What is best-single or double room?
 

Please enlighten me. I will need a room for myself and my husband. Does single mean there is one bed or does it mean it is a room for one person. I guess I am used to the US where single is one bed and double is usually 2 queen beds. I don't want to email the hotels with my petty questions, but I was just wondering which rooms I should be looking to book. Is the room any bigger with a double or does it depend?

A single will usually mean one bed, most often a twin bed (unless you're staying in a very lux hotel where you might get a queen bed). You want a double room.

Single = room for 1 person, 1 twin bed
Double = room for 2 people, 1 double or queen bed
Twin = room for 2 people, 2 twin beds.

In Europe I assume a twin room to be 2 beds, 2 people; a double-- 1 bed, 2 people; a single-- 1 bed, 1 person.

Thank you- a double it is!

In Europe a single room is typically quite small, unlike in the U.S., where room sizes tend to be much the same for singles and doubles. When we traveled with a friend who reserved a single she referred to it as her "cell." We quickly learned to specify a double room for one person.

Also, usually when you ask for a single room, they are assuming you're alone and there is an extra charge for just one person as opposed to a couple.

I live in the US and am not familiar with hotels here referring to single rooms as just those with one bed. They don't have very many single rooms in US hotels, but the ones that do have used the term the same as in Europe -- a small room for maximum of one person occupancy, that's all.

I've been in singles that did not have twin beds, actually, many have double beds, but the room is very small.

They don't charge you extra for a single because you are alone. Rates are for rooms, and a single room will not be half the price of a double room because they aren't that much smaller (and there are some fixed costs), but you aren't getting charged extra because you are alone, you are being charged for the room. Hotels don't make out two bills for a double room, one for each person.

We did read some signs in hotels and on brochures that listed extra fees for single people on our last trip to Europe (perhaps that was for something else?)

I understand that Bed & Breakfasts charge the rooms "per person", so single's run into difficulties there...
why would the owner rent a whole room to 1 for say, 40'whatevers in their currency, when they could wait and rent that same room to 2 people for 80'whatevers.
BUT, I understand Hotels rent the rooms per rooms

A single room is intended and priced for one person. You should not try to fit two people into a single, even if the bed seems big enough.

Also, make sure to tell them that you want a matramonial bed. Otherwise, you may get 2 twins in a room that is not configured to put the beds together. I had a room in Rome with 2 twins, but the room was very long and narrow, there would not have been a way to put the beds together and have room to walk.

Extra charges for singles are usually related to tours, when the tour organizer books a certain number of rooms to hold two people; people traveling alone have the option of sharing a room to cut costs. Those who want privacy are then hit with a "single supplement" charge to get a room to themselves.

ilovetulips- single room usually means for one person with a twin bed. Also be aware that many smaller hotels will not even let you STAY in a single room with two people. Their explanation is often that it is an insurance liability issue. A double is likely to be one double bed, for 1 or 2 people. It's not a petty question, and some hotels with websites even list the bed dimensions in the features of the room. You may want to ask how big the double bed is if you are accustomed to more space. Even though you may only be in the room to sleep, good rest and basic comfort makes for a better day of exploring! Enjoy.