is booking a single room for 3 okay?
 

I have an upcoming trip to Europe with a few days here and a few days there. Me, my wife and 5 year old will be traveling. When I put in 2 adults and 1 child the prices shoot up by at least double because all of the hotels want us to book some kind of suite or something. We really couldn't care if our daughter crashes with us or on a second twin bed so is there anything wrong with booking a room for two and not mentioning the small 3rd?

You don't say where you are going, but I have never been in a European hotel room that would hold 3 people.

Most of them have only one bed, not the two you would expect in Hampton Inn in the States, and it is often a problem to find room for the suitcases.

Some hotels do offer triple rooms, so you might try finding one that offers that. Or, if you don't mind sleeping two on a twin bed, many hotels do offer the option of twin beds which can be done as one large bed. Do be aware that their twin beds are often narrower than ours, but if you get a twin room with the beds done as one large, that might give you the most amount of space. You might not find that all hotels offer the twin option, but I believe most do.

Sorry headed to London and Paris. My wife and daughter fit on twins with me on the second.

I guess I should have said that my entire family could fit on two twins or one King.

No you can't. A 'single' room sleeps one person -- and <u>only</u> one person. It isn't one double bed -- it is one twin sized bed.

They are not wanting >>us to book some kind of suite or something.<< They are pricing a triple or what is sometimes called a family room.

In the States the typical hotel room has a king sized bed or maybe 2 queens -- in Europe there are singles -- for 1; doubles/twins - for 2; and triples for 3

Some hotels will add a small bed for a small child into one of their larger double rooms. But you MUST ask this ahead of time and never just sneak your child in. The hotel would have every right to evict you and not refund your money.

Have you considered renting apartments instead of staying in hotels? You could easily find studios and 1-bdrms that would sleep you all comfortabley

In the UK try The Travelodge or Premier Iin chains. Many of their rooms can easily accomodate three and their "Family rooms" with additional beds are often available at no extra charge.

www.travelodge.co.uk
http://www.premierinnhotels.co.uk/

These are basic chain type hotels but are clean and comfortable with all mod cons. If you book far enough in advance you can usually get rooms at £19 per night. Otherwise, consider B&Bs as opposed to hotels as many can easily compete with hotels on qulaity and price and will often make ony a nominal charge for a child (if any)

Hi theofen

I second the Travelodge chain in UK - we always book a family room and the fold out sofa makes an extra bed.
If you sign up for their email broadcasts, they offer fantastically cheap deals if you can book far enough in advance.

In France (and parts of Germany) try the Logis Hotel group. They are small, family owned hotels of great character - we absolutely loved each one we stayed in, from very modern to quite old. All were very comfortable and clean, and offered rooms of varying occupancy sizes. The prices vary from very reasonable to very high, and they are located in most towns and cities. Di

try www.hotwire.com for three persons, however, sometimes there are not many hotels in Europe that can participate for three, as mentioned.

The Marriott at Regent's Park had large rooms.

Good advice above.. hope you find something within your budget.

A single room is meant to be a single room, thus for one person. Accommodation prices are calculated according to the number of people staying. Smuggling extra people in is considered fraud and likely to get you into trouble. You need either a double room with an extra bed for the child (an option many hotels offer upon request, a small kid in the parents' room is often free) or a triple room with three beds.

In Paris Hotel du Lys (a 2 star in a great location very near Place St. Michel) has triples that are reasonably priced, and breakfast is included. www.hoteldulys.com

There was a poster on Flyertalk a year or so ago how tried this stunt and then was "outraged" that the extra person fee was as much as the room. At most European hotels it's very hard "smuggle" anyone by the front desk and chances are they would notice your child!

YOU had the kid; now PAY for it, OK?

Hello thoefen :)

Pricing of hotels in Europe is much different than in the United States.

Where practically any hotel in the US will have the same rate for either one or two adults, not so in Europe. Each person is charged, and it is not unusual for the price to double from a single to double occupancy room.

Some hotels chains (Novotel, for example) have child-friendly rooms, where a sofa is available and kids under 12 eat free.

Happy travels!

YOu do have to pay for a room appropriate for your family under the terms a hotel agrees to, you can't smuggle people in. Really tacky for a grown adult with a family to consider that, sounds like something some young kids would do.

Perhaps your terminology is off, but when a hotel advertises or lists "single rooms" for a certain price (on a website or elsewhere), they are referring to a room for ONE PERSON. YOu won't be allowed to book it for two, let alone three. Now if you are using the term "single room" to mean one room, that's different, but you still have to abide by the hotel's terms. Many will allow a small child in with parents (some for free, actually) for a small extra fee for the small roll-away bed they may bring in.

As for your daughter crashing with you, I presume you think you are going to book a room with a king size bed? Good luck on that one. As for her being on a "second twin bed", that would only happen if you booked a twin bedded room and you and your wife slept together in one twin bed? are you nuts, I hope you have a good divorce lawyer.

What's your budget? When are you going? People here can probably make good suggestions. You may also want to email hotels directly and ask what kind of room they have for 2 adults and small child. Believe me, it's generally not suites. We've found rooms for 4, that were just that. 1 room, 1 double, 2 twin beds.

Also, many European hotels include breakfast, and sometimes note room # and number of people eating. If it's a single room and 3 show up for breakfast, they may charge for the 2.

Putting 3 in a single is NOT a good idea, nor is putting 2. As already mentioned, a single is usually a very small room with 1 twin bed. And even in a double room (1 big bed), the bed isn't necessarily king, it may be a double or queen bed. A twin room has 2 twin beds. A triple may have a double and a twin, or 3 twins.

