4 people in one hotel room

[MuffinFace]

I'm trying to book a night in a hotel near Manchester airport and am baffled to find that the only way for our family of 4 (2 adults, an 8 year old and a 4 year old) to do this seems to be to get a room with 2 double beds. It's sometimes a proper double bed and a double sofa bed on offer, sometimes 2 full double beds. I don't understand how we're supposed to arrange ourselves - I get that there are technically 4 spaces in the beds but who wants it as two doubles rather than a double and two singles?! I had similar problems before booking in Edinburgh and in Germany. AIBU to think that most people booking 4 people in a room would want 1 double and 2 singles instead of 2 doubles or am I missing something?

I don't think anybody said it was something to worry about. Just not very comfortable for them if they are starting to go through puberty, or the girl is perhaps starting periods, or either gets sweaty when they sleep etc. Surely you can understand that pubescent children may be young enough that a separate hotel room of their own might not yet be appropriate for them but yet they'd also like some privacy and a bed of their own to sleep in alone, even if sharing a room?

I agree with you OP. Too many family rooms are set up as 2 doubles and not 1 double and 2 singles which seems silly. It’s not like you’d have couples wanting to share a family room.

When booking a holiday the bed set up is one of our main factors in deciding on a hotel and often rules a hotel out if not clear.

While the kids could share it doesn’t make an enjoyable holiday for them and with a child with SEN it can be even more challenging.

We did many long road trips round the US with two children, girls, and we almost always had this set up, a couple of times the youngest had a strop and dragged the comforter to the floor and slept there because 'She smells!', but they managed generally.

Not, not at all. It's really easy to separate any two people so that they don't come anywhere near each other sharing a bed.
That's all just weird excuses, for a one night one off.

Most hotel twin rooms are in fact 2 double rooms nowadays. Generally, it's only old or lower standard places that actually use 2 single beds.

What kinds of businesses are sending people on business trips and expecting colleagues to share a hotel room?!

I spent many years in a role that required regular business trips to various countries and I've never heard of this being suggested, either by my employer or any of the clients we worked with. We would have told them to get stuffed!

Not, not at all. It's really easy to separate any two people so that they don't come anywhere near each other sharing a bed.
That's all just weird excuses, for a one night one off.

If you'd actually read my comments before responding to them then you'd have noted that I specifically stated that for one night in an airport hotel I would lump this with my children, sub-optimal as it is, and that my subsequent comments were about hotels designed for a longer stay, particularly those that specifically market themselves as being appropriate for family holidays so should have rooms set up to make this comfortable.

Comfort and pleasure and good rest being, you know, a large part of the entire purpose of a holiday! Ideally it should feel luxurious, not like camping under a roof!

Right so your comments were about something we're not talking about. Helpful.
For a longer stay, you find an option that suits you and your sweaty children. It's extremely easy to find all kinds of options for the tradition family of 2 adults and 2 kids and anyone saying it isn't is lazy or lying 🤷‍♀️

I'd prefer two doubles as my children would share or we'd share with each child

Right so your comments were about something we're not talking about. Helpful.
For a longer stay, you find an option that suits you and your sweaty children. It's extremely easy to find all kinds of options for the tradition family of 2 adults and 2 kids and anyone saying it isn't is lazy or lying 🤷‍♀️

Wow, you're really rather rude, aren't you?

Threads on Mumsnet aren't confined to only being able to refer to the precise situation in the OP's first comment, you know. Maybe check out the Talk Guidelines.

If you'd followed the conversation in the thread you'd see that a number of posters were in fact talking about the wider issue of hotel bedroom configurations in general, not just at airport hotels for one night. To respond to my comments pretending I was talking about not being able to tolerate such sub-optimal sleeping arrangements for a single night when I'd specifically stated the opposite, and that I was talking about how this is more of a problem in hotels designed for longer stays, and then pretend I'm at fault because you didn't read what was said properly before answering makes you look rather silly.

Oh, and my children aren't sweaty, or even pubescent yet, thanks though for your nasty comments and fake concern. The discussion was about the fact that there is a period between when it may be uncomfortable and unpleasant for children to share a bed and when they're old enough to have their own hotel room.

Some people can make objective observations, shocking as that may be, rather than go online and start making personal and nasty comments about other people's children about whom they know absolutely nothing.

How unpleasant.

Quite common at academic conferences!

Provate rooms in youth hostels might be the solution - often bunk beds, some have a double bed but otherwise four singles.

Quite common at academic conferences!

That is so surprising, how unreasonable. And a potential HR disaster, one would think...!

Its worse if you were a single mum of 5 like me. No options at all. Just deal with it.

She’s looking for viewpoints on the double bed configuration, not patronising comments.

What the actual fuck?!
This is an awfully long thread over ONE nights sleeping arrangement. Fuck sake 🙄

Tends to be smaller business's in my experience. Not so much foreign travel, but within the UK

I've worked for around 10 startups and smaller companies over the years, and very rare are the trips where we got separate rooms if there was more than one of us. I'm sure the higher ups would if they went anywhere, but for the sales team, tech, account management, we'd be bunking up together.

Only exception tended to be if the two people going were opposite sex.

What?

Two kids in one bed as they're young.

If you don't want boy and girl sharing then you and daughter and husband and son.
Or even you and son / dad and daughter.

At their ages I can't see any issues letting them sleep with anyone in the group

@VimesandhisCardboardBoots ah ok, yes that makes more sense I suppose for startups operating on a shoestring budget, although I still think the HR risks involved would be messy!

I'd definitely prefer the 2 doubles! We stayed at premier inn recently. With 7 and 4yr olds. One of the beds was a pull out bed thing which was ok but the other was a really hard sofa bed with a mattress topper. 7yr old went in the double with dh and I had to go in the pull out bed with my 4yr old as she won't sleep by herself. Not fun thankfully only for 1 night.

It's really common in America to get 2 doubles or often it's queen beds.

If the kids were older 2 singles wld be better. Usually it tells u on the booking what the room set up is.

Don't see a problem with this at all

My 9 and 5 year olds would fight if sharing a bed. We’d arrange it with a child and an adult in each bed.

We always end up playing musical beds throughout holidays anyway 🤣

Sometimes a family room will have a double and two singles (one of which tends to be a bit ropey)...places like Premier Inns. We travel a lot with various kids that aren't always ours for Dad's sport, and have had this set up in various places.

Otherwise, I'd go one adult and one child in each double normally.