Hotels in Europe with child
Jan 1, 2003, 3:31 pm
#2
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IME, in some countries in Europe, Italy for one, there are strict laws about how many people can be in a room. There also tends to be hefty fees at some hotels for the extra bed. I just booked a room for the three of us at the Westin in Madrid and it's an extra 50 euros for the spare bed. I would be sure the room you're booking does accommodate three people so there aren't any unpleasant surprises. Some websites will allow you to book more than two people in a room. Good luck.
Jan 1, 2003, 4:24 pm
#3
Join Date: Sep 2001
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The limit on people in a room in Euro hotels is usually because the rooms really will only accomodate the stated number of people. The key phrases to watch for are "no cribs" or "no rollaways" or "max 3 people". A toddler can usually get away with sharing the bed with mom and dad. Junior suites are good to look out for. Also many hotels have family rooms that have two or three beds.
If in doubt, email the hotel and ask. I've found that even the small non-chain hotels will respond to email requests in a reasonable time period. If they don't have email, call them. A few minutes on the phone can save mega-hassles on the other end.
If in doubt, email the hotel and ask. I've found that even the small non-chain hotels will respond to email requests in a reasonable time period. If they don't have email, call them. A few minutes on the phone can save mega-hassles on the other end.
Jan 1, 2003, 11:33 pm
#4
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 592
In many European hotels the rate changes when you add more people to the room, so it's important you give an accurate guest count when making your reservation. Unfortunately, letiole's situation is the rule rather than the exception: 50 euro for a roll-away is not uncommon.
Most Web sites I've seen allow you to specify number of guests and number of rooms separately. If you have trouble making a reservation for 3, check the rate rules and see what the maximum number of people is. Otherwise try the hotel's own Web site (if it has one; otherwise call, fax, or e-mail). It could be that the hotel only publishes single and double rates but adds an "extra person charge" for a third guest in the room. For example, many European hotels list their rates in this format:
Single Occupancy EUR 119
Double Occupancy EUR 145
Extra Person Charge EUR 20
Bottom line: Whichever way you do it, verify in advance that the hotel knows you have 3 people. Otherwise you could be in for an unpleasant surprise!
Most Web sites I've seen allow you to specify number of guests and number of rooms separately. If you have trouble making a reservation for 3, check the rate rules and see what the maximum number of people is. Otherwise try the hotel's own Web site (if it has one; otherwise call, fax, or e-mail). It could be that the hotel only publishes single and double rates but adds an "extra person charge" for a third guest in the room. For example, many European hotels list their rates in this format:
Single Occupancy EUR 119
Double Occupancy EUR 145
Extra Person Charge EUR 20
Bottom line: Whichever way you do it, verify in advance that the hotel knows you have 3 people. Otherwise you could be in for an unpleasant surprise!
Jan 16, 2003, 8:59 am
#5
Join Date: Jan 2001
Posts: 2,841
This makes its quite difficult for a young family. With two small children, it is onerous to require us to purchase two hotel rooms in major European cities. I have reservations for 3(the maximum) in two different cities. Am I really gambling with my expectation that we (mom, dad, 7 year old and 1 year old) will all be able to be in one room? I expect to be upgraded, so we will not likely be in the very smallest rooms. Any advice? To what extent do they police this? To have to double our hotel budget for two weeks would cost an extra $4000. Thanks.
Jan 16, 2003, 9:49 am
#6
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flytoeat: My experience has been that the rules are very strict on this. In Italy, for instance, there are strict laws on how many guests a hotel can be licensed for. I rented a castle in Italy that had square footage galore, but was only licensed to sleep 14. It could have easily slept twice that. The owner would have lost his license had he been caught violating the law though. In other hotels I've stayed at, it's due to fire code. You might want to consider looking for apartments that are able to accept four guests.