Hotel worker robbed guests

A member of staff pocketed goods and cash worth hundreds of thousands of dirhams from guests at one of Dubai’s most prestigious hotels.

The South African waiter used a staff pass key to gain access to rooms at the Armani Hotel in the Burj Khalifa and then rifled through people’s belongings, helping himself to cash and valuables.

He was finally caught after pinching a dhs53,000 gold Rolex watch from the room of a Kuwaiti tourist. When police searched his home they found dhs330,000 in cash.

The 20-year-old South African now faces up to seven years in prison after admitting to his crimes.

The hotel, the first to carry the Armani name, opened amid a grand fanfare in April.

Designed by Giorgio Armani himself, it features 160 guest rooms and suites, eight restaurants, shops and a spa. A night’s stay can cost up to dhs40,000.

Police said the robberies were discovered in August, after the 42-year-old Kuwaiti victim reported the theft of his watch.
“I left the watch in a bag in my room and went shopping at Dubai Mall. When I came back, I start packing for my flight
and found the watch was missing,” he said.

A policeman went to the hotel and asked for the details of anyone who had entered the man’s room.

“The defendant, who worked as a waiter, had used his smart key to go inside,” the officer said. “We questioned him and he confessed that he had stolen the watch. We searched his house and found the watch and dhs330,000 in cash. He said dhs13,000 was tips but the rest had been stolen from guests.

“He used to go into rooms, steal the cash and stash it at his flat in Discovery Gardens.”

The case has been adjourned for sentencing.

No one from the hotel was available to comment.

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