I'm hoping the FT crew can offer some advice. I am traveling to Italy with my husband and son next July (I know, not the best time but no choice). I would like to use points for stays in Rome and/or Venice.

I would really like to stay at the Boscolo Palace Roma. However, when I search for "2 adults and 1 child" it says they cannot accommodate this number. I believe they may also say they don't do roll-away. I'm experiencing this with several hotels...either can't accommodate or have to get two rooms which I don't have the points for or really want to do.

Anyone have experience with registering with two adults and then bringing your child. One problem I might have is he is 15, which is considered a child in the U.S. but I don't think it is in Europe. Before you blast me, I don't mind paying extra for him to stay...but in the same room.

I may have to forgo this hotel, but if not I would really love to stay there. Any advice? Any experience? Will they kick us out if we show up with our son? Again, want to use points to save money. Thanks for any help.

I would call customer service and see if they can help. They may be ale to book this for you .

Yes, hotels in Europe will "kick you out" if you just show up with what is basically a third adult. The rooms are just much smaller. My room in Rome had two twin beds and MAYBE thay could have squeezed in a rollaway, but... it would have been tight.

Others have reported being charged LOTS of money for the "required" upgrade when they attempted the just show up with the extra person.

We have 3 small kids and we live in Europe. We know how difficult it is to find a hotel that can take us all in one room.

I usually use booking.com to find an indication of the hotel's children policy. The hotel you'd like to stay at allow kids under 12 share a room with their parents, and all older child are charge EUR100 for an extra bed.

I ususally just book 2 adults, of course checked their children policy beforehand. If they don't allow rollaway we'd bring our inflatable matresses. If you are elite, you might be able to ask the GM for an upgrade in terms of getting your son into the same room without charge.

Great information. Thanks for the replies OrangeCountyCommuter and nacho. I will try all of the above and see what happens.

one thing to realize - it is the Italian fire code / laws that are to blame here.
Max 2 people per room - no matter how big the room is.
And the local Marriott hoteliers cannot give you permission to violate the code / law.

Others have reported the front desk looking the other way when checking in with a 3rd person (child or teen) - but I wouldn't count on it in Italy.

Italy is just not an efficient place to use Marriott points when traveling as a family.

Well....

I have stayed in hotels in Italy that adverstise and have family rooms. So there must be ways around the "fire code" rule. Now, I expect that perhaps the truth is you have to set the room up as "x" people and once you get that approved then that's it!

There is always fire code - it happened to us when we were staying in an Accor property in Germany. They said it's violating fire regulation but if you insist it's your own problem.

We got 2 roooms in CY Basel after talking to the GM. She insists that there is no way she will let 5 people in a room and instead of an upgrade to a big big room (their standard rooms are already American size), she let us have 2 connecting rooms without charge ^.

We called Marriott CS before we talked to the GM at Basel and she put an additional guest in without letting us know that there will be a 90 CHF per night supplement . Fortunately the GM cancel the charge when we talked to her.

So in our opinion calling Marriott CS doesn't work - basically nothing work when we call Marriott.

Yes we also found out that Italy is not necessary family friendly. Austria is pretty bad too - they really count heads.

We stayed at the Rome Flora this past July. My opinion on the property is a mixed bag. I was there with my two sons (18 and 13). We reserved a suite which suited us fine and allowed us to have three people in the room.

To get a suite on points, you need to call Marriott and state you want to reserve a suite. I then sent an e-mail to the property to confirm their approval to have three people in the suite. It was fine and the room was suited for up to 4 people. There was a king bed in the bedroom and a full size sofa bed. You can make online reservations for non-suites only. The room was a Cat 8 room + 85Euro per night. The five nights cost me US$600 including tax.

If you're going to use point, you will need to make the call. I plead ignorant on the Boscolo. Good luck!

[QUOTE=WillTravel4Food;17271645]We stayed at the Rome Flora this past July. My opinion on the property is a mixed bag. I was there with my two sons (18 and 13). We reserved a suite which suited us fine and allowed us to have three people in the room.

To get a suite on points, you need to call Marriott and state you want to reserve a suite. I then sent an e-mail to the property to confirm their approval to have three people in the suite. It was fine and the room was suited for up to 4 people. There was a king bed in the bedroom and a full size sofa bed. You can make online reservations for non-suites only. The room was a Cat 8 room + 85Euro per night. The five nights cost me US$600 including tax.

If you're going to use point, you will need to make the call. I plead ignorant on the Boscolo. Good luck![/

Was it still 40,000 points per night?
Good info
Thanks.
Kevin
Orchard Park, NY

Yes, it's 40k pts plus €85 per night. For 5 nights it came to 160k + €425. Location, location, location.

.... I just tried to do this and was denied. They said the only rooms for points are normal rooms....

That may just mean the room you're lookinng for wasn't available for the desired dates. Call again and check other dates. Tell them you're aware that there will be an additional charge per night. You may also need them (resv desk) contact the hotel directly to receive approval.

It is possible. Don't give up so quickly.

Thanks; it's frustrating. I also got denied at the Marriott Autograph Bascolo Palace, right down the street.....
Kevin

Did you call the hotel directly and talk with a manager there? Or did you call Marriott reservations or the elite line? The "bending" of rules is usually only done at the hotel level. If they are willing to give you more than the program requirements great, but the general reservations line or the elite line won't be able to "bend" the rules.

I did not call the hotel; however I emailed them and was
Denied.
I will call next
Thx