What is a "Family Room"?

Jami - all the "family rooms" that we have booked have been rooms that could fit a family of 4. Most of the rooms were one large room with one double bed, one single, and then an additional single - often in the form of a rollaway. A few of our rooms have had 2 separate sleeping rooms. If you are looking at a particular room online, then email the hotel and ask exactly what the bed configuration consists of. If you are looking for a room that will fit four people, then email the hotel and give them your parameters. I usually send this email - "We are a family of 4 (two adults and two teens) who will be traveling x-x. Can you tell me if you have availability and accommodations that would be suitable?" I have, on occasion, been offered something that I did not see online.

We would like to think that all rooms are standardized, but as mentioned, what a Family Room, or heck even a double is, varies greatly. If you seek out the smaller hotels, you are at the mercy of what they had to work with. In my experience, larger odd shaped rooms, or rooms unable to be divided into smaller proper rooms get labeled as Family rooms. Some places use what we would call the attic (lots of space, but headroom at a premium) others may use several small rooms together that may not have individual entrances, basically whatever the building provided. Basically the previous advice given is best, for any need other than a Single or Double, contact the hotel and explain your situation, they will attempt to make something work and let you know.

Thanks guys. I noticed in several of the RS guidebooks that Rick gives prices for Family Rooms so I didn't know if he used a standardized criteria for that room type or if that was just the information given to him by the property. I'm thinking it must be the latter.

We spent two nights at Best Western in Montparnasse in a family room. Let me tell you, this room was quite amazing! After reading about the teeny-tiny French family rooms, I was a bit worried.

Our room had two floors though it was one room. The bottom floor had a queen sized bed and a single bed in another corner. There was the toilet/bath, a desk with chair, and then you go up the stairs and another complete room with two twin beds. I'd definitely rent with them again!! Comfy, clean and had a refrigerator and kettle for making coffee/tea.

Sometimes what you see on a particular lodgings website is not all that is available. For instance, we just returned from a trip that included one night in Amsterdam. I was traveling with my husband and daughter, so obviously we needed a room to sleep three. They are not that easy to come by and I was having trouble finding a place for a Friday night that didn't cost a fortune. In Rick's Amsterdam book he mentions Hotel Brouwer as having a triple room, but there was no mention of a triple on their website. I emailed them and the response was that they did have a triple and I could have it for the one night. If I had only gone by their website I would never have known about it. If a place looks interesting it doesn't hurt to ask what is available.

The best piece of advice I found (on this board, too) was to call or email the hotel/pension/whatever and tell them how many people you have and ask what they suggest. There were 6 of us, and we were able to use the family room in a couple of places.

Cate is right. Every hotel will have a different style of family room. Email the hotel and ask what a family room includes. There is nothing like going to the source for information.

I would say the best way to define family room is a room (or connected rooms) that fits your entire family but no one else.

I have had family rooms at hostels that held more than our family of five but they didn't book anyone else into the room while we were there.

I would also echo to call ahead, tell them what your party is and ask what they have that fits it.