Booking hotel room for 6?

[Toni Perkins]

My hubs and I are taking the minions to Paris with us in March. I am trying to figure out our hotel situation and would love it if someone could offer some advice and clarify a few things for me. The problem I am having is that there are 6 of us but of course when I put that there are 2 adults and 4 kids in any hotel search, I can't get any results because "fire code" will only let the maximum number of guests amount to 4. The obvious thing to do would be to book 2 rooms, but my kids are little, and in fact, the baby is only 2 months old. I don't want to have to have my hubs stay in one room with 2 kids and me in another with the other 2. Not to mention, it just feels like such a waste of points to have to book 2 rooms when my kids are so little. My question then, is if I show up to the hotel to check in and actually have 4 kids and just one room booked, are they going to freak? Is it really that big of a deal or is the 4 to a room rule one that Parisian hotels generally overlook?

I booked the "Family Room" at the Radisson Blu Disney, for example, and it comes with 1 King in one room and 2 twins in another. I called and they said that it is still only 4 allowed for that booking? Do I really have to book an entire extra room when we have more than enough space for all of us in the family room? Like I said, my kids are little and the babies would just sleep in bed with me anyway.

Another example is the Hyatt Regency Etoile. They have a great award rate for a King room. We are only Platinum there but if we "pay" a few extra points we would get free breakfast and lounge access. We have a lot of Hyatt points, but not enough for 5 nights and 2 rooms. Would you just book the one room, have everyone stay in it and go eat breakfast each morning like it's no big deal, or would that make us total scum bags ripping off the hotel? Oh, and this room will only let book when I put 2 adults and 1 child, not 2 adults and 4 kids!

Thanks for any help or advice you can offer!

 

[Voyaging Doc]

If you're comfortable with it, book the room and say you just have 1 child. your other 3 kids and husband don't have to show up at the checkin desk. I wouldn't sweat it for multiple free breakfasts. kids don't eat that much so i can't see it being that much more of a financial burden on the hotel

 

[smittytabb]

I have stayed at the Hyatt Etoile in Paris. You would be very crowded all together in a standard room, even if they let you, which I doubt they would. When you check in, you need to show passports so it is not the kind of thing where you want to sneak anyone in. In Europe things are done much more by the person than the room, so you would need a room that is set up for a larger number. I don't think you will get free breakfast as a Platinum, only a Diamond. If you had a friend willing to share their Diamond benefits with you (a new benefit just announced and not sure how it works yet), you might be able to get a suite. The suites are large, but the one I stayed in there only had a king bed in one room and living areas in another with a small couch, but perhaps you could do cots.

 

[SanDiego1K]

I know that Italy is very strict about the number of people in the room due to fire codes. You cannot have more than the number shown as maximum occupancy for the room. I am not sure about France. Perhaps you can ask for adjoining rooms.

 

[Toni Perkins]

Thanks, everyone. I think I am going to just end up booking more than one room. I don't want to sneak around like a criminal for fear of getting caught and I definitely don't want to rip off the hotels! I was just hoping that maybe they were somewhat lenient with this rule, but it sounds like it is probably pretty enforced. I am not really concerned with how big the rooms are; I would just make my two oldest, 7 and 5, sleep on the floor. Like I said, though, I don't want to walk around feeling like at any moment they are going to catch us and kick us out or something. Thanks again for taking the time to answer!

 

[smittytabb]

The other thing you could do is get on Skype and call the hotel and tell them the situation and ask what is possible. Again, hotel rooms in Europe are often small. There would not have been much floor to sleep on in the dayroom they gave me at the Etoile while they were getting my room ready!

 

[ctbarron]

Most hotels in Europe are pretty strict about this as noted when checking in. They won't monitor your sleeping arrangements once there, but check in will be an issue.

I second @smittytabb 's suggestion. You could also email them with the "issue" and ask what solutions they can offer. A lot will have adjoining rooms and the like, and some may discount a second room.

 

[jtcho78]

not sure if you're locked into using points, but we went to paris 2 years in a row 2011-2012 with 2 kids (not 4). both times we did airbnb and had a fantastic experience. my 2 girls had their own rooms, and we had ours, also had a kitchen, living room, and a lot more space than a hotel room. also we were in local neighborhoods, and got the non-tourist feel. stayed in bastille the first year, then a quaint little place near ledru-rollin. airbnb reviews were spot-on, and it was so much better than what i had heard of co-workers staying in hotels. fortunately, i was there for work, so the housing was covered by work, but given the option for future, i would very seriously consider going the airbnb route again, unless i had a plethora of points that i wanted to burn.

