It’s not as easy as I thought. My wife, 21-year old daughter, and I are traveling to Rome, Florence, and Venice. A few hotels make it obvious but many do not. If I plug in three people on the hotels website it still only shows one bed and no mention of a roll-away, or couch that folds into a bed. Do I assume an additional bed will be provided, or are they telling me three people are expected to sleep in one bed?
Any tips or insight?
A 3-bed room is unusual, rooms are single or double. A normal double room will not have enough spare space to add a third bed.
An adult child sleeping with their parents would be regarded as unusual. Family rooms are child sized beds.
I suggest booking one double and one single room you would have more success.
We had a triple at the Hotel Diplomatic in Rome. It consisted of two twin beds pushed together and a third, single bed, in the corner. It was pretty tight but manageable.
For my upcoming July trip I found triple rooms at:
Venice-Hotel Ala
Florence- Alba Palace
Siena- CAMPO REGIO RELAIS(I believe the 3rd bed here is a sleeper sofa type
Rome-Albergo Del Senato
As a recall I had to scroll down lists to find a triple room.
We are traveling with our 14yo daughter.
Hope that helps!
Only way to know is either the room is labeled a triple, or to ask the hotel specifically. You can’t assume room for 3. Triples, or doubles with the option of a rollaway bed brought in, do exist but as you are finding they are somewhat rare.
Booking a single and a double is an option with an adult child. Or Apartment rentals are often cheaper than 2 rooms or a triple room, and have more space/privacy. It’s what I do with 2 pre-teens as 2 separate rooms is not an option and rooms for 4 are even rarer than for 3.
I don’t find it particularly difficult to find triple rooms. But if you need a suggestion for a Rome hotel that does have triple rooms then look at the Hotel Napoleon. They definitely do have triple rooms.
I've stayed in a triple room twice at Hotel Casci in Florence. Great location, nice rooms. I do understand that the family that ran Casci for years sold it a year or two ago, so you would need to check that they continue to offer triple (and at least one quad) rooms.
My wife and I traveled through many countries in Europe with our teenage daughter. We used both Booking.com and directly through hotel websites. Now also Airbnb. Always put in 1 room for 3 people in your searches. Most hotels will not have what you want. Do not assume anything. If the results do not specifically say triple room, or three single beds, or one double bed plus one single bed do not book it.
We always found nice accommodation. Rick Steves guidebooks often list hotel’s with triple rooms and even quadruple rooms, but not every hotel has these larger rooms. Some hotels have 30 double rooms but only 1 or 2 triples.
Keep looking and you’ll find something. If there is a hotel you really really like just them send an email first to clarify the situation before you book.
If you find a hotel you like and their website is ambiguous regarding the bed arrangements for three people, e-mail them directly and ask.
As said above, triples are not as common in Italy as in the US, but they do exist. They may be have one bed for two and a bed for one, or may have three single beds. How much space is left in the room other than the beds is also quite variable; if they've made a "triple" by shoe-horning an extra bed into a double room, you may not have enough room to walk around.
If you're not able to find a suitable triple, you can get a single and a double, as said above. This also has the advantage of two bathrooms instead of one - nice anytime, and particularly handy for early departures.
THANK YOU to everyone! I really appreciate all your input.
If you book a room for three people, it will have three beds. Sometimes three singles and sometimes a double and a single. What you cannot do is book a double room and expect to find two double beds that can be used by three people. In Europe it is more common to be charged per person rather than just being charge for a room as is common in the US.
In Europe it is more common to be charged per person rather than just being charge for a room as is common in the US.
I believe this is a legal requirement not just an unfamiliar (to us) hotel policy issue.
In Florence, room #6 at Hotel Il Bargellino is set up to meet your needs. It has one full size bed, one single bed and a good-sized ensuite bath. The room is larger than a lot of Italian hotel rooms, so not cramped for 3 people. Price is probably around 100 euro per night.
Don't assume anything. Rooms are generally much smaller than what we might expect in the US. I can second the comment about Booking.com. We have used it on many trips around Europe. Just go for a place rated 9.0 or better. Also note that it is a great site to start to check on hotel locations/prices with respect to tourist destinations.
Hotel Oceania in Rome has at least one quad room.
We are headed to Italy in two weeks and there are three of us (self, spouse, and 21 year old son) staying in one room. Most of the time you have to look for a triple or family room. We have reservations at hotel Smeraldo in Rome, so I know they have triple rooms.
I've booked using Hotels.com, Booking.com and Airbnb.com
The hotel sites are good at letting you choose 3-person rooms.
Are you using one of those services?
hotel Smeraldo in Rome, so I know they have triple rooms.
and good breakfasts, and good places to eat in the vicinity, and confusing lifts (elevators - make sure you take the correct one), great bells from nearby, good shutters, good beds, tiny showers. Very convenient.
We've booked quad rooms for our upcoming trip. Adult son, 12-year old, husband and me. We found quads to be pretty common, but will confirm with the hotel just before the trip that the rooms can actually sleep 4 "adults". (Seems that 12-year old counts as an adult for just about everything.) Travelling as a college students years ago, triples and quads were common as well, and not just as family rooms for people with little kids.
Hotel Foscari in Venice has a room that can handle three people in three different beds -- and the room offers a view of the canal, too.
