Would we get away with this at the hotel?

[HOTD7383]

We are going to Lapland UK in November, it’s 1-2 hours away and we’ve got a really early entry time so we are staying near there the night before - the Legoland hotel as it’s got more child friendly facilities (soft play, a pool, crazy golf, a sensory area) and my DD (8) struggles with a normal hotel with nothing to do.

DD has autism and needs a lot of help and support therefore there is 3 of us adults going as her carers. The family rooms have 4 beds in them, therefore enough sleeping space for everyone, however the rule limits it to 2 adults only per room (despite allowing 3 children per room so it’s not for lack of space). This would mean booking 2 rooms at nearly £150 each, and £300 just for one night is extortionate (all nearby hotels are similar priced due to taking advantage of people staying there for the same purpose as us).

Would we get away with just 2 adults checking in and then us letting the 3rd adult into the room a little while later? Surely people are walking in and out of the hotel and their rooms all of the time and they don’t check where every single one of them are going if they’ve already got their hotel card etc?

My advice, be honest as it is potentially cheating the hotel out of money. For the record, I we would never do that and never recommend anyone else did it.

Possibly ask and you may be pleasantly surprised but that carries a risk that if they refuse they will know

Pay up IMO or dont go there as you clearly cant afford it. Sounds harsh but there are many that can never afford to go there. FYI, I'm not having a go at you but trying to get you to understand why rules are there otherwise its a free-for-all

Just do it op. Literally a victimless "crime". And fire risk my eye! How many people book a room in a city with the hopes of pulling that night? It's standard practice on works dos for sleeze bags in city offices.

Also if there’s a fire they’re not going to get exact numbers anyway are they…. Flawed system. More likely the fire fighters will just go in and do their job and make sure all rooms are empty. People will always stay out at night, be out late, get up early, go for an insomnia walk etc. Silly argument really!

If I pay for 2 adults and 2 children - I’m still technically paying for 4 people - and we’re not eating breakfast there. It’s not a case of not being able to afford it, it’s just a lot of money when 4 people can fit in there and why can 3 children stay in there but not 3 adults? I personally think it’s a way of getting extra money out of people. Premier inn down the road from there is exactly the same price on the dates and has no facilities whatsoever

This.

As an opposite example I booked two rooms at Travel Lodge stating there was an adult plus 1/2 children in each room with the intention for DH and I to share and DS and his friends to share (rule was for an adult in all rooms). In the event DH was unable to come and I was a bit worried they may pick up on one room with no adults - but I did the check in for both rooms alone and no-one questioned .

I’ve stayed in the legoland hotel with two adults and two DC and the DC beds are not really suitable for adults. They were bunks and shorter and (I think) narrower than a normal single. Also seemed less sturdy, though not sure about that as they must take kids jumping on them all the time, I would think. I’m only 5’1” And I’ve have found them difficult to sleep in.

The room was small and very cramped so that’s probably why they limit it.

I'd absolutely do it. As people have said, the fire risk just isn't a real thing as folk bring people back to their hotel rooms all the time.

It's just a rule so the hotel can make more money.

As for it causing a 'free for all' that's a bit extreme - having 4 people in a room made up for 4 people is hardly the crime of the century.

I'm assuming they don't ask for names / ID on booking do they OP? As I'm aware that some places do now. As long as they don't then you should be fine .

This is ridiculous, if course it isn't illegal.

'Press charges'? I think the police would laugh if a hotel tried to get them to charge a family for having an adult instead of a child in a bedroom

Thank you, I appreciate that. However, IMO and I'm sticking to it that you cant afford it. When we book hotels as a family when kids were younger and just getting to a stage over where hotels see them as adults - we did not really want to pay the extra but we did or we did not stay there

Either way OP. Do enjoy your hols and I hope you get a good deal and one you are happy with

Just omit any make up op and fashion some pig tails.. Go for it...
We stayed one night. ASD ds loved it. Was about 11 at the time..

But you aren't paying for 3 adults and one child, because the terms on which the hotel are prepared to contract are that a room can take four people only if max 2 are adults.

If you want to do this, then crack on and accept the risks. Don't pretend that it's somehow "technically" legally right though, because it clearly isn't.

@RancidRuby it is essentially no different to paying for eg a small coffee and actually picking up a large one. You have knowingly taken a good/service that is more than you've paid for. So my understanding is it is illegal.

Is this something people worry about? How is it affecting the hotel? They’ve sold the room. Nobody is cheating them out of a meal, just using one of the beds that would have been used anyway if it were 2 adults and 3 children.

Go ahead op, they aren’t going to know who is in the room.

Can you ring up and explain the situation, they may allow it as a one off special case. Some of these rules are not set in stone.

Yeah, I’ve heard that people get arrested daily for that, sometimes even an armed unit response…

When we've stayed in family rooms, there's been a double or zip and link and then 2 child beds. If your adult is light enough to get away with being the size of a child and won't break a bed meant for someone much small then that's okay. What if one of your adults breaks a child's bed? £300 for 3 adults and a child in a premium area really isn't that expensive nowadays unfortunately. Pre Covid it would have been, but it seems to be standard in a busy or popular place now, even for a Premier Inn.

They wouldn't know if you were in your hotel room at the time of the fire.

I booked a family room in a Travelodge (2 adults, 2 children) for me, DH and our 2 adult sons. To book 2 separate rooms for 4 adults would have been prohibitively expensive. I booked us all in, asked to for 2 key cards, no-one took a blind bit of notice, and yes, maybe I did cheat the hotel out of business, but so what. We were going to a funeral the following day and money was extremely tight.

I wouldn't worry.

I imagine the fire service probably work on systematic searching and reports of party members missing, not how many people booked in.

For all they know, Doris & Ted could be off having dinner in Windsor.

There’s a double bed in there, there’s also a pull down sort of bed from what I can see in the photos/layout. It’ll most likely be me as DD sleeps with me some nights, I weigh 48kg so quite a small person and I regularly sleep in DD’s bed when she’s unsettled so I hope I wouldn’t break their beds. I suppose it’s a similar risk of a wild child jumping up and down on the beds and potentially breaking them?

That sounds like an excellent idea. You might end up with a jobsworth when you check in but hopefully if you tell them something like this they may be ok.

Just do it OP. Honestly no one is going to notice or care.

Perhaps just check in you and DD with all the luggage & then get the spare adults to meet you by the lift or something.

Not entirely relevant but are you sure Legoland is closed? Winter weekends they do Christmas stay packages with FC, elves and rides open. We did it last November and the hotel was very busy.