked into it, it seemed he'd been doing it for a long time and just got greedy.

IMHO, that's a one off and it won't stop me from using a safe - and I always keep a tally of what I've got left in there and check it daily
ALso, if anything does go missing, am nearly sure that part of your insurance agreement stipulates that the money's got to be in a safe - though of course there's a limit to how much they will cover you for

[janeypoos]

Oh Fanny that's awful!! That's the kind of thing I hadn't thought about until now as we haven't been abroad for such a long time and then it was in our house in Kizkalesi which meant it wasn't an issue (never had enough money to be worried about, lol!).
I know when we go out I hardly take anything because of leaving my bag when we go for a swim but I hadn't thought about accommodation security.
I haven't bought insurance yet (another thing on my 'to do' list!) but I'll certainly be taking your comment into consideration when comparing policies.
Oh heck, another thing to worry about on top of the transfer journey!!

[Chris221273]

I think a lot of people (me included) take travellers cheques for peace of mind more than worrying about money going missing from hotel safes.
I for one have been known to go out and leave my wallet sat on a table when abroad.
So taking travellers cheques just means I cash up what I need, and then don't have to worry at all about the rest, even if it is stolen, as it's insured and replaced within 24 hours.
I have used safes for years and never had a problem.

Chris

[reesy1959]

I never took much cash with me as I used my card which was free for withdrawals, but I will be taking a chunk of my October spends in Travellers Cheques, with the remainder in cash kept in the safe - never had a problem with the safes, whether they have been in the room (wardrobe) or even at reception.

[Rew]

Depends what type of safe it is.

I've always taken cash and used the safe. The safe in our apartment is a digital one and you set your own code. You can only do this with the safe door open. Never had a problem.

Not sure I would trust a key one though.

[mickyq]

i always use a safe and have never had any problems. i seperate my mony into daily amounts so i would know if any went missing. passports and tickets also go in there.