For July 11-16, 2018, there were reservations for four rooms at the five-star Hilton Sa Torre de Llucmajor Hotel. A Manor Suite cost 844 euros per night; two Garden Suites were 572 each and a Deluxe Garden was 429. The five guests, including a minor, were aged 17 to 25. For the cost of the stay, they paid 10,353 euros, using a false credit card in the name of a geology company in Los Angeles.
On one day, the five young men - three British, one German and one Irish - had a lavish meal at the hotel's Arxiduc restaurant. They ordered three servings of sautéed octopus, gazpacho, three entrecote steaks, two chicken breasts, five servings of French fries, cheese cake, wine, cava, and two glasses of champagne. Total: 257 euros. The bill was signed in the name of one of them and with the room number. Two hours after the dinner, they had two bottles of Moët & Chandon Rosado champagne (204 euros) in one of the rooms. The next day, they had much the same: three servings of octopus, five main dishes and a paella sandwich. Total: 182 euros.
They spent 1,776 euros on drinks that had to be paid for separately, but payment wasn't made. On July 14, staff intercepted them in the car park and asked them to pay their outstanding bills. The head of reception explains that they made out they were calling someone to get a new card and said that they would wait in the rooms. 'Do not disturb' signs were put up outside the rooms and they disappeared from the hotel.
The chief receptionist got in touch with staff from other hotels and discovered that the five had booked rooms from July 14 to 19 at the Me Mallorca in Magalluf. The Guardia Civil intercepted them at Nikki Beach at 8.15pm on the 14th and arrested them for suspected fraud committed at the Hilton Sa Torre.
The court released them, but the next day the hotel called the Guardia Civil because they wanted to leave without paying. When officers went to the hotel, they found a card cloner, a laptop and several credit cards from various banks that had been cloned or stolen.
The four adults ended up in custody. The Prosecutor's Office is calling for eight years and three months for each of them. They will be tried at the end of the month.