Pool Towel Thieves at MVC Resorts - My Rant

[easyrider]

I honestly can’t imagine someone stealing towels, and from a mobility device, that’s unbelievable.

Some people ................

Bill

 

[geriduffin]

Interesting comments about the towel thieves. I'd just like to add that the chair hogs are even worse than the towel thieves. They come down to the pool early, put the towel on "their" chair, and head off to breakfast, or touring, or even just spending hours lounging at the pool bar. There are seldom enough chairs for everyone, and if you claim ownership of a chair for the full day when you're only there for a short time or two, you deserve a visit from the towel thief. Wouldn't it be nice if everyone had an ounce of consideration for others? Unfortunately, as mentioned in a comment above, there is always a percentage of cretins hanging about, folks who think only of themselves.

I was just at Crystal Shores, my first time, and I noticed a sign at the pools saying that any towels placed on chairs (with no one using them of course) before 10am will be removed. I really liked that sign but do they really enforce that? I’m rarely down to the pool before 11am and never before 10am. I was there mid September, so chairs weren’t an issue, but I find it refreshing to know that if I were to go there peak season I would have half a chance of getting a poolside chair.

 

[claraj]

Back to the topic of the towel tracker, has there been any confirmation that they work? Someone posted on FB that they were charged for towels at Aruba Surf Club.

 

[Dean]

Back to the topic of the towel tracker, what's there been any confirmation that they work? Someone posted on FB that they were charged for towels at Aruba Surf Club.

Last I was there SC tracked them with a check in and check out system. That would make charging more understandable.

 

[chriskre]

Another item that I've found is often a target of theft is the do not disturb signs on the villa door. I mention this because it happened today at Ocean Pointe. I've had it happen in the past too. Any time we checkin, the first thing that we do is put the sign on the door and is stays there till the end of the trip. This isn't usually a problem during the stay because there is no housekeeping. It can become a real nuisance on checkout day when housekeeping is wanting to bust down your door to start cleaning. The knocks will happen much earlier than 10am if you don't have the sign on the door.

In the past we had the do not disturb magnets taken from the door along with the hang signs. I suspect what happens is that someone in another villa doesn't have one in their room or on the back of their door, so their loose fingers find the next best thing. The one off your doo. I notice the other oceanfront villa at the end of the hallway we are on has a tag on each door. So I suspect the likely culprit. Time to go and have a confrontation.... Not really, I will just text down and ask them to send another one up.

One resort gave us a do not disturb sign because we had a service animal inside and it said so on our sign and somebody stole it. We found it down the hall and stole it back. .


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[dioxide45]

Last I was there SC tracked them with a check in and check out system. That would make charging more understandable.

That was our experience in 2023 also. Perhaps they've installed Towel Tracker machines since then.

 

[halthesweep]

Has anyone else run into this problem? We especially notice it at resorts that ration pool towels by providing them in your room and either not providing exchange or making exchange a cumbersome process. This has happened twice to us in the past four resort visits. One of those resorts just has Towel Trackers (I love these now) and the other resort we didn't swim. So two for two really on having towels swiped from our pool chairs (kinda).

We mostly go to the pool only for a couple hours and spend much of the time in the pool. My wife uses a powered mobility device that we just park somewhere. Perhaps under an umbrella or off to the side as we don't usually need a lounger to lay on. At the last resort, Crystal Shores, we just left our folded towels sitting on her mobility device. Seems reasonable. We got into the Upper Cascades Pool, but the deeper end is at the opposite end of the pool from where our towels were. So we were away from our "spot" while in the pool. From the distance I can see someone pilfering through our towels. I try to hurry up there, wading as fast as I can through the resistance of the water. I get up there just as they are trying to leave and I call them out. Asking why they took our towels. They didn't have much of an explanation except to try and claim they thought it was the resorts towels. How The-F (was my thought, I didn't use profanity at the pool) is my wife's mobility scooter the resorts towel exchange. I guess they used all their towels and needed more. I didn't end up getting out of the pool at the time as they returned the towel they stole (I thought) and took back the wet one they threw on top of our other towels.

