California with a family of 5

[Pinkpeanut27]

We are hoping to visit California with our 3 children next summer. We are still planning actually where to go but are having trouble with hotel rooms .
I'm not sure we can manage 2 1/2 weeks in a single room and it seems nowhere can say for definate we can get interconnecting rooms until we arrive . I have 13 yr old b/g twins and a 6 yr old ds. They do not always get on !

Any thoughts how people manage ? Usually we go self catering in Europe .

We have had quotes and schedules from trail finders and Virgin . All trying to keep costs down by stuffing us into a family room with an extra bed .

Obviously this is an expensive holiday and I don't fancy spending my time sharing a double bed with one of the kids and going to bed at the same time as a 6 yr old!

We are thinking of San fransisco, Yosemite,universal studios and San Diego with Maybe a stop somewhere between Yosemite and LA.

Any comments suggestions hotels or websites would be much appreciated.

We used airbnb and everywhere we stayed was amazing.

Try an independent agent, we used Bon Voyage, based in Southampton I think, which is a USA specialist. We had 2 rooms everywhere when we went. They arranged us interconnecting rooms. In some areas there are s/c apartments which fit the bill and the extra space is great.

I second Bon Voayge, brilliant agent and very helpful

Just had a quote from Bon Voyage for a Florida trip

Its double what we paid two years ago

Its probably worth getting them to quote for the expertise and then shopping around

Or decide on the hotels and contact them direct. In my experience they will always try to accommodate you in connecting rooms if you request, and some family rooms are huge. We've even got all 5 of us in a US family room last summer (DC aged 12,16 and 19).

Oh for Yosemite the place to stay was the Evergreen Lodge, and I think they have another place close by or you can stay in a cabin in the National Park itself. We stayed on a farm nearby that had cabins.

Thanks will try that , don't really want 5 in a room as youngest is 6 and likes his sleep even on holiday! 8 pm and he's sleepy !

We've stayed at Evergreen Lodge. I preferred it to staying in the park itself which I've done pre-kids. It's all little wooden cabins. But they are quite luxurious and the facilities are good.

I dont know about california, but with a family of five, really dont use hotels. That would be utter hell. Look for apartments or aparthotels, or even caravan places. You need at least a one bed apartment with a sofabed for the adults, or a 2 bed.

I would suggest airbnb or housetrip, but even booking.com has the option to search for aparthotels

Standard hotel rooms are 2 x double beds. Would your twins share & the 6yo can go in a sleeping bag on floor, or sometimes on a sofa space?

Last year we had a lot of hotel rooms like that in AZ & CA.

My older 2 would not share a room never mind a bed!

My American dad was pretty pissed off that my teens were so adverse about room sharing, too. Dad's a twin, too, but American kids room share a lot more than Brits ever seem to. We even roomshare with strangers when we go to university.

2 hotel rooms, one adult each room, and one of you adult bedshares with the 6yo? Go for Motel6 type places, it won't be too expensive.

Look for places like Embassy Suites - we stayed in in Philadelphia, its basically two rooms and a bath room. Would help when your little one wants to go to bed and everyone else wants to stay up. If no one will bed share then you may want to take a sleeping bag too. Mine to share if they have to.

Try any hotel with 'suite' in the name, so Embassy Suites, Springhill Suites, Homewood suites, Hawthorne suites.

They are all chain hotels, so nothing particularly quaint, or different, but generally clean, comfortable and ideal for a family of 5 . Not sure
which they have in California.

Or try a website called sleeps5.com, they specialise in hotels for larger families .