Aging child down to get a hotel room together

[Thematic]

My kids are 10 and just 13. We want to be able to stay in one hotel room on holiday in Greece this year but everywhere I'm looking considers kids as kids only up to the age 11 or 12, and over that they are adults. They won't allow us to book into one room, even though it has two double beds (well, a double and a double sofa bed) if I put 3 adults and 1 child. This is only b&b so he won't be consuming excessive food, and we're booking flights separately as it's not a package holiday. I wouldn't mind paying more for him, but I'm finding that rooms suddenly aren't available at all if I put in his accurate age. Do you think it will matter if I put him in as 12?

You amaze me. I am much, much older than that and it would be my primary consideration.

On a family holiday with children it is your primary consideration?

I don't have small children, they are all grown up with kids of their own, but yes, sex is part of going on holiday so I would give it priority. I have spent holidays in 'family rooms' and felt it was not really a holiday. But then, holidays with DC hardly ever are holidays in the sense of doing things you like to do. Mind, I took my children to Italy and visited museums when they were 10 and 6 (they still remember, and like that sort of holiday) so maybe I am not a good judge here.
Amusing aside, DD took me to a local castle which is just a few walls and a sign in revenge, she said, for my once taking her to a castle that was just a few mounds and a sign. But she likes visiting such places, as it happens.

I love our family holidays. We have an amazing time. I adore spending time with the kids. It’s two weeks without devices, happy relaxed children with no homework or distractions, we potter around, travel a bit, relax a bit, swim
in warm sea, see new things, eat new foods. I can’t think of a better time. But really it’s all about that for me. Can’t say sex has ever really come into consideration in the planning to be honest.

Get an Airbnb. No one demanding your passports on arrival.

Hilton as a brand nearly always have interconnecting rooms though you must book direct to access them. Not quite 5 star but maybe an option?

Contact the hotel directly and ask for a price for two adults an older child and a child sharing. It may just be there is no pricing option on line, but it's possible if you contact them. I've done similar with booking.com hotels in the UK, asking for non-standard room occupancy, and it's been fine. Hopefully someone in the hotel will speak English! Worth a try anyway.

Can't believe this has descended into questioning your sex life, OP !!!!

I know! It’s all got quite weird hasn’t it. I started this thinking it was quite an innocent question!

If you do a package holiday it won’t be a problem to share a room.

I have hit this problem OP. Even when there are twin beds in the other room, sometimes I can’t book them unless both kids are <12.

What I have done and I suggest you do, is change his age in order to book the room but then in the “special requests” box you write “My son is actually 13 not 12, I have changed his age in order to be able to book this type of room, I am happy to pay extra for him if required”.

Then you have been honest and they can either say 1) no problem 2) no problem but can you pay extra please as he’s older or 3) sorry you can’t have the room. I have never had 3).

But we’re travelling around and staying in 4 places so a package won’t work. We get very restless staying in one place for 2 weeks.

We used to do this at Premier Inn at the airport - loads of people have said they do it on here too because it's either that or book separate rooms - which a child can't stay in alone.
We also once thought we were booking a room for 3 people on Booking but it gave us the option of a 2 person room and we didn't realise - we apologised when we realised at check in at the (German) hotel but they just offered to put another bed in the room and didn't charge us anything.

I seriously doubt that the hotel staff will care that the child is a few months older than 12. We love to travel around when we go away too OP.

They will want to scan the passport, I’ve book separately last year and they did this.

I’d contact the hotel directly and ask.

You can get bespoke packages by companies such as Audley, Steppes, Stubborn Mule, Families Worldwide.

Of course it will work! I do it every time we book a holiday, we rarely stay in one place for more than 4 nights.
We probably pay a little more than if I booked it myself but we’re always within our budget and on the occasions where flights have been delayed she’s been worth her weight in gold sorting out accommodation, rearranging transfers etc so we can stay in relaxed holiday mode while people who’ve booked independently are panicking.

Same. You’ll be fine OP. We would never go away (5 kids) if we weren’t a bit economical with ages.

I've never even considered using a travel agent to be honest. I'm a bit of a control freak and like to pour over every detail of a hotel before I book. I'm not sure I like the idea of handing that over to someone who isn't going to have the same requirements I do and I'm not sure how I'd tell them exactly what I wanted as I really only know it when I see it.

You mean "telling a lie", OP? You'll just have to pay for two rooms.

I'm just not sure I'd like handing over choices to someone else. I like to be involved in choosing the details - I enjoy pouring over the hotels online, looking at all the trip advisor photos and deciding where to go . Its all part of the holiday for me. And like you say, we pay less doing it ourselves so can then have nicer hotels than we would otherwise. I can't say we've ever had any issues - I'm not much of a panic'er.

I called all the hotels and managed to work it out. We didn't have to pay for two rooms actually. And I don't want two rooms, it's not about the money, it's about being able to be together as a family. We've managed to arrange that.

Greece is incredibly family orientated. Just tell them the kids will be staying with you and the hotel will sort it

If you message the hotels directly they can usually offer you adjoining rooms. Double the cost but better than sharing a bedroom with a 12 and 13 year old!

My DC at this age always appreciated their own space and their own beds!

Hope they are same sex at least if you are making them share a bed.

They are the same sex, both boys and they are only 10 and just about to turn 13, so not really that old. All the hotels but one that we are looking at have sofa bed type arrangements that are like an L shaped sofa that is basically two single beds, or have two single beds. There's only 2 days they will have to share a double sofa bed, but they really don't mind - they quite often move into the same bedroom with both their mattresses on the floor like a double bed to have a sleepover anyway.