In Europe it is best to contact hotels directly for any room for 4. My kids aren't fans of sharing a bed. I always ask how can they accommodate a family of 4 and what will the bed configuration be. It does vary (4 single beds, 2 double, a suite, 2 interconnected rooms, etc). They are out there, but sites like venere.com don't list all the possibilities.

You need to be asking for a quad room, some hotels have them, however some don't. You might also want to stick to American chain hotels, i.e. Holiday Inn, Hilton, Marriott if this is an issue.

You will not find "kids stay free" in most small hotels in Europe - there is an additional fee for extra people (if the room will even hold extra).

Hotel rooms are generally smaller and there are fire codes to adhere to, hence you cannot put the entire family in one room (and if the kids are older who would want to ??) I'd opt for 2 rooms in a less expensive hotel. Ask for adjoining rooms, be very specific about it. At least with 2 rooms you get 2 bathrooms. I have never figured out how a family can all get ready at once in one room/one bathroom while on vacation. I'm sure they don't at home. Maybe I'm weird but that much closeness is more then I'd want to experience.

I would also consider an apartment, we have rented apts. in the UK and have been very satisified. Elsewhere we get hotel rooms, but there is just two of us so it is no problem.

You will just need to come to grips with the fact that if you are traveling with kids you probably will have to pay extra for additional room.

Lori, I don't mind paying extra for two rooms, but having a 16 year old boy, I like to keep track of what he's up to. The hotels would not guarantee us that we could get rooms next to one another or even close by.

If you need your kids under the same roof, your choices are a suite, a quad room, or renting an apartment/cottage/villa.

...just a comment on renting- many places do not rent for less than a week. The exception is the citadines chain as mentioned above; in the states these would be termed apt hotels.

milliebz,

First off, where are you planning to go?

We are a family of four. We just spent a week in Paris in an apt. and are now in Lisbon;also in an apt. Next, we head off to England and are renting a cottage outside of London, in Bedford.Our last couple of nights will be in London/Kensington area in a Holiday Inn that has 2 double beds, then lastly to the Sheraton Heathrow that also has 2 double beds.

With a little research on this site, you should be able to find yourselves an apt that would suit your budget as well as your family. Just take a look!
An apt has been so nice in respect to having some personal space after a long day of sight seeing.

milliebz,
We are family of four including two teenage girls, often travel and camp together and enjoy the closeness. When we get home it feels too spread out.

For our European trip this fall, we are staying in apartment and gite, and have found family rooms and connecting double for short stays. Were surprised to find that Dublin would be our most expensive night, and that all the hotels considered over 10yrs (I think) to be adults.

Though I will admit there are 4 bodies in our group and will use correspondingly more towels and water, it makes family travel so much more expensive and difficult when you can't share a room. We found what look like some nice places with perseverence and the phrase 'quad room.' I don't know what families with 3 little ones do.

Thanks for all of your helpful suggesstions, particularly the links. We are exploring a few possibilites like Greece and perhaps Turkey or Morocco. We have traveled extensively throughout Europe but moved so quickly in the past the apt. option was not practical. We plan to stay in our chosen destinations longer this time. On our previous trips we were able to find "quad" rates posted. I am not trying to avoid paying extra for the kids but because I like going directly through websites those options are not readily apparent and the descriptions are ambiguious. We would like the option of staying in some more expensive options but do not want to pay for two rooms. Extra in one is okay. I will look at the rental options and have seen some but week long requirements seem to be common.

In cities it's easier to find apartments rentable for non-week periods.

One suggestion for Crete only:

We stayed at the Kalimera Kriti, it is a beautiful resort on the Aegean coast. There are rooms that accomodate families up to 5 people. There are plenty of things for the kids to do and you can choose between meals included or not. We had breakfast and dinner included each day, then we toured all over the island during the day and had lunch out at some unique place.