When we did get out of the pool about 15 minutes later, we were short one towel and there was a wet one left there that was rolled up to look like it was untouched. Something similar happened at Oceana Palms (the other resort we had this issue at). Though I didn't see the person that took the towels and they didn't leave their wet ones behind. I had something similar happen at Shadow Ridge several years ago where I went by myself to the pool and left two clean towels on a lounger while I was in the pool. The people down from where I had put the towels decided to help themselves.

This is a reason why I now don't like, and never really liked, rationed towels in the room. When you don't give people a vialble way to exchange their wet towels poolside, they take matters into their own hands. Crystal Shores says you can exchange pool towels between 4pm and 6pm at the activities room. Perhaps in peak times of the year they still have pool side exchange as I remember them having that in the past at the Lower Cascades Pool.

We are at Ocean Pointe now and I see they now have pool towels just in the room. I recall a towel exchange years ago but that must be gone. The card they left beside the towels on the bed just say to not leave them at the pool. No explaination on what to do with them when wet. My plan would be to wash them in the in room laundry (or one of the shared laundry if in a studio), but I know many people don't think of that or do that. They expect a way to swap them out for clean towels. The card just says to call at your service if you have questions. The resorts need to provide better direction on what people should so, swap them, exchange them, steal other people's towels. Something.

Okay, rant over

Simple solution...have the facility install a simple inexpensive surveillance camera that shows the pool area, on a loop that writes over the previous few days, or what ever time frame that works for the particular hard drive or card. Also, a safety feature that ensures safety around the pool. Completely legal since only shows public areas. Posted notices "this area protected with closed circuit surveillance". Might not stop someone that figures out how to take a towel without a camera noticing but would sure make s difference.

 

[Superchief]

I was just at Crystal Shores, my first time, and I noticed a sign at the pools saying that any towels placed on chairs (with no one using them of course) before 10am will be removed. I really liked that sign but do they really enforce that? I’m rarely down to the pool before 11am and never before 10am. I was there mid September, so chairs weren’t an issue, but I find it refreshing to know that if I were to go there peak season I would have half a chance of getting a poolside chair.

I was there last October and the upper pool was closed so pool chairs were at a premium. These signs were present but unfortunately were never enforced. I observed towels placed on chairs prior to 9am and nobody came to use them until after noon. I never saw anyone checking or removing towels of offenders.

 

[dioxide45]

Another item that I've found is often a target of theft is the do not disturb signs on the villa door. I mention this because it happened today at Ocean Pointe. I've had it happen in the past too. Any time we checkin, the first thing that we do is put the sign on the door and is stays there till the end of the trip. This isn't usually a problem during the stay because there is no housekeeping. It can become a real nuisance on checkout day when housekeeping is wanting to bust down your door to start cleaning. The knocks will happen much earlier than 10am if you don't have the sign on the door.

In the past we had the do not disturb magnets taken from the door along with the hang signs. I suspect what happens is that someone in another villa doesn't have one in their room or on the back of their door, so their loose fingers find the next best thing. The one off your doo. I notice the other oceanfront villa at the end of the hallway we are on has a tag on each door. So I suspect the likely culprit. Time to go and have a confrontation.... Not really, I will just text down and ask them to send another one up.

I texted down and they sent a new one up. I asked them to just put it on the door with no knock (wife was sleeping). They put it on the door and knocked (really tap tap tap with a key card). I went to the door but I guess they knocked and left.

That said, the do not disturb sign did not prevent housekeeping from knocking and trying to enter our room before 10am.

 

[LindaLou0624]

Oh my. I never have gone on one of these forums and just clicked on this Terrible Towel Travesty. Now I am realizing what a great decision I have made to dump my parents 8 deeded Ocean Pointe weeks. Its too bad when they keep convincing you to buy more weeks they don’t tell you that’s what happens on vacation at a time share, How can one ever relax?