Nobody has mentioned the Fire Regulations which in many European countries will not permit more than two people in a double room(a room with enough beds for two people, whatever the size of the beds) and the same goes for a single room. Breaking these regulations may put the hotel owner or manager in serious trouble with the authorities.

thoefen: By now you've probably gathered that you can't squeeze 3 people into a single room (nor a double w/o making arrangements w/ the hotel)

As I mentioned above-- a flat won't have those sorts of limitations. Well, they do -- you can't put 5 people in a studio listed as sleeping three maximum. But flats/apartments will be the same cost for one person or for 3 as long as it is listed as sleeping three.

What is your budget and where are you visiting? It could be we can help you find places w/i the budget -- or convince you that isn't enough $$/€€/££ in those cities.

It's ok. It is also ok to eat in a restaurant and then leave without paying.

Bigtyke, I like it, but I have no intention of trying it.

I am 0-2 on this website. I think the way I wrote this post may have people confused and some of you see that. I am from the states and here we always just get a room. It usually doesn't matter what room. Most rooms here have a queen, king or two twin beds. Any one of these is enough to sleep my wife, daughter and me. The only reason I asked this is because when I went to book room at various Paris hotels they often ask the number of adults and children. If you list all three the price doubles and only suites or the biggest rooms in hotel (that cost a premium) come up. If you simply put 2 adults then you can get any room in the hotel.

Thank you for your responses.

thoefen: "<i> I am from the states and here we always just get a room</i>"

That is not universally true. Some major cities in the states also have rooms for 2 -- and only 2 -- unless you book a suite or a triple/quad/whatever. NYC, San Francisco etc. And B&Bs seldom have rooms sleeping more than two. If you are talking about mid-range chain hotels/motels, yes they often have rooms w/ two queens. But there are similar chains in the UK and Europe -just mostly not in city centers.

janis - check his other post. He's looking to spend $300 to $450 per night in Paris and can't find anything to suit. With that budget I do not understand wanting to cram 3 people into a twin bed and paying for a single.

By "single," the OP did not mean a single room (room with twin bed for for one person).

The OP meant one room, not a suite.

He wants to put 2 adults and a toddler in one room that features one double/queen bed or two twins, with mom and toddler sharing a bed.

Thoefen, As others have said, you must check with the hotel as to their policies for children the age of your child. You cannot assume they will allow you to share with the chold for no extra cost.

If your budget is as adrienne mentioned, you shouldn't have a problem. I would email directly to the hotels in which you are interested and ask what options they have for your situation. Don't depend on the standard options available through their online booking services.

Sorry! Just realized your child is no toddler. A child fie years old will probably be required to have his or her own bed. European hotel rooms can be quite small, so having the appropriate number of beds also ensures that there is truly enough room for that number of people.

Of course you can't. That's cheating. And do you think the hotel staff won't wonder where you're stashing Junior?

Use Expedia.com to search for a room. You can enter 2 adults and 1 child, and even put in the age of the child. In some cases there is no extra charge for a child under 6 staying with parents. If you've not been to Europe before, you may be surprised at how small hotel rooms are. If your budget is in the range Adrienne has mentioned, you should not have any problems.

Check also Bestwestern.com. Although not all rooms can accommodate a third person, where available there is no charge for a child travelling with two adults. (This is not the Best Western you may be familiar with in the U.S.; in Europe, it's a marketing brand. You may not even see Best Western on the signage.)

adrienne: "<i>janis - check his other post. </i>"

I <i>have</i> read all of thoefen's posts and know both what he is looking for and his budget. He started this thread back in April. My latest comment was specifically in response to today's post saying essentially >>in the States we just book a room and any number is OK<<

Any number is often <u>not</u> OK . . .

Okay, I hear you all. I didn't mean for the response I got. It was an honest simple question and I will put in 3 people when I search.

I will also look here for cheaper hotels. I do not want to spend $300-400 but that seemed to be the going rate for many of the first hotels I read about on this site and others. The ones that some up the most. I did search expedia, hotels.com, kayak, travelocity and the homepage for the hotels and many others. I am not a snob when it comes to a hotel but just want my family to have the trip of a lifetime without getting kicked out of my hotel because I didn't put 1 child <12. No I understand that I must.

In Europe, you hotel will need to register your passport numbers so all three of you will have to turn over your passports.

In London, try londontown.com which lets you designate the type of lodging you want. We booked a family room through them, that had four twin beds.

In Paris, we found a quad room, which had two double beds, at the Hotel de la Bourdonnaise(??).

I don't see anything odd about your plan. Just search for lodging for two adults, and let the hotel know you have a 5-year-old along.

Just eliminate the word "single" (and 'double' for that matter) from your vocabulary when booking :) The way you are describing what you want is confusing yourself (and others).

You want <i>either</i> a 'Family Room' - or a 'Triple'. They are easy to find - but you have to ask for them that way. You won't have to pay a fortune.

Got it! Thank you for the tips. I will adjust accordingly:)

Although this thread is few years old, I wanted to share what I found in case others are looking for information.

There is a disconnect between the hotel policy and what the hotel booking engines and reservation systems show.

I've looked at two hotels one in Geneva and the other in Oslo.

Both hotels don't show up when two kids are included in the search but in the specific website for those locations it is clearly mentioned that kids can stay free with their parents

http://www.expressgeneva.com/en/rates.php

"The daily room rates are for one or two adults and two children under the age of 18 years sharing one room."


http://www.radissonblu.com/hotel-osloalna/rooms

"Children 12 and under stay free in the parent's room with existing bedding. An extra bed charge of NOK 350 per night per child applies."

Good advice. Hotel websites themselves are always the best place to go for these details.

This is the second ancient post you've dredged up to tell us that.