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Priceline Hotel: Europe: more than 2 in a room?


cewiebe
By cewiebe,
in

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I saw the comments elsewhere on the site about getting rooms that sleep four, but I wondered if anyone has additional tips that are specific to Europe. We're trying to book rooms that accommodate us and two children (specifically, in Berlin), and I know many hotels in Europe don't even have such rooms. Is it too risky to use Priceline or Hotwire this way?

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In my (relatively limited experience), hotel rooms in Europe generally, whether they are Priceline or not, only sleep two (unless they are single rooms of course). You might also be able to get away with having *one* child under 4 or 7 sleeping in the same bed as the parent(s).

Even having kids sleep on the floor might not be possible, because the room might be too small or the regulations might be strict. Hotwire is not available in Europe. If you use Priceline, I would strongly recommend bidding for two rooms. If you decide to book conventionally, you might be able to find a good deal with Ibis (although I think their rooms mostly only book three) or Choice Hotels (which has Comfort Inn, Quality Hotel, etc.). Choice Hotels seems to be somewhat accommodating to families.

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  • 1 year later...

I don't think i would do it in Europe, as European standards are qute different than US standards... but you're free to try it. I've also stayed in a room in London that could barely fit my wife and I, let alone another person.

Since the above was written, HOTWIRE has changed their policy and now allows you to search for up to 4 people in a room, and they've added Eurpopean hotels to their inventory. At the very least i would search them to see if anything competitive is shown.

Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases

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I wouldn't do that in London with Priceline, because I've never seen a hotel room there that would hold four. You would have to pay full price for another room on the spot, and that's a huge price.

Try these places for standard bookings for a room that fits four:

Days Inn Waterloo

Comfort Inn Vauxhall

Travel Inn County Hall

Or consider renting an apartment.

London family rooms are discussed a lot at the Europe forum at http://www.fodors.com/forums .

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Yikes I managed to not be clear.

There will be three of us. And neither of my boys is old enough to occupy their own hotel room!

1 adult

1 4 year old

1 7 year old

I know the answer is pretty much the same, but just wanted to be clear.

I'll check over on Fodor's for more info. Thanks.

Anyone have any idea if Paris hotels are the same way?

Thanks!

Elaine

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London rooms (and Paris rooms) generally have a fire code safety rule for two people, and that's that. Some hotels do allow children under four for free, using existing bedding. With the situation you describe you would have to get a triple room.

However, if you want to take risk, and perhaps a less optimal location, you could bid for South Bank - Vauxhall. If you get the known 2* hotel, Comfort Inn Vauxhall, that hotel will give you a free rollaway. If you get the 3* hotel, the Novotel Waterloo, that allows two children under 12. There may be some other hotel in this zone, but none have shown up yet, which is why you'd be taking a risk. Both are nice hotels, despite not being 4*.

If you want an inexpensive hotel room for three in Paris, I'd recommend booking an Ibis or Novotel directly, or else doing extensive research to find the best triple rooms. I know there have been lots of threads on this on Fodors.com .

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  • 2 months later...

A couple of years ago we stayed in an Apart-otel (apartment/hotel) neas Les Halles. It was pretty large. A bedroom, double-bed, sitting room w/fold-out couch, kitchen-dining area, fully furnished with dishes, stove, etc. Very convenient to several subway lines. And BEST of all, free breakfast with fabulous croissants, coffee, hot chocolate, etc.! Not that expensive, either.

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  • 2 months later...

I know that there are lots of hotels in Europe, that have 2 doubles in the room. But most of them just have one king or maybe one queen.

You can check with the hotel website, but you still don`t know which hotel you will get when you use priceline!

It`s quite risky, so booking 2 rooms for 3 or more people is always better!

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  • 2 months later...

Just got back from the Thistle Marble Arch in London. I bid for one room, and called the hotel right after the bid was accepted to see about sleeping arrangements for my 3-year old.

They gave us a room with 3 single beds. 2 of the beds were pushed together for my wife and I. No extra charge, and a nice big room.

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It depends where you are and what you want. There are a large amount of hotel chains, especially in France, which are accommodated to sleep more then 2 in a room, like Etap. The only disadvantage might be that they are often on the outskirts of cities.

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  • 6 months later...

I'm in a similar situation, but just different enough to fish for wisdom from this forum:

In August I need a room in Rome for one night for:

Me, my wife, my 2-1/2 year old, and my 7 month old.

So that's four people, but 2 of them are under 3 years old (I'm not afraid to have the kids in bed with us).

Most of this info above was about the UK and France/Germany. Is Rome, Italy any different? I don't think my wife will agree to anything other than us all staying in one room -- and we're not rich.

Any and all help is much appreciated!

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You'll have to check for each hotel, but the standard Italian policy seems to be that you can have one child under four free with existing bedding. So you'd have to book a triple room and have the baby sleep with you. But check with each hotel - policies may vary. Also keep in mind that it might be difficult to get a king-size bed, which is what you'd want presumably for all four :).

Chain hotels might be more liberal, but in Rome, all but the most expensive have somewhat less convenient locations.

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  • 2 weeks later...