 

[littlenemo]

Save the points and book one room. Afterwards, call the hotel directly and speak to someone and tell them the details. They will make the necessary changes/notations on your reservation.

If you are are not making any headway, HUCA. Although this doesn't always apply, but keep in mind there are dayshift employees and evening shift employees. I have had more success with the evening folk. They seem to be more laid back.

 

[jmw]

Thanks, everyone. I think I am going to just end up booking more than one room. I don't want to sneak around like a criminal for fear of getting caught and I definitely don't want to rip off the hotels! I was just hoping that maybe they were somewhat lenient with this rule, but it sounds like it is probably pretty enforced. I am not really concerned with how big the rooms are; I would just make my two oldest, 7 and 5, sleep on the floor. Like I said, though, I don't want to walk around feeling like at any moment they are going to catch us and kick us out or something. Thanks again for taking the time to answer!

Look at the airbnb comment above mine. If I were in your situation, I'd burn points on something else and do airbnb too. Hotel rooms in Paris are tiny. It really makes much more sense to rent a 2 bedroom unit.

If you're only there for a day, I'd still go with the hotel idea though.

 

[smittytabb]

Look at the airbnb comment above mine. If I were in your situation, I'd burn points on something else and do airbnb too. Hotel rooms in Paris are tiny. It really makes much more sense to rent a 2 bedroom unit.

If you're only there for a day, I'd still go with the hotel idea though.

I agree with the idea of getting some kind of larger unit. I don't know if anyone else has four children, but I do and traveling with them we never, not even once, stayed in one room. We always had either adjoining rooms or got a larger kind of accommodation. It is just not a break to take four children and stay in one room. The more space, the more options you have, especially with jet lag putting everyone on a bit of a different schedule.

 

[Toni Perkins]

not sure if you're locked into using points, but we went to paris 2 years in a row 2011-2012 with 2 kids (not 4). both times we did airbnb and had a fantastic experience. my 2 girls had their own rooms, and we had ours, also had a kitchen, living room, and a lot more space than a hotel room. also we were in local neighborhoods, and got the non-tourist feel. stayed in bastille the first year, then a quaint little place near ledru-rollin. airbnb reviews were spot-on, and it was so much better than what i had heard of co-workers staying in hotels. fortunately, i was there for work, so the housing was covered by work, but given the option for future, i would very seriously consider going the airbnb route again, unless i had a plethora of points that i wanted to burn.

This would be totally ideal, but we have quite a few hotel points that I want to use rather than pay the cash. I have plenty of Barclay Arrival points that I am planning on using for AirBnB, but we are heading to Australia for 3 weeks with all the kids in June, so I am stashing those away for that trip! Thanks for the reassurance, though, on how great it was. I've heard a lot of great things about Airbnb so I am pretty excited to try it out!

 

[Toni Perkins]

I agree with the idea of getting some kind of larger unit. I don't know if anyone else has four children, but I do and traveling with them we never, not even once, stayed in one room. We always had either adjoining rooms or got a larger kind of accommodation. It is just not a break to take four children and stay in one room. The more space, the more options you have, especially with jet lag putting everyone on a bit of a different schedule.

I am really excited right now that someone else here has 4 kids! Ha ha! I swear no one has more than two! Are your kids older or younger. When they are older one room won't even be an option. No way I am going to share with teenagers, but they are so little right now that I actually kind of enjoy being right with them! Weird, right? Ha ha!

 

[overclocked92]

I've done 5 trips to Europe with my wife and 2 sons and although we have done a few nights in hotels we have had more luck with AirBNB and VRBO for finding accommodations that work for us. An added benefit is usually you can get a flat with a washer included which will let you cut done on clothing that you have to pack considerably.

 

[Toni Perkins]

So, we just got back from our Paris trip two weeks ago and I wanted to let you all know what went down with the hotels. The Waldorf Astoria Trianon in Versailles we booked two rooms. Definitely couldn't have gotten away with sneaking the kids into one room. No special treatment or anything, but we are merely gold status with Hilton. On another note, this was probably one of my most favorite hotels EVER!

Hotel number was the Hyatt étoile. I should have listened to the advice of those saying to write the manager because instead I just went ahead and booked two rooms. When we got there, the manager came over to the checkin desk and was freaking amazing. He upgraded us to the "Presidential Suite" and gave us the club lounge access, which included free breakfast! They brought us macarons and a gigantic fruit basket and basically spoiled us rotten! We are only platinum with Hyatt so we were really surprised by all this fantastic treatment. He reason I said I should have written is because the manager could upgrade us to the suite until night two because it was booked the first night. He said that if I would have written him in advance he could have given it to us for all 4 nights instead of 3! What can you do.

