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Hello,

I am sorry in advance if this is a silly questions but I honestrly dont know what they mean by:

Single room
Double room
Triple room

I assume they mean a single room with a single bed; one room with 2 beds, etc???!!!

I have never been to Europe, kind of obvious, huh

Anyway, I will be traveling with my husband to Rome and would need a room with a king bed. How do I know what I am getting...

Thanks!

fritzrl

You don't say where you plan to travel, but if it includes Germany, Austria or the Czech Republic, you should be aware that the 'sleeping style' is likely to be different, unless you plan to stay in high-end, American-style hotels that cater mostly to business travellers.

A "Double Room" in almost any other kind of hotel or B&B in those countries typically means two beds, each sized for 1 person. They may be completely separated, or pushed together -- but two mattresses, two duvet/comforters. A "Single Room" has only one bed, suitable for one person. Triples vary in configuration, so you'd be smart to inquire.

The German-speaking countries do have the concept of a "French Bed", though, which is closer to an American-style bed -- one (approx queen-size)mattress, one blanket, If that style is available, the hotel's website will usually make that explicit.

English beds are very similar to American, though typically not much larger than an American "double" bed.

Can't help you with French, Spanish or Italian sleeping arrangements...sorry. But most lodging websites usually have plenty of photos of 'typical' rooms, so you may get more info with that approach.

Fritzrl

StCirq

Not a stupid question at all, as it can vary by hotel. In my experience, a singel room is usually a room meant to be occupied by one person, but often has a double bed. A double room has either a doube bed or two singles. A triple usually has a double bed plus a single bed. But it's all variable, so you need to inquire of the hotel exactly how the beds in each room are configured, or conversely specify exactly what arrangement of beds you need.

caroline_edinburgh

Single room = 1 room, one single bed (standard here is 3'6" wide I think)

Twin room = 1 room, two single beds

Double should = 1 room, 1 double (4'6") or king size (5') bed. But it can be two single beds, or two single beds pushed together to make a sort-of king size. The latter is increasingly common - I assume because it offers the hotelier more flexibility.

Triple - 1 room, could be 1 double bed + 2 single beds, or 3 single beds - more likely the latter.

When I travel with my husband I always specify double not twin : we often get 2 single beds pushed together, but at least not 2 totally separate single beds. A king is a bonus.

We have friends who are both very tall & can't cope with a standard double bed; so if they can't be assured that a 'double' is actually a kingsize bed, they find it more comfortable to go for twin beds.

You need to specify to the hotel what you want.

Lori

If in doubt about beds call or e-mail the hotel directly and ask. A single room is for 1 person and usually (but not always) a smaller room with one bed - it can be a double bed but in general the room itself may be smaller and in a "less desirable" location in the hotel.

A Double room is a room for 2 people. Frequently it will just have a double bed (the old fashioned kind that can be small for 2 adults). You need to ask to be sure what you will get.

A Twin room will have twin bed (i.e., two singles). These might be able to be pushed together to make a king, it depends on the hotel..again, ask.

A triple room can have 3 singles, 1 double, 1 single, 1 double and a sofa bed .. etc. etc. Any variation that might sleep 3 people. Again, ask if this is important.

European hotel rooms are smaller in general and often have no room for king size beds. If a king is an important issue then book your hotel carefully. The large American hotel chains and some of the more expensive International chains will offer king beds - but I'd still ask if this is important - but remember no hotel (anyplace) will absolutely guarantee the kind of bedding.

In Europe I always as for a Twin room (2 beds) if there are not kings available. The standard double bed is just too small and we are not big people at all.

suze

As mentioned, if a king size bed is a must for you I would contact hotels directly to see if this is available. It might take staying at a bit nicer or more expensive places.

my interpretation is: a single room is for 1 person with 1 bed, a double room is for 2 people with either 1 or 2 beds, triple room for 3 people with 2 or 3 beds.

elaine

I disagree with fritzrl and agree with the others. When I was in Austria (only once), 'double' did not mean two beds. It referred to the number of people (2) expected to stay in the room, and the default bed arrangement in our hotel was one larger bed.
'Twin' is what should always get you two beds, even in a small hotel.

That said, it's important to specify what it is you want.
E.g., 'one room for two people, with two beds' or one room for two people, with one large bed.'

rex

Single room - 1 person, 1 bed - - could be twin size, double size or larger

Double room for single use - 1 person; could be one bed or two, but considered adequate for use by two people, and thus sometimes charged at a higher rate than a single room

Double - 2 people; usually one bed, but not always; might be two twins pushed together to make one bed that is essentially the same size as a king, or any other combination. If it is important to you, specify "letto matrimoniale" for one "double bed", though you still could get the two twins pushed together. If the specific size of the bed is important to you, any hotel will readily quote you the dimensions of the bed (in centimeters width, of course); measure what you are used to, for comparison.

Twin room, a term sometimes used to indicate a room for 2 persons, specifically with two beds; might be twin sized or not.

Triple - 3 persons, could be any combination of beds.

A double might also be provided a cot or rollaway, and then it could be charged as a triple, or equally often, simply the double charge with a supplement charge.

It's pertinent to ask if the room includes breakfast, and of course single, double, twin or triple will indicate how many people are entitled to eat the breakfast.

Breakfast served to your room is not always considered "room service"; in some cases, smaller hotels will seem to actually prefer to serve you breakfast in your room, as they might have only a small breakfast room - - not large enough to actually accommodate all the guests if they showed up at the same time.

Hope this helps. There are no stupid questions.

Best wishes,

Rex

rex

Addendum: "Letto matrimoniale" is Italian as you say you are traveling to Rome. If you are traveling to other countries, specifying that you want a bed of 180 cm is the way to go (though you could still end up with two twin beds pushed together; a twin bed is 90 cm; a queen is 160, and a "standard" double bed is 140).

GeoffHamer

Different countries have different customs. In Italian, a "camera singola" has one bed for one person, a "camera doppia" has two beds, a "camera matrimoniale" has one bed for two people. The latter is much less common, whereas in France rooms more often have one bed for two people.

Underhill

In France, the law requires that a room with twin beds be larger than one with a double bed. Useful is space is important.

Be aware that in Europe a single room is NOT a double charged for just one person--it's usually a quite small room.

Christina

YOu wouldn't ever be booking a single anyway, since you are with your husband, but I've been in enough of them in Europe to know that many (most of those I've been in) do have double beds, not twin-sized beds. They are just smaller rooms in order to be officially classified as "single rooms" by a hotel.

I do think a double room generally refers to the occupancy everywhere in Europe, but believe Fritzrl was saying that in some countries, it is much more common to have two twins pushed together to make a double bed than to have one single mattress. And, in my experience, those central European countries and Germany are like that, so I agree with him that this is a very common furnishings arrangement. I was in hotels in the Czech Republic and Poland that did not have any single-mattress double bed of any size (from reg. double to king), only two twins pushed together.

nytraveler

The big issue is double rooms. Many hotels differentiate between twin rooms - two single beds for 2 people and double rooms - one double bed for two people.

But it is often an old-fashioned double bed and not even a queen. Getting a king bed is usually a big issue - unless you go for the more expensive places or american chains - since most europeans don;t seem to mind the itty bitty doubles.