We were very dishartened when on the first night of our trip the “caretaker’s” wife stole $2000 from four of us staying at this house.
Shortly after arriving, the caretaker offered to take us to the beach and show us his fathers house (also a rental), which we were all excited to see. The ranch was vacant except for the caretakers wife and 2 year old daughter. The following morning was when we discovered the money was missing.
After approaching the caretaker and owner, the caretaker admitted his wife stole money, but claimed she “only” stole $800, and eventually returned $780, on two separate occasions (480, 300)
Knowing one of their hired personnel was involved, was not enough for the owners to refund our entire stay, but less than half. So a rental that should have been $790, ended up costing the 4 of us $ 1630, more than double. Although the owner sounded genuine in his concern, I don’t think he fully appreaciates how travelers put trust in homes, owners and staff they rent from. In his response, Chris stated there is a safe for use by guests. Unfortunately, the caretaker only pointed it out and how to use it after the theft occurred. He also said he was retaining the original deposit of $435 to cover the cost of electricity and other costs associated with our stay. Eleven days of electricity costs in El Salvador does not cost what we suffered by this personal invasion.
An original police report was filed on our second day, and a follow up report after the the second amount was returned.
We really felt violated by this whole experience. We had a wonderful time visiting El Salvador and love this country, but only wish we had rented another more safe and secure house.