Last hotel was radisson blu at Disneyland Paris. We could have easily gotten away with booking just one family room and "sneaking" the kids in. Obviously, we did not and ended up booking two family rooms, which were huge and felt like a gigantic waste of points when there was plenty of space in just one, but, rules are rules, I guess.

 

[Voyaging Doc]

I need to replicate this trip

 

[smittytabb]

I am really excited right now that someone else here has 4 kids! Ha ha! I swear no one has more than two! Are your kids older or younger. When they are older one room won't even be an option. No way I am going to share with teenagers, but they are so little right now that I actually kind of enjoy being right with them! Weird, right? Ha ha!

Just found this. Was offline for awhile when you posted this. Mine are grown.

 

[smittytabb]

So, we just got back from our Paris trip two weeks ago and I wanted to let you all know what went down with the hotels. The Waldorf Astoria Trianon in Versailles we booked two rooms. Definitely couldn't have gotten away with sneaking the kids into one room. No special treatment or anything, but we are merely gold status with Hilton. On another note, this was probably one of my most favorite hotels EVER!

Hotel number was the Hyatt étoile. I should have listened to the advice of those saying to write the manager because instead I just went ahead and booked two rooms. When we got there, the manager came over to the checkin desk and was freaking amazing. He upgraded us to the "Presidential Suite" and gave us the club lounge access, which included free breakfast! They brought us macarons and a gigantic fruit basket and basically spoiled us rotten! We are only platinum with Hyatt so we were really surprised by all this fantastic treatment. He reason I said I should have written is because the manager could upgrade us to the suite until night two because it was booked the first night. He said that if I would have written him in advance he could have given it to us for all 4 nights instead of 3! What can you do.

Last hotel was radisson blu at Disneyland Paris. We could have easily gotten away with booking just one family room and "sneaking" the kids in. Obviously, we did not and ended up booking two family rooms, which were huge and felt like a gigantic waste of points when there was plenty of space in just one, but, rules are rules, I guess.

Wow, sounds like you did great. I used one of my Diamond suite upgrades at the Hyatt Etoile. Maybe I should have just taken my chances You were very fortunate!

 

[Toni Perkins]

Wow, sounds like you did great. I used one of my Diamond suite upgrades at the Hyatt Etoile. Maybe I should have just taken my chances You were very fortunate!

We really were. I swear it had everything to do with having a newborn! French people love them some babies. Seriously, everywhere we went we got to go to the front of the line. I'm talking the Louvre, the line at the ticket counter at the train station, just everywhere. People were always helping us in the metro stations. One guy got his arm stuck in the subway door trying to help us on! Obviously he got it out just fine, but I was really touched by just how hard he was trying to help us get on that train. I really can't emphasize enough how amazing our experience was. I think when my kids are grown I'll cart around one of those fake babies so that we can get all that special treatment again!

 

[smittytabb]

We really were. I swear it had everything to do with having a newborn! French people love them some babies. Seriously, everywhere we went we got to go to the front of the line. I'm talking the Louvre, the line at the ticket counter at the train station, just everywhere. People were always helping us in the metro stations. One guy got his arm stuck in the subway door trying to help us on! Obviously he got it out just fine, but I was really touched by just how hard he was trying to help us get on that train. I really can't emphasize enough how amazing our experience was. I think when my kids are grown I'll cart around one of those fake babies so that we can get all that special treatment again!

We did not take the whole crew to Europe when they were little, but I know what you mean. You will find this true also in Portugal, and much of the world, really. I think things like upgrades are so subjective, regardless of the baby Just depends on who you work with and how you play it. I've had a lot of luck without the crew now that I travel alone or as a couple. The more you do it, the easier it is. I know the Vendome gets a lot of press, but I somewhat liked the quirky Etoile. I am sure you did too!

 

[MarkD]

I'm struggling with something similar here just booking for 4 (Dad, Mom and two teenagers).

We're trying to burn our Club Carlson points for a stay in Copenhagen over Christmas. Club C won't let four adults book one room but is OK with 3 adults and one "child". They don't ask for the age of the child like hotels here in the US. Is 17 a child??? I guess so but I'd hate to be surprised when we get there. Interestingly they only ask about one bed when booking the room. I'm assuming there is a sleeper sofa for the third and fourth.

We went ahead and booked two rooms at the Radisson Blu in Amsterdam where we have a layover since they don't have rooms for 4 available.

They sure make it difficult to figure out.

 

[smittytabb]

I'm struggling with something similar here just booking for 4 (Dad, Mom and two teenagers).

