I want to make sure I understand what I'm booking. It appears that many hotels have either a double bed or twin beds.
If they have twin beds, are they pushed together or separate? Does it depend on the hotel? When I look at the pictures, they are mostly showing larger beds (not a twin bed) but the captions often say "double bed or twin beds" for the same room.
Any advice?
Twin beds often mean two separate beds however it is not uncommon to find a double being two beds pushed together and quite often a double consists of two separate mattresses on one bed.
European bed sizes are also smaller than American ones.
If you book a room with twin beds, you’ll get two separate beds. If you book a room with a double bed it might be one large bed for two people, or two smaller beds where the mattresses are joined together so two people can be in one bed. This gives hotels the flexibility to cater for guests who want to share the same bed, or not.
I go to Spain almost every year and have stayed in lots of hotels. In every case, except for staying in American-style hotels, I have encountered two beds pushed together, which results in a queen-size bed, usually. I have never requested a twin bed room, but I would assume the two beds would be apart, in that case.
I travel solo and don't care for the narrow European twin beds (US std twin is 90 cm wide, European 70-80 cm) or the tiny single rooms. Most the places I've stayed in Spain, I've asked for and got a double bed. Twin beds are sometimes pushed together, but can usually be separated by at least the width of a bedside table. However, sometimes it can be twins in a single frame. When you have the option to choose, that means the hotel has at least 1 or 2 rooms with each configuration. If you are booking directly with the hotel, tell them you must have twins. If you use an agent, contact the hotel after you make the reservation and ask them to confirm twins. Also, know that if you have a late arrival, they may have already given out all the twin rooms, even so. Read the hotel description - if they only have 10 rooms, your chances aren't as good as in a 50 room hotel. High season is less chance than low season, when they're likely to have more unsold rooms. Another option is to book a room that sleeps 3. Even though that could mean a rollaway or sofa bed, it may be preferable if separate beds is non-negotiable.
US std twin is 90 cm wide, European 70-80 cm
Not sure where you get those numbers. I can't speak for all of Europe of course, but around here the standard width for a twin bed is 90 or 100 cm. It may be of course that some hotels try to save every bit of space they can and get smaller beds than are common.
it is not uncommon to find a double being two beds pushed together
Well, considering that that is the etymology of the word "twin" - "one of a matching pair" - that doesn't seem all that much of a coincidence. ;-)
I'm with Anna, "standard" bed is 90cm -at least here in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula! And I would presume in most of the EU too since, you know, we Europeans are very fond of standardization so we do it all the time and with everything (*) :))
Without trying to pry or anything, just a reflection about "twin beds" for Lynne or for whoever might be concerned, if it's "important" in this case: two beds are two beds, and remain separate "units" regardless how close they are to each other. Besides, as mentioned, it tends to be a small table in between them or one at each side... if "necessary", these two tables can, more often than not, be rearranged and placed "in between".
PS: (*) And if any pre-1960s Brit is reading this... no, bananas are not standardized, you can have bendy ones too if you want... and yes, you can also continue calling your sausages, "sausages", LOL!
... since my joke above it's not fair to non-Brits that might not be "in the loop"... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6481969.stm and to have a bit of a laugh: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzeDZtx3wUw -this was a superb clever political comedy from the 70's and 80's... still valid to this day if you ask me.
since, you know, we Europeans are very fond of standardization
Oh, absolutely! No crooked cucumbers for us! :D
And it’s “jokes” like that, that led to Brexit! :-)
Yeah. Blame it all on the cucumbers! :-)
What in the U.K. are called 2ft6 beds (80cm ish) are a lot less common
than they used to be
Oh yes, haven't things changed. It makes me feel really old to confess that in my first student room, that bed had a three piece mattress. Awful!
I lived for a while in London and saw bits of those series (reruns, of course), then I saw it again in Barcelona, in Catalan TV (gotta say Hacker sounds funnier in posh British!).
These two comedy series are great tools if you like geopolitics, like I do, to understand not only the British political establishment its drivers and its "checks & balances", but also the evolution (or rather lack of it) of the EU establishment, previously known as EEC, in the matter of lightening the bureaucracy in Brussels. While lots of people across Europe -- or "the continent", right Emma? :-) -- support the concept of EU, it's also true that many, myself included I confess, don't like the way is being "handled" and, up to a certain point, I think it can justify some of the basis of the brexiters.
Anyhow, for anyone interested, another great thriller series -more serious, no comedy- about British politics was House of Cards, the "original" one I mean, with the great Ian Richardson and Diane Fletcher. I am sure many non-Brits would find plenty of similitudes with their own political establishments.
Sorry for hijacking the thread! Me bad.
