St. Regis Bal Harbour Faces $7 Million Lawsuit Over Creepy Shower Incident

The St. Regis Bal Harbour is facing a huge lawsuit after a guest was reportedly walked in on while showering, in a way that simply can’t be described as accidental. It’s bad enough that the incident happened, but it’s even worse to see how the hotel reportedly responded, and I think it’s important to call them out (thanks to View from the Wing for flagging this).

Showering woman walked in on by St. Regis staff

A woman from Jamaica has filed a $7 million lawsuit in Miami-Dade County, over an incident that occurred at the St. Regis Bal Harbour, Florida, on December 11, 2023. The lawsuit is against Marriott International and Clearview Building Services (a cleaning company used by the hotel), regarding an incident the woman describes as “a heinous and unthinkable invasion of privacy.”

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According to the lawsuit, the woman was showering (naked) in her room, when a person in a hotel uniform walked into her room, and stared at her as she was showering. It’s not just that the male walked into the room, but he “walked into the bathroom, pulled open the shower door, and leered at [her] naked body while she had her back to the shower door.”

The woman then screamed, and saw the man exit the bathroom, but not exit the room completely. Despite her continued screaming, he stayed in the room, to continue his “voyeuristic invasion.” She was “overcome with panic and fear,” which caused her to run completely naked into the room and chase him off, so that she could scream louder and more forcefully, in hopes that he’d leave. As he left, “he brushed up against, and made physical contact” with her naked body, according to the lawsuit.

At this point, the guest dead bolted the door, and waited for her boyfriend to come back to the room. What a horrible invasion of privacy, and what a scarring incident…

The hotel’s pitiful response to this incident

I think we can all agree that this incident is traumatic in the first place. But what’s perhaps most disgusting about this situation is how the hotel reportedly handled it, according to the lawsuit. Once the woman’s boyfriend returned to the room, they alerted the hotel of what happened:

• The woman told hotel staff she wanted the police called immediately, and stated she would call law enforcement herself
• The hotel’s Loss Prevention Manager responded “we have a great relationship with the Bal Harbour Police Department,” and “don’t worry, we’ll contact them right away,” and he also promised to personally investigate, and have a report by 4PM the same day
• The couple were moved to a larger suite for their troubles, but the traveler claims they were charged for the upgrade (that’s perhaps the most Marriott thing ever)
• Later that day, the Loss Prevention Manager told the traveler that he needed more time to investigate
• The guest volunteered to identify the employee if she were given photos to look at, but she was told that wasn’t an option, and that “I cannot show you photographs of the employees without a subpoena”
• The guest only heard from law enforcement the following day, around 24 hours later; the police officer claimed that the hotel stated that the traveler didn’t want the police involved, which is the opposite of what was actually the case
• At the same time, the hotel cleaned the initial room, potentially obstructing an investigation in terms of fingerprints or other evidence

So the traveler claims that the resort “had no intention of contacting law enforcement,” and instead, tried to obstruct the investigation. She is now suing for $7 million in damages, claiming she has suffered “severe and lasting psychological trauma.”

My take on this horrific hotel shower incident

Sometimes it’s possible for hotel staff to accidentally walk in on guests, especially if the “do not disturb” sign isn’t on. It’s an important reminder to always use the “do not disturb” option, and also to always dead bolt the door, especially if you shower, and probably wouldn’t know if anyone entered the room.

Of course what we saw here doesn’t appear to be an accident, given that the man wouldn’t leave when the woman started screaming.

I’d argue that what’s just as bad as the initial incident is how the hotel reportedly responded. To not take a matter like this seriously, and to instead sweep it under the rug, is disgusting. Of course I can understand the hotel doesn’t want bad publicity, but c’mon, this is potentially sexual assault by a hotel employee, and that’s just beyond terrible.

It’s also an important reminder that if you’re staying at a hotel and think you’re the victim of a crime, call the police yourself, and don’t assume that the hotel is looking out for you.

Of course many people will argue that a $7 million lawsuit might be excessive. I can’t speak to the level of suffering that this traveler has had since the incident. But I also think that lawsuits of this size are in the public’s interest. You don’t get a hotel to take something seriously with a $1,000 lawsuit. If you actually want policies and practices to change, the punishment needs to be significant.

Bottom line

The St. Regis Bal Harbour is facing a serious lawsuit, over an incident that happened in late 2023. A guest claims she was walked in on by someone in a hotel uniform while showering. It’s not just that he walked into the room, but he reportedly opened the shower door, and then refused to leave, even after she started screaming.

Unfortunately the hotel’s focus seemed to be on obstructing the investigation, rather than trying to get to the bottom of what happened.

What do you make of this St. Regis Bal Harbour incident?