We're trying to burn our Club Carlson points for a stay in Copenhagen over Christmas. Club C won't let four adults book one room but is OK with 3 adults and one "child". They don't ask for the age of the child like hotels here in the US. Is 17 a child??? I guess so but I'd hate to be surprised when we get there. Interestingly they only ask about one bed when booking the room. I'm assuming there is a sleeper sofa for the third and fourth.

We went ahead and booked two rooms at the Radisson Blu in Amsterdam where we have a layover since they don't have rooms for 4 available.

They sure make it difficult to figure out.

In Copenhagen, the Radisson Blu Royal is by far the nicest property. Their rooms are comfortable, but tiny. I would not put four people in them.

 

[MarkD]

In Copenhagen, the Radisson Blu Royal is by far the nicest property. Their rooms are comfortable, but tiny. I would not put four people in them.

We're actually at the Raddison Blu Scandinavia for two nights and the Park Inn by the airport for two nights. I should also mention that we are planning to do an Airbnb too as we are staying 10 days. I booked two rooms over Christmas and New Years as I thought that they would be the most popular and needed to lock them in now.

When we book the Airbnb rental I will probably cancel the Christmas booking and move the Club Carlson nights to the front of our trip to reduce the number of nights in Airbnb.

I did see on our reservation that we did get a family room for each - "1 Queen bed, Non-smoking, Sofabed Family Room."

 

[NickPFD]

I am really excited right now that someone else here has 4 kids! Ha ha! I swear no one has more than two! Are your kids older or younger. When they are older one room won't even be an option. No way I am going to share with teenagers, but they are so little right now that I actually kind of enjoy being right with them! Weird, right? Ha ha!

Four kids here, ages 7 and under. The last time we did one room was when we still had three. This was at the Hilton Princess in Managua and it was no big deal, but then Nicaraguans aren't really into strict rule-following. We've done two rooms ever since we had our fourth, though we really haven't done a ton of traveling in that time.

 

[MickiSue]

I'm struggling with something similar here just booking for 4 (Dad, Mom and two teenagers).

We're trying to burn our Club Carlson points for a stay in Copenhagen over Christmas. Club C won't let four adults book one room but is OK with 3 adults and one "child". They don't ask for the age of the child like hotels here in the US. Is 17 a child??? I guess so but I'd hate to be surprised when we get there. Interestingly they only ask about one bed when booking the room. I'm assuming there is a sleeper sofa for the third and fourth.

We went ahead and booked two rooms at the Radisson Blu in Amsterdam where we have a layover since they don't have rooms for 4 available.

They sure make it difficult to figure out.

Mark, in Europe, a child can be in his/her 20's--they are much more likely to stay a family unit until said child moves out for college or marriage.

The first time we visited DD in northern Italy, we went to see one of the last wooden amphitheatres from the Middle Ages--the rest have burned down over the centuries. DD, pretending not to speak Italian, told them she was 23, to get the family ticket. (She wasn't.) Single tickets were 12 euros, family tickets were 25 euros, and a "child" was anyone under 25.

Oh, and I have four, as well. But they're all grown, and there wasn't much travel done with first husband. I was too broke for it for years after divorce.

We did, when my youngest was an infant, stay at a small hotel in southern MN on a leaf peeping trip. The baby, when he wasn't in the bed, slept in one of the dresser drawers, pulled out and on the floor.

 

[Jamie]

We're actually at the Raddison Blu Scandinavia for two nights and the Park Inn by the airport for two nights. I should also mention that we are planning to do an Airbnb too as we are staying 10 days. I booked two rooms over Christmas and New Years as I thought that they would be the most popular and needed to lock them in now.

When we book the Airbnb rental I will probably cancel the Christmas booking and move the Club Carlson nights to the front of our trip to reduce the number of nights in Airbnb.

I did see on our reservation that we did get a family room for each - "1 Queen bed, Non-smoking, Sofabed Family Room."

When we were in Copenhagen we stayed at the RB Falkoner. It's an odd hotel. Pretty big. The location of lots of concerts (none while we were there, AFAIK). The rooms are definitely clean, but also definitely just old. Bed were comfy. We booked a "1 King bed, Non-smoking, 2 Rooms Business Class Junior Suite" for 2 adults, 2 children (that was one of the premium rooms on points). When we got there it was a bedroom and living room. In the bedroom there was a king sized bed and two rollaways. We did not specifically request the rollaways and I checked that we wouldn't be charged for them (we weren't). We were planning on bouncing between that one and the Scandinavia, but felt like Falkoner worked just great for us so I cancelled the Scandinavia and switched the last two nights to Falkoner. Staff were great. Very friendly and competent (combining the reservations into one was no problem.) There is a subway station very close and we really liked the neighborhood.