We will be going to Germany and Denmark (after the World Cup) with a 2-year old and I was wondering if those countries' hotels have the same policies with regard to children - i.e. one child free in parents' room. I did some sample pricing in Expedia and the price seems to be higher with the child; however most hotels' web sites say 1 child can stay free.

Thanks!

Also, for those who prefer or have to use direct bookings in Europe, the following web sites generally have better rates than US-based sites:

http://www.bookings.net

http://www.hotelguide.com

http://www.activereservations.com/hotel

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  • 1 year later...

I haven't had a problem for my family: my wife, myself, and 2 small children under 5, in Europe until now. We will be staying at the Hilton Charles de Gaulle airport, Paris. I called for a rollaway bed and they asked me how many people we were. I replied '2 adults, a small child, and a baby of 9 months'. Apparently, their safety codes do not allow 4 people (babies included) in their standard room. No ifs, ands or buts.

I asked to upgrade to a room where it is allowed, but they won't allow that since the original reservation was made by a third party agency (Priceline). My only hope is to upgrade to an executive room upon arrival, if they have rooms and if they still do this.

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  • 3 months later...

In Berlin in a double room booked with booking.com in the website it clearly stated that "a 3rd person could stay also in the double room at an extra charge". The hotel was Mercure Checkpoint Charlie and the extra charge is 25E per night.

This is the only time I ever saw that statement in a hotel booking website. And the total price is way lower that booking a room for 3 persons.

I suppose a small child would be free...

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  • 11 months later...
  • 3 months later...

We just returned from a stay at the Rive Gauche Marriott. I had ordered an Executive room which was a bit larger to accomodate my husband and I and our two boys (7 & 8). At check in, the desk clerk spied my two boys and informed me that "by law" they cannot accomodate more than two people per room. We had to upgrade to a junior suite which was a king bed and a sleeper sofa. Extra cost...but I should have known better.

Two years ago we went to London and stayed at the Thistle Marble Arch with a winning priceline bid. I did order two rooms and called several times before had to make certain we had connecting rooms...not adjoining but connecting. That was great! Family of four with two bathrooms and four beds. It was quite comfy. Especially since my winning priceline bid was only $70 per night per room.

I am currently searching for bargains for Italy for mid March. I don't want to be caught and having to last second upgrade. Good luck.

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  • 1 month later...

Okay, I realize that the UK is not technically Europe, but I was searching for a room in London for my family through Hotwire, and my search information included number of people. According to Hotwire's information, you are guaranteed a room that fits the number of people you enter. I entered 3, so can I be asured that our room will sleep 3?

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Yes, HOTWIRE guarantees the sleeping accomodations for each person you include in your search.

PRICELINE doesn't enable you to select the number of occupants and only guarantees double occupancy.

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.

Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases

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  • 2 months later...
  • 1 year later...

I've never tried getting a room for 4, (or travel anywhere with kids for that matter) at European hotels, but I helped my mom and 2 female friends book a room for 3 in Venice at a 1-star hotel, and did the same for them at a small hotel in Sorrento. In my experience, many of the more basic European hotels, which get more backpacker groups than the pricier ones do, offer rooms for 3 or 4 people. The smaller ones, however, often only have a couple rooms like this available, so it's important to book well in advance.

In the UK and Spain, the Travelodge chain usually has family rooms with one double bed and one sofabed. They can be really cheap if you book 21 days in advance- www.travelodge.co.uk . Rooms are basic but clean and perfectly serviceable. I've stayed in about 8-10 different UK Travelodges. It's a different chain from the US Travelodge.

On the 4 star level, I noticed that at least a few of the Marriotts in London have rooms with 1 King bed, 2 doubles, or King plus sofabed.

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  • 1 year later...

I am planning a trip to Munich in early September of this year. We will be 6 people (3 adults and 3 kids ages 5, 8 and 10). I would prefer to use priceline and am open to only bidding on 5* hotels, but would like to get only two rooms. The kids are flexible about where they sleep, so even if we don't have a rollaway or double beds, that is okay. But I don't want to have to sneak around or pay full price for an additional room if they won't allow a an extra child.

If I only bid on 5* stars does that help my case -- in Munich this seems to be Sofitel, Hilton and Westin hotels and their websites accept reservations for three in a room. Any thoughts? Safer to just bid on 3 rooms at the 4* level??

Thanks!

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Welcome to BetterBidding!

If you haven't yet, please start by reading your messages.

Basically it comes down to a calculated risk, and too many variables to determine with any degree of certainty just how much of a risk it is... hotel you ultimately receive, occupancy levels at the hotel during your dates, percent of rooms at the hotel that can accommodate more than double occupancy, mood of the front desk clerk at time of check-in, if the hotel typically charges more for occupancy more than two, if rooms with two beds are considered upgrades and cost more than single bedded rooms, etc, etc, etc.

Ultimately it's a decision you'll need to decide if it's worth the risk or not. Personally i would have a look at HOTWIRE where you can search for up to quad occupancy per room and see if anything is affordable/worthwhile there. While HOTWIRE is usually a little more expensive than HOTWIRE, having the ability to guarantee accommodations for up to quad occupancy per room may be cheaper than the alternative of 3 rooms via PRICELINE.

For further help, to continue the discussion, or to report a win for this stay, please start a NEW TOPIC.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases

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