sue

I'm so embarrassed to ask this question, because it should be obvious, but here it is:<BR><BR>is a single room for a single person travelling vs double room for 2 people, or does it mean that a single room can have 2 people in it, whereas a double room is sort of like a suite?<BR><BR>Help!!<BR><BR>Sue

pam

Sue,<BR>Your first example is correct: a single room is for a single person and a double room is for two people. A double room might have 2 single beds or one larger bed, though.

jpm

To add to Pam, if you want a double room with two beds ask for a Twin.

Christina

Just to confuse you even further, I always book a double room, single occupancy. Hotels that have different rooms called singles usually have the worst rooms possible for that category--hotels that have several prices (single person vs two person) for the same room are better. Usually you pay a little less than two people in the same room (not always). I have never had a good "single" room so now that I'm older and have a little more money, I won't ever book them. They are not only small, of course, but they are often noisy, in bad locations (bad views, minimal windows, next to elevator, converted former closet, etc) or otherwise undesirable. Maybe you don't want one, though.

Betsy

I would echo Christina on single room dreariness with a little bit more;It pays to know the hotel you're booking in. For example there are 2 hotels in Paris that I like with single rooms that are very nice, yet are in the 2/3 star range. A book I highly recommend is the "Cheap Sleeps" series. The womoan who writes it reviews in a way that includes the single traveler so you can get a sense of what a hotel will offer you at a single rate.

Jayelle

I couldn't agree more with the previous two posts about single rooms. After some bad experiences with single rooms similar to those that Christina describes, I now will book only double or twin rooms when I am travelling by myself. Even if I'm not planning on spending much time in the room, I find the singles just too small and uncomfortable.

elaine

Hi<BR>As others have said, the terms are confusing, so when I book a room in a small hotel I am always specific about the beds that I want: A room for two people with two beds, or a room for two people with one large bed. Large beds like queens and kings in the US are almost unknown in European hotels in my experience except for the true luxury, or business-oriented hotels.<BR>I agree with Betsy, the size of any room and the pleasantness of singles depends on the hotel, and a resource like<BR>"Cheap Sleeps in..." is very helpful with specific information.<BR>I recently stayed in a single room in the Santa Chiara in Rome. While it was small, I found it comfortable and cozy<BR>(a good-sized bathroom helped my attitude) and the size of the room I am sure was no smaller than some of the small "double" (two-person)rooms I have been offered in Paris, for example.

Christina

I agree it helps to know the hotels and if you find one with a decent single room, it's a rarity. IN general, if you don't know though, I'd take a look at the prices and go for the double room if it's not too much more (and, in fact, they usually are only about $10-$25 more per night than the single rooms, well worth it to me). Of course, you get into the bed issue again as you want to make sure you have a double, not twins, when booking it for yourself. You would think hotels would figure that out, that if you want a double room for one person, you would want a double bed, not twins, but they don't always. As long as I'm spending a little more for a nice room, I sure want a nice large bed for myself, plus it gives you more free space that way, usually.

sue

Thanks so much for the replies...I guess it wasn't such a stupid question after all!!<BR><BR>Sue.