Two British tourists have lost nearly a million euro in jewellery and luxury items after their room in a five-star Saint-Tropez hotel was raided by burglars, according to local media. According to local newspaper Var Matin, the two women had only been at the hotel for a few hours when they returned to a ransacked room shortly after midnight on Tuesday.
The total amount stolen is thought to be worth £866,780 – with items including 11 Hermes Birkin bags, Dior luggage, Patek Philippe watches, Van Cleef & Arpels jewellery, Cartier pieces including an engagement ring, bank cards and 15,000 euro (£13,000) in cash, the paper said.
“They were completely robbed,” a French woman named as Sabrina, said to be a friend of the pair, told Var Matin. “They don’t even have their passports any more. It’s a vacation that turns into a nightmare.”
The British women, who were not named in the report, were said to have arrived in the coastal town on the French Riviera at around 5pm on Monday before they went out for dinner at around 8pm, Var Matin reported.
“When they returned, the room was ransacked, the door to the private terrace broken, and the safe torn from the wall,” Sabrina told the local paper. Conveniently, nobody heard anything. My friends contacted the owner, who played the victim.”
The pair reported the theft to local police on Wednesday and left the hotel to stay in a different location until they can return to the UK, according to Var Matin.
“Hotels that claim to be five stars should have a better security system in place,” Sabrina added. “It’s a shame – it tarnishes the image of France and of the town of Saint-Tropez.”
The prosecutor in charge of the case has been approached for comment.
Var Matin added that the luxury hotel—which was not named in the report—has reportedly been plagued by a series of burglaries over the summer.
A Brazilian tourist is said to have lost goods worth 123,000 euro (£106,000) in a separate incident last month.
Two Patek Philippe bracelets worth 74,000 euro (£64,000), an Audemars Piguet watch worth 46,000 euro (£39,000), and 3,000 euro (£2,600) in cash were reportedly taken from his room while he was enjoying breakfast and a workout at the hotel, the local paper said.
A hotel employee was questioned by police in relation to the incident but was later released.
The victim reportedly complained that the hotel did not offer immediate compensation after the loss, while the hotel said an insurance claim is in process, Var Matin reported.
Around the same time, another guest reportedly had two watches and 800 euro (£690) stolen from her room.
Two hotel employees have reportedly been summoned to appear before court on September 10 in relation to the case.