Hi everyone!
I've been reading all the posts for a while now and have been a Rick fan forever. I'm finally going on my first trip to Europe and am SO excited :).
I have a question about room occupancy. I will be travelling with DH and my daughter, who will be 3 or almost 3 at time of travel. Will we be able to stay in a double room?
This is for Paris, if it makes a difference!
Thanks in advance!
A double room does not mean as it often does in the US that it is two double beds. The room will accept two people in either two twin beds, a double bed, or perhaps two twin beds sheeted together. You will need to make it very clear that you will need a third bed for a small child. Or ask for a triple. Rooms are much smaller in Europe and when they say double they mean double. No more.
Michelle - Frank is right about "double room" definition. What I have always done when traveling with my kids is to send an email directly to the hotel/B&B that I am considering asking them for the type of accommodation that we would need. For you it would be something like "we are a family of 3, 2 adults and 1 child, age 3. We are looking to stay with you (date) - do you have a room to accommodate us?" I have, on more than a few occasions, gotten an email back with information that was not on their website - such as the offer to put in a small cot, or a "family apartment" that was not listed, sometimes at a price that was less than the quad price listed.
My experience with Paris is that kids are almost never "free",, so if you book a double but show up with a child ,, they may be suprised.. and you may be surprised too,, as some doubles really are too small to even fit an extra cot in.. so when booking, I would always book a triple,, unless child is an infant,, in which case I would still contact hotel and check with how they would like that booked.
A "double" usually means two people in one big( usually a double size,,not queen, check) bed,, a "twin" is two people in two single beds( which may in fact be pushed together as some rooms are that small.)
Assume nothing,, most hotels are very good at getting back to you with information.
The easiest ,safest and most reliable way to proceed is to do as Karen suggests, email the hotel with your circumstances and see what they offer.
I would not proceed with an online booking of a double and show up with your toddler in tow. They might not be able to accomodate you at that point in time.
Thanks for all the suggestions, everyone. I am used to travelling in Canada/USA/Mexico so that's why I was confused about what a double really was.
I did contact the hotel and they recommended a triple for the three of us! Luckily I have a bit less than a year to save up!
We traveled with our son in France when he was almost 2 and in Austria when he was 3. In France (in Colmar), we booked a double with a kitchenette, so a little bigger than a regular double, and brought his pack and play. In Austria, we booked doubles in both places where we stayed. In one, it was a bigger room, but no extra bed. We took the blankets and made a sleeping pad for him on the floor. In the other place, they brought in a small bed for him.
All of these places were small, family-owned B&B's. We told each of them about having 3 of us, one being a small child. We weren't charged extra for him in any of them. But Paris is a whole different scene.
The best general rule I go by is to tell them what I need and let them offer what they have to meet the need.
In your case I would say, "What do you have for a couple and our three year old child for x nights?"
We took our four year old and, when reserving in advance, were clear we had a child. Sometimes we got a portable crib (horrifying our kid) but we took the mattress out and put it on the floor and told her she was camping. She loved it.
