A Maltese couple went out for a romantic dinner on the last day of their Christmas holiday in London and say they returned to their hotel to find their room had been broken into and jewellery and cash stolen from the safe.

We are going public with this because we don’t want others to go through the same experience

“There were several items of great sentimental value to me that were stolen from The Cumberland Hotel – my wedding ring that was inscribed with my husband’s name, my engagement ring which my grandfather helped handpick, my eternity ring given to me when I gave birth to our first daughter and my grandmother’s necklace that was an antique string of pearls,” said Teresa Cefai.

Apart from the jewellery and cash, which were allegedly in the locked safe, thieves had also taken their iPad and Kindle, her husband Martin added.

What irked the couple most was that hotel staff were far from understanding and kept insisting that hotel records showed their room had not been entered while they were away and their safe had not been opened.

“I was very distressed and shocked by this situation and the last thing I expected was this attitude and no sympathy at all from the staff,” Mrs Cefai said.

A spokesman for the four-star The Cumberland Hotel, a popular place with Maltese travellers, said the staff was deeply concerned by the incident and took all security matters very seriously. “Our dedicated team of security professionals based at the hotel are leading the investigation in full cooperation with the London Metropolitan police,” the spokesman said, adding that since police investigations were underway he could not answer more questions.

“I can however assure your readers that we do treat all security issues extremely seriously and The Cumberland has one of the best records in London and is a leading member of the Institute of Hotel Security Managers, based here in London,” he said.

Mr and Mrs Cefai were in London with their two daughters, aged 23 and 19, between December 27 and 31.

The girls stayed in a separate room in the same hotel, which they selected because it was central and near Marble Arch.

On the last day, the couple decided to go out for a “romantic dinner” while their daughters visited some friends. Before they left the hotel they asked the concierge to print out a paper for them.

When they returned, about 90 minutes later, they found that the key card to their room was not working. Mr Cefai went down to reception to get it sorted.

On his return they entered the room and decided to continue packing since they were leaving the following morning. When they tried opening the safe it kept flashing the word “Error”.

They called security to open the safe and their valuables were not there.

“Slowly, to our dismay, we realised that my jewellery was missing together with my iPad, Kindle, case and small items such as mobile chargers... The iPad was a Christmas present,” Mrs Cefai said.

Already shocked at the situation, they could not believe the attitude they received from the hotel staff. The hotel insisted that records of the door system and the safe showed they had not been opened while the couple were out. E-mail correspondence seen by The Times confirmed this.

“There is a definite malfunction in the security system of the hotel which needs urgent attention,” Mr Cefai said.

The couple filed a report with both the UK and Maltese police and are in contact with their insurance company over the matter. They also opened a blog on the respected online travel review website Trip Advisor to share their experience.

The couple came across an entry on Trip Advisor’s page for The Cumberland Hotel, posted in August, by travellers who experienced a theft similar to theirs.

The travellers explained that their luggage was stolen from their room on the last day of their trip and hotel staff put the blame on them.

“We are going public with this because we don’t want others to go through the same experience,” Mr Cefai said.

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