What is a french bed?
 

We have been to both France and Italy but it will be our first trip to Naples and while looking for a hotel I keep seeing rates for a french bed. Never encountered before. Whats up with that ?

I suspect that this is referring to a French double bed, which is maybe 2/3 of a regular double bed, and could be occupied by two very slender people. Maybe there is some other meaning, but that's what I'd anticipate. If concerned, you could ask for the width in cm.

I think it is a basic double bed...Probably queen size..

There is no such thing as a queen size double bed .Queen60"x80",double53"x75".

A basic double bed is NOT a queen. I agree with WillTravel. I think it might be what is called a 3/4 size bed which is 48" (6" narrower than a double). A double, 54" is 6" narrower than a queen. Bottom line, this bed is small for 2 people. But it could also be something else so I'd ask.

I think this has been discussed several times on here, if you want to search. I think the short answer is you don't want it unless you are alone.

I have mainly encountered the term with German/Swiss hoteliers who use it for a bedsize between twin/std. double. They may use the term on web sites in other countries, if they are owned by them. I don't know what Italian hotels use it for, but I'd be willing to bet you don't want it.

Hmmm~ French Bed sounds so romantic :)

The french beds we have experienced usually called for some imagination. The first hotel we ever stayed in in Paris had two narrow beds pushed together, that sloped to the middle, we could not help but sleep close :)

In Switzerland, a double bed is two twins made up separately and placed side by side; a French double, also called, I believe, a matrimonial bed, is a single bed of the same size as the two twins. I don't know if the term has the same meaning in Naples.

We've been doing some bed shopping here, and we've found that what would traditionally be called a "French" bed measures 140cm (wide) by 200cm (i.e., 2 meters long). It is the standard "double" size in France and Belgium, although that is considered too small by most people these days. Next up in size would be 160cm by 200cm, then 180cm by 200cm. You can also get a longer mattress, usually 210cm, to accommodate the fact that Europeans, particularly the Dutch and Germans, are getting taller. Occasionally you will see shorter mattresses (190 cm instead of 2 meters) but they are falling out of fashion.
The 140 by 200 configuration is usually one mattress. When you go to 160 or 180 cm, you get either one mattress or two 80cm/90cm wide twin mattresses held together in a single frame. The benefit of the 2 mattresses, of course, is that you can buy different mattress densities (firm/soft) based on individual preferences.
FYI, box springs don't seem to be very common here. The most popular mattresses (that we've seen) are a dense foam material placed directly on the bed frame.
OTOH, I have seen one or two places that called a daybed a "French" bed, particularly a wrought-iron daybed. But I doubt that's what these hotels mean.
BTilke (Brussels)