Originally Posted by
pb9997
In my experience IBIS rooms are fine for one or a party of two; Eventually someone with a seven-year old child may add their view.
If under a tight budget I would consider Ibis Styles, usually in the same price range but you may be luckier both with upgrades, service and room size, with the additional perk that breakfast is usually included.
NotYouTu, welcome to FT and our cozy Accor forum
Agree. I have a 7yo. Even though the Ibis range is not usually where I stay, we stayed in two last year (in Germany). We chose a Ibis
Styles in Dusseldorf as they have Family rooms which are often two bedrooms with a small kitchenette.
I wouldn't bank on an upgrade as many Ibis Styles only have 1 or 2 of such rooms. For price comparison, a Ibis room for 2pax may for example be EUR55/night (no breakfast). A Ibis Styles standard room for 2 would be around EUR85 and the family room around EUR100 (but including breakfast for all). Of course prices fluctuate greatly.
I would not chose an Ibis unless you can see on the booking site that they have "Family rooms". Anything else would be too small. And at 7 years our girls are at an age where sleeping with mum and dad is no longer fun and they expect their own bed.
In Bremen we stayed in the Ibis Altstadt which does have Family rooms. But we didnt pay for breakfast and opted to cross the road to a local bakery. By the way, this IBIS will in Oct 2015 be rebranded into a IBIS Styles... so you can see now that you should focus on Ibis Styles for family rooms.
For your Europe travels, what you may also enjoy, if budget permits, is to look at Suite Novotel. These hotels only have one room category - the rooms are fairly large and have a sofa bed too + kitchenette (and often a microwave). The Suite Novotel my girls enjoyed very much (we stayed in a brand new one in The Hague). The IBIS Styles not so much. When you look at pictures you will understand - you will need to like the colour scheme