cfaulkner

I'm going to second rhkkmk. I have booked many times in Europe with bestwestern. You get local flavor, english speaking and they usually understand American needs - 'quads.' A near impossiblity in European hotels. I usually get all the info off the website and phone them. I can explain my exact needs (my two boys are small enough to share a single, if the hotel will allow, therefore I may only need a 'triple') and I can also ask them about bathroom facilities (en-suite, shower vs tub). I find 3 star or 4 star has all the necessities but not all the luxuries. (Two stars may have the bathroom down the hall.)

nocinonut

It seems like most of your posts over the last year have been about worrying over money and shopping. Don't try to keep up with people with more money, travel within your means and your teenage daughters will adjust their values to follow your lead.

Stay in small inexpensive pensiones or even hostels with dorm rooms and forget designer adulation.

JBX

Suggestions from other posts ---

Quad rooms in Rome and Venice ?
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34449156

help for hotel accomodations in Italy ?
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34449512

Good family hotel/apartment in Venice ?
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34466032

Jean

You've had many good replies... Let me just add a comment that might help you in choosing hotels.

The stars a hotel in Italy is given have nothing to do with the overall quality of the property. Four stars v. three stars does not mean the room is bigger, the linens are nicer, the location is better, etc. Stars relate to the number of amenities offered, such as parking, restaurant, elevator, internet access, gym, pool, and so forth. If you don't need these things, don't pay extra for them.

richard2

So obviously this isn't a good idea. My querie rose because we were told only three to a room in Australia but when we got there all the rooms were quads. I now realize Europe is different so we will book two rooms. Granted my choice of the word "sneak" wasn't the best.

Nocinonut - many of my posts might have been about money because I am trying to find the best value for my weak Canadian dollar. I'm not living above my means or trying to keep up with other people. My girls had a few queries about shopping because that was the thing they didn't get answers to in guide books. Any spending they do is with their own allowances and money they have earned. This trip isn't just about shopping!

MFNYC

There are quads in Europe, but if the rooms is listed as a double or triple, that's what it will be. Europe rooms tend to run small, so if it doesn't say quad odds are 4 won't fit. In rome, Santa CHiara, Due Torri and Residenza also have quads (sometimes called family rooms or family suites). In Venice, Hotel FLora has at least 1 quad room (most hotels only have a handful). I don't know about the Westin. You should email or call the Westin you are interested in and ask.

BDM

Dear Richard,

Do you need the services a hotel provides? If not, and you plan on staying in each locale for more than a few nights, look into an apartment. lots of space, privacy, etc. I hate having to pay more than $150 for a room that will be simply a place to sleep, shower and shave. I've found great apartments in most cities that will sleep 4-5 at this price.

look at http://22elgoog.vrbo.com/
and maybe step out of the box?

Hope this helps, don't be so hard on yourself!

via con dios,

Brian

jay

we stayed at the hotel des artistes. they had quads that were cheap.

sandykins

Richard, perhaps you have been persuaded not to book a triple room for four persons, but may I please add that besides breaching the contract with the hotel, one would be risking the safety of the fourth, unreported person in your room? In case of fire, bomb scare, or other emergency, hotels look to the guest logs to determine whether all guests have been accounted for in evacuations or rescues.

I understand the importanceof budgeting when one's home currency is weak abroad. I plan trips down to the last penny until the time of the trip, then forget about the cost and enjoy myself. For my family of two adults and two children in London next month, I booked a quad room in a three-star hotel a little distance from (but easily accessible by underground to) the city center where it would have cost more. I found a kids-stay-free-in-parents'-room deal. By compromising on number of stars and location, as well as insisting on a hotel with full breakfast included, were are saving money and staying well under budget so we can splurge on what we consider important: food and theatre shows. Perhaps you can decide as a family what luxuries or amenities you all are willing to give up.