'It's so violating': Manitoba couple's honeymoon ends with hotel break-in scare in Kelowna
Natalie Deroche-Earis and her husband, Adam Earis, were making a final stop in Kelowna, B.C., staying on the ground floor of a Sandman Hotel. After a relaxing evening playing cards, they went to bed around 10 p.m.
Fifteen minutes later, Natalie woke to a strange sound coming from the window.
'I assumed it was Adam messing around with the AC unit,' she said. 'Then I heard him say, 'What are you doing?'—thinking it was me over there. That's when I realized it wasn't Adam. I started shaking him and said, 'That's not me. There's somebody in our room.''
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Adam jumped up and began shouting at the man who had allegedly climbed in through their hotel room window.
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'The guy's feet were in the room,' Natalie said. 'When he heard Adam yelling, he jumped right back out the window and slammed it shut. By that time, Adam had the lights on and had jumped out of bed. I ran toward the door—I didn't want to leave Adam alone in case the person came back.'
Adam said he had trusted the hotel brand as a reliable and safe place to stay.
'When I'm booking a hotel, Sandman has always just kind of been that middle-of-the-pack, safe place to sleep. At least, I thought so,' he said.
The couple reported the incident to hotel staff, but say they were met with little support and no offer of a refund. In a statement, the hotel's parent company, Northland Properties, said it is taking the situation seriously and is continuing to work with local authorities in their investigation.
'We can confirm that we spoke directly with Adam to provide an update on their case, and advise that their outlined requests were being processed. We again offered our sincerest apologies for the distress that Adam and Natalie experienced during their stay with us.'
Kelowna RCMP confirmed to Global News that officers responded to the reported break-in. However, due to a lack of witnesses and no video surveillance, no suspects have been identified.
'The feeling of being awoken by a stranger in your room is so violating,' Natalie said.
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