Double Bed? Is it two Twins or a traditional American double

Most likely, unless you delve into specific hotel sites, twin beds which can either be pushed together so it is queen size, or pushed a small amount apart so it is two single beds. If you want a room for 3, specify a triple. You cannot squeeze 3 people in a double room. They are not that big.

It depends on the place, but often a double is two twins pushed together, but not always. It might not sound romantic, but I always request twin beds if possible. That way I feel more confident that we'd be comfortable. My husband is a tall man and he snores, we would not be very happy in any bed less than a queen. (He would claim that I snore as well. ;)

Each hotel will vary - some will be two singles pushed together, but most will be a double bed. A double is narrower than 2 singles pushed together, hence takes up less room. UK and Irish doubles are narrower than those in Europe.

You will need a family room or two separate rooms for 3 people. Triples are very rare. You have left it very late for booking family rooms in peak season, so your choice maybe limited. Have you considered apartments in addition to hotels, as this will give you more flexibility.

My experience with double beds is what Jennifer said, it’s almost always a true double... not two twins pushed together.

Unless there are bed dimensions on the hotel's website, you need to contact the hotel directly and ask them for dimensions. Also note that a single (twin) bed in Europe is often narrower than in the US. Standard width in the US is 39" (99 cm). Standard width in Europe is 90 cm, but often you'll find 80 cm, especially if it's a room for 3.

All the descriptions I've seen recently have been twin (two beds) or double (one bed) or triple (sleeps 3, may be 2 beds or 3 beds).

whatever your shortlist to, check the photos on the website and also try to see them on TripAdvisor (traveler photos). Just for reinforcement, I also find Booking dot com has photos for specific rooms and clearly indicate bed sizes - no North America 'measurements'.

It’s an unanswerable question. You are effectively assuming that every hotel in every one of the many countries in Europe will adopt the same approach.

Some hotels I’ve stayed in in the UK have had the two singles pushed together mode, others have true doubles. The same is true in all the European countries where I’ve stayed. It really does vary, Hotel by hotel, country by country.

It's an impossible question to answer as every hotel will be different. American chain hotels will typically offer similar bed layouts to those in the US so for example a twin room in Marriott may well contain two double sized beds whereas a twin room in a different hotel may contain two single beds. Your only way of answering you question is to contact the hotel(s) directly.

In my experience a double is usually more comparable to a U.S. queen/king although I have typically traveled with a company that choses higher end hotels.

And as was noted, the rooms can be very small especially in high cost places like Paris, London, etc.

The hotel in Rome I stayed at had a choice of "double bed for single traveler." No extra charge. Actually it was a bit less. Both times I got the same room and had the king size bed - "I was lost in it." The bed and pillows were very comfy.

It may seem like a flippant answer, but there are no hard set regulation on what a hotel room must contain or even standardization in terms.

As several have mentioned, you either need a Triple Room or a Double and a Single room. Double does not refer to the bed, but to the number of people allowed in the room (As does Single, Triple, Quad) As for bed configuration and size that varies all over the place, you would need to inquire to the Hotel to get what you want. If you do find a triple, it is also very likely that it will be a single bed (double or queen) with a cot or fold up bed as the third.

The other option is to avoid smaller places and look at Chains. The Ibis chain in some places offers an "American" style room with two queen size beds and allows up to four people, you could also look into Holiday Inn, NH, and the other chains as well.

I also play it safe and ask for 2 twins-2 adults in a regular double have less space each than a baby in its bed.

In Austria and Germany expect a double to be 2 singles pushed together, which I've seen in numerous hotels and Pensionen in Germany but not so in France. I would not expect a full "American" double size.

Can anyone help to confirm if a 'double' is two single beds pushed together, or is it a traditional "American"-sized double/full bed.

It is so variable you have to look at each lodging to see what they have.

I've seen a lot of both.

If you stay in "American" style lodging, a double room will have an ensuite bathroom, air conditioning, elevator and usually a king-size bed.

If you stay in a mom and pop place, like a Pension in Germany or Hostal in Spain, a double room is more likely to have either a bed big enough for two or two smaller beds pushed together and made up as one bed. More have some kind of ensuite or private (down the hall) bath but air conditioning is a maybe and probably no elevator.

Unfortunately, I don't find booking sites work well at all for anything other than one person, two people sharing one room (or multiples of those). I've stayed in different layouts when traveling with my kids (apartments, two rooms, suite, family room). I always do best calling a hotel and asking what they suggest for my needs, then book if it sounds like it will work and the price is good.

Just agreeing with the others, and emphasizing two points several of them made:

1) It varies tremendously, and can even vary within a hotel. You have to check each place individually, and don't make any assumptions. Unless you are staying in a US-branded chain like Hilton or Marriott, there is going to be much more variation than we see in the US.

2) To be sure you get what you want, don't use US terms, which can be misunderstood. You need a "triple room," which refers to a room for 3 people. And for the beds, use centimeters to be sure you get what you are calling a "twin size," "queen size," "or king size" bed. If the website doesn't say, e-mail the hotel directly to ask how wide their beds are.

Be aware that some single beds in Europe are what we call "cot size" - much narrower than a US twin size. This can be particularly true in a triple room, which is often a room for two where they've squeezed in an extra bed.

If you stay in a German 3-4 star hotel chain, say InterCity, you'll see a double means too separate singles or a large bed but still not the size of an "American" doable. The 2 separate singles here are not pushed together in this type of InterCity hotel room.

Small hotels in Germany offer the same for a double, not only Mom/Pop Pensionen. I say in Pensionen in Germany and they aren't Mom/Pop types.

My experience in Ireland was the default room seems to have s an American double bed plus a twin.

In florence we were able to snag a family room with a queen bed plus a double jammed against side walls

In 2001 the Mrs in doing all the planning for Warsaw and Krakow, the extent of our first Polish trip, booked a double at the Europajski Hotel in Krakow. The double meant that our room had two single beds, not pushed together, but placed against the wall at opposite ends of the room..

My experience in the last trip is that there were mostly USA-size double beds or 2 singles. We never had even a queen size bed. We sleep in a king at home, so are used to a bed the size of the main JFK runway. But travel involves doing different things, so we happily slept on doubles or the two singles.

If you stay in a German 3-4 star hotel chain, say InterCity, you'll see a double means
too separate singles or a large bed but still not the size of an "American" doable.

An American double is 1.37m (54") wide. An American queen is ~1.5m (60") wide.

The German (DEHOGA) hotel star classification requires for any number of stars that the width for a "double" must be a minimum of 1.6m or 63 inches (3 inches wider than an American queen at 60"). For three or more stars, the minimum width must be 1.8m (71 inches). If the beds are not that wide, you must be informed of the fact before you commit to an accommodation contract.

In Germany, I rarely stay in starred hotels, but even for the many mom&pop places I've stayed in, the double beds have always been bigger than queen size. They are usually two 31½ inch wide singles pushed together.

In Germany, they do have a bed size that is 1.4m wide (I see linen for them shown on Ikea.de), about the size of an American double. I sometimes see it called a "French bed", but, again, I think if a starred hotel uses one, they must inform you in advance. German singles, even in starred hotels, are narrower than American singles.

Thanks all for your help on this topic! It was gratifying to see so many folks jump in to answer the question. It's pretty clear from your responses that the best option is to call the hotel directly & confirm the sizing....which I've done. So again, thanks to a wonderfully supportive community here for your input! Steve