A British mother has shared her horrifying experiences after a man sneaked into her unlocked hotel room in the middle of the night while she was on holiday with her family.
Rachel Brown, 42, said she fell asleep on the last night of a week-long holiday in Vilamoura, Portugal, with her seven-year-old son Jaxon when she saw the curtain shake.
She says a man sneaked into her room on the second floor of the five-star Epic Sana Hotel and forced her to wrestle him out and climb onto the balcony.
Rachel, from Halifax, West Yorkshire, said he climbed over the balconies of two neighbours, then jumped 13ft and ran away. During the fight he stole her Apple Watch.
The man has not been caught and is not visible on camera footage. Rachel wants to warn holidaymakers to always lock the balcony door.
Rachel Brown shared her horrific ordeal and urges holidaymakers to take precautions
She and her son Jaxon were on holiday in Portugal when a man crept in through the balcony
Rachel had to fight the man out of the room (pictured) at the five-star hotel in Vilamoura
Rachel, a director, said: ‘When I first saw the curtains shaking I thought a bird had flown in. But then a man appeared from the curtains.
‘It was terrifying. I had a young child in the room, so my instinct was to get that person out of the room.
‘I started pushing and hitting him until he backed out of the room and onto the balcony. That’s when I started screaming for help.
‘After he ran away, I was so scared the rest of the night that I blocked my door with a lounge chair.’
Rachel said she closed the balcony door, but left it unlocked, before the man sneaked in around 10:20 p.m. on July 22.
She wrongly assumed that she was safe because she was high up and they had their own balcony.
The single mother said: ‘He was in his mid-20s, about 5ft 8in tall, tanned and had curly dark hair.
‘I immediately yelled at him to get lost and started hitting him and pushing him out of the room.
“Before he climbed off my balcony, he grabbed my arm and pulled off my Apple Watch.”
Rachel said security was sent to her room, but there were no security cameras and hotel staff did not call police.
She got her Apple Watch back after it was found in the bushes nearby.
She was only able to report the incident to police when she returned to the UK, as her flight home had already left that morning.
She has since reported the incident by email to the Guardia Civil and filed a complaint with the hotel, saying she forgot to call the police that evening.
She asked the hotel for compensation because she felt the incident “ruined the holiday”, but her request was rejected in an email from the hotel manager.
Rachel says her son is “traumatized” because his bedroom at home also has a balcony.
“Now that I’m home, I have to search all the rooms and the balcony before I can go in myself,” she said.
‘I’ve become more careful at home and make sure all the doors are locked and the alarms are on.
“But I am disappointed with the way the hotel handled this. It could easily happen to someone else.”
Rachel now wants to warn other travelers to make sure all doors are locked and to take appropriate precautions to stay safe.
She said, “If you have to get someone out of the room, make sure you’re loud and get people’s attention.
“If you’re on the balcony and you’re making noise, they’re more focused on escaping than getting back into the room or harming you.”
EPIC SANA Algarve General Manager André Romeiro said: ‘We confirm that Ms Brown was a guest at our hotel and that on 22 July 2024 an incident occurred, in which a stranger attempted to enter the client’s room through the balcony, which was open at the time. No damage was caused by that attempt.
‘Immediately after the hotel became aware of the situation, it activated its internal security procedures, which included deploying a security guard to inspect the premises for the suspect and checking video surveillance cameras.
The hotel also filed a report with the police and handed over the surveillance footage.
Rachel said she was disappointed with the way the hotel handled the situation
Rachel said a man sneaked into her room through the balcony doors (photo)
‘Our first concern was to help Mrs. Brown and ensure her and her sons’ safety. The next day I personally expressed my deep regret to Mrs. Brown for what had happened and offered to accompany her to the police station to file the criminal complaint as an insult, but she refused, as it was her last day.
‘However, when the complaint was made, the hotel passed on the client’s contact details to the police so that Ms Brown could be contacted and the necessary assistance provided for the investigation.
‘We also arranged for Mrs. Brown’s transportation to the airport, at the hotel’s expense.
After her departure, Ms. Brown contacted the hotel by email asking for financial compensation for the traumatic experience.
‘As we believe that there is no basis for the payment of any compensation by the hotel and the hotel does not engage in such practices, we have refused the payment.’