was broken into while he and his family lay asleep.

And he charged that the hotel "negligently and recklessly'' failed to warn guests that they had a security problem regarding a rash of hotel room break-ins.

"The hotel, which is suppose to be quite good, neglectfully and recklessly failed to tell guests that someone was breaking into rooms while people were asleep.'' First-time visitor Robert Eringer, of Washington D.C., said he and his family arrived in Bermuda on March 23 for a week-long holiday at the Sonesta Beach Hotel in Southampton.

But the family cut their vacation short after they awoke Tuesday night to find a would-be thief standing just inside of their hotel room's sliding glass door.

Mr. Eringer's yells startled the intruder, prompting him to flee.

"A situation like this could have violently escalated,'' he pointed out. "A real danger was posed to me and my family by the hotel not telling us that a person was going around breaking in while people slept.

"That's what upsets me the most, that it could have become dangerous.'' After only two days in Bermuda the family flew home traumatised and disillusioned.

While checking out, Mr. Eringer said he was stunned to discover that the hotel presented him with a bill in full.

It was only after he insisted speaking to the hotel's manager, that the clerk consulted with a supervisor and he was given a 50 percent discount.

"The manager couldn't even muster the character to come out,'' he said.

After paying his bill, Mr. Eringer said he agreed to speak to the hotel's security director in a bid to prevent any further incidents.

He said he learned that in the days before the Tuesday night break-in that there had been other burglaries.

"They did not warn the guest,'' Mr. Eringer said. "There was nothing in writing and no verbal warning.'' He said he told the security official to warn guests, but the advice fell on deaf ears.

He said the security director told him that the hotel was working on the problem but it was very "complicated''.

And Mr. Eringer said the director also told him that "it'' was a world-wide problem, not limited to just Bermuda.

Last week five Sonesta Beach Hotel rooms and a Newstead Hotel room were burgled during the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Call to tell visitors about crime problem In each case the guests had left their sliding glass doors open for ventilation.

"It is natural thing when you go to a sea-side resort to leave your sliding glass door ajar,'' Mr. Eringer said. "I've been told at other hotels to keep the doors and windows shut.

"If they would have warned me I would not have left the sliding door open a bit to catch a breeze,'' he added.

And he cited Mediterranean hotels which have doors equipped with locks that prevent them from opening more than a few inches -- just enough to let a refreshing breeze in but keep thieves out.

Tuesday's incident, Mr. Eringer said left he and his family traumatised and soured against Bermuda.

After a conversation with a taxi driver, who had also been the victim of a thief, Mr. Eringer said he left with a sense that break-ins were rampant.

"I had a sense that burglary is a problem in Bermuda,'' he said. "One that no one wants to deal with.'' Sonesta Beach manager Joseph Viola could not be reached for comment.