I want to get a room that has an in-room safe but worry that the hotel staff can break into it any time they want when I'm gone. Which hotels do you trust?

There's alway's a master key that someone has, in pattaya there's a 24 hour tour shop that has a safety box/s.

Yes, there is always a master key. An option if you don't have any moral qualms would be to break off a toothpick in the keyway which would prevent them from opening it with the master key.

I've taken many trips to Pattaya and to AC and have never had my in room safe tampered with. I know that it is possible, but I think that any good hotel will not let it happen.

Not only is there a master key there is a master code that opens any box of that brand. Found that out in AC at the Lewis Grand a couple of years ago.

The head of housekeeping was too lazy to come with the key so gave me the code to open a locked box.

I now always use a locked money bag inside the safe for cash and valuable documents.

I think KM has a good idea and I'm going to use it.

At the Pacific Breeze I fat fingered the code in the in-room safe. They came in with decoder that plugged into a USB port in the safe just below the key pad where you put your fingers to pull it open.

So at the Pacific Breeze it's a little more than a master code that everyone and their grandmother has.

I put very little faith in electronic safes. I ALWAYS lock all my stuff up in a locking bag inside. I am fairly certain people have unsuccessfully been inside my safe in Cambodia and Indonesia. KM's description of his combination not working when he returned to Lewis Grand causes me to consider that most methods of "employee access" resets the combination as a side effect.

Specific places that broke into my safe? Diamond Hotel in Phnom Penh. Formosa Hotel in Batam. Both unsuccessfully. Plaza hotel in Surabaya broke into into the bank like, two key safe deposit box behind reception and probably skimmed $100 from me which I didn't notice until I left the country.

I also fat fingered my safe code at C. Park this past trip, and it was FAR less complicated for the door man to open my safe than at the Pac Breeze (sister hotel).

That said, my bargirl ain't gonna do it, and the C. Park staff ain't gonna shit where they eat and cause a huge scandal over the meager cash they surely know that I usually bring with me on vacation!

KM,

Thanks. That is a really good idea I never thought of. Advice I plan on taking for my next trip

I'm old-school and if I'm staying in an apartment I'll use slicks for stashing money, backup credit and ATM cards, that kind of stuff. Cable outlets are pretty good places to stash the bigger stuff, or if I have a potted plant of some kind I'll bury stuff there. For my notebook I'll typically stash it in the oven although there's nothing you really do with the bigger stuff.

Of course the best defense is to bring cheap shit. My travel cell phone is worth nothing, I wear a $10 watch I bought at Target. My travel MP3 is 5 years old and worthless, I don't usually take a camera but if I do the one I use is an old piece of shit.

I'm always amazed at guys who show up with everything they would take for a vacation to Florida or something. Expensive watch, jewelry, every credit card they own, that kind of stuff. Good security starts before you leave for a trip - only bring what you need and don't bring the good stuff. The hookers you'll meet will undoubtedly be just as impressed with the cash you'll pay them with than with your Rolex.

I wear "Roos" made by Puma - they are shoes that have a zipper on each side. You can also store big bills in the battery compartment of a laptop. (Just don't get the laptop stolen).

Pacsafe has a pretty good reputation if you're looking for a lockable bag to store stuff in your room. Here's an example at Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Pacsafe-Travelsafe-Anti-Theft-Portable-Black/dp/B0018BQGSU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=apparel&qid=1264547742&sr=8-2

No affiliation, YMMV, etc. etc.

EA