Q: I was asked for my passport at a hotel in Tenerife, I did not mind showing it, but they wanted to keep it and return it at the end of my holiday... do they have a right to keep my passport? In fact does anyone ever have a right to keep my passport?
A: The official FCO advice on this is as follows:
Hotels have a legal duty to register the passport details of tourists when they check in. Wait until the hotel staff have registered your passport details or taken a photocopy of your passport, rather than leaving it in reception to collect later. It may help to take your own photocopy.
Virtual Tour of Town centre pedestrianised shopping street,
Calella,
Spain