 

[Jamie]

So, we just got back from our Paris trip two weeks ago and I wanted to let you all know what went down with the hotels. The Waldorf Astoria Trianon in Versailles we booked two rooms. Definitely couldn't have gotten away with sneaking the kids into one room. No special treatment or anything, but we are merely gold status with Hilton. On another note, this was probably one of my most favorite hotels EVER!

Hotel number was the Hyatt étoile. I should have listened to the advice of those saying to write the manager because instead I just went ahead and booked two rooms. When we got there, the manager came over to the checkin desk and was freaking amazing. He upgraded us to the "Presidential Suite" and gave us the club lounge access, which included free breakfast! They brought us macarons and a gigantic fruit basket and basically spoiled us rotten! We are only platinum with Hyatt so we were really surprised by all this fantastic treatment. He reason I said I should have written is because the manager could upgrade us to the suite until night two because it was booked the first night. He said that if I would have written him in advance he could have given it to us for all 4 nights instead of 3! What can you do.

Last hotel was radisson blu at Disneyland Paris. We could have easily gotten away with booking just one family room and "sneaking" the kids in. Obviously, we did not and ended up booking two family rooms, which were huge and felt like a gigantic waste of points when there was plenty of space in just one, but, rules are rules, I guess.

This is very useful information. I find that it is very much a hotel by hotel thing in Europe. We have snuck kids in when we were in England and also one night in Vienna. When you actually get to the hotel you find out whether that would be extremely difficult (i.e. small lobby, desk right in front of the door) or no problem at all (large busy lobby). We stayed at the Andaz Liverpool street in London and actually only booked a king room for 2 adults + 1 child (knowing we actually have two, but not able to bookit that way). Requested a rollaway on the res. We all came in to checkin together and no mention at all was made of it being a problem that there were two kids. This is one lobby where it would be awkward to pretend you had less children, though. The staff are very attentive and there isn't a huge waiting area. It would be fine if one person went and checked in alone and the rest joined later. We were diamond at the time, so that may have something to do with it, but not sure.

 

[Dia]

I had a similar situation with the Hyatt Regency Tokyo. The system wouldn't let me book even a suite with more than 2 people. I booked the suite (points+cash+dsu) and emailed the manager who is happy to let my 2 kids in for no extra cost.

 

[Toni Perkins]

In the US I have no problem getting one room and putting in whatever the system will let me get away with. Usually I travel with my four kids by myself, so getting two separate rooms is not even legal, or I'm sure highly frowned upon. You know, putting one 8 year old in a room all by himself... But in Europe, they are all kinds of weird about rooms! I start getting nervous when it comes to food benefits, though. Like, "Hey, all six of us are here for free breakfast! My reservation only has 4? Weird! Run kids!!!!"

 

[MickiSue]

We're staying in a B&B in Comacchio for two nights with our grandson. We're bringing a travel crib, and told them up front that he'll be in the room with us. They even suggested which room would be roomier with the crib in it--and we're paying for two people.

 

[Fafa123]

I have 4 kids too (currently ages 11 to 19) and traveling in Europe is tough. I prefer to AirBNB when possible in years past we had to get two rooms in switzerland (and put the older 2 on their own. Oddly their room did not have a toilet or shower, but ours - which slept 4 - did). Another alternative is hostels. When you are a family, 3 bunkbeds in a room is doable.

 

[smittytabb]

I have 4 kids too (currently ages 11 to 19) and traveling in Europe is tough. I prefer to AirBNB when possible in years past we had to get two rooms in switzerland (and put the older 2 on their own. Oddly their room did not have a toilet or shower, but ours - which slept 4 - did). Another alternative is hostels. When you are a family, 3 bunkbeds in a room is doable.

Traveling with four is crazy. We always got two rooms or an apartment or condo. We still do a trip all together once a year where we all stay in a large condo on the beach. My youngest is 22. I am enjoying trips alone and with my husband now. It goes fast, so enjoy, but know that travel after kids rocks.

 

[Barb]

Once my kids hit their teens, I started renting apts or houses, through VRBO. I often will get ideas from booking.com or hotels.com but then go directly to the property website to do the actual booking which often proves to be cheaper. Just last month, I rented a gorgeous 3 bedroom/3 bath house in Cape Town which was walking distance from the waterfront and in a fabulous area. At $112/night, it was better value than using hotel points and definitely much more comfortable for the four of us! (My kids are now adults at 18 and 24). In Europe, for local hotels (not chain) I find that you often need to go directly to the hotel property to get "family" rooms that sleep 4 or more, they are often not available through booking engines such as hotels.com and booking.com.