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 can create bespoke packages with some travel agents, eg Trailfinders, so you tell them exactly which hotels and room type you want. So you do the groundwork and plan exactly where and when you want to go. We’ve done it a couple of times - somehow the agent price was a fair bit cheaper than I could get doing it myself - they somehow managed to get the flights thousands cheaper than I could find anywhere. That was a few years ago though.

It’s a very bespoke service and they ask you the vibe and style you like. We like culturally interesting, boutique, but I don’t want a disaster so a recommendation is great on that basis. Companies like Steppes Travel excel… but it isn’t necessarily cheap. I tend to decide where I want and then have a detailed convo. They design, I examine in detail, reconvene, tweak/change and I’ve had some holidays that’s have just blown me away and locations that are chosen with insight and often local knowledge. I’d give them a go, we’ve been all over with our kids and having the local guides when needed and the right places to stay has been worth it. We do however spend a LOT going on holiday.

I don't know what you consider to be a LOT? I think this 10 day holiday will be at least £8k before food or drink (so just flights, hotel, car hire), though booking myself on Ex-pedia I do get quite substantial cashback on Q-uidco (about £500) and a bit more in Ex-pedia's rewards points (hyphens to stop the post being blocked). I've no idea whether a travel agent would do better or not but I guess I'd miss out on the cashback. Maybe I'll try it next time.

I tend to want guides and trip out, activities etc. They will organise that too. I book via my credit card and get cash back or points depending.

I think you’d think we spend a lot.

Ah that's where we're different. I absolutely loathe organised trips and can't stand having guides trailing me around and things like that. We like to be on our own - really we're very much backpackers with expensive taste in hotels! We've done some flasher trips in the past but felt very trapped. We hire boats occasionally and things like that, but always on our own as we can sail.

We are on our own, when I say bespoke, I mean bespoke (even on boats), but we have a knowledgeable guide who is led by us, often a driver too. I find it will save me reading a guide book. Cycling in the sacred valley, in villages in Tanzania, trekking in Peru, sailing in Komodo, that sort of thing. We want to see things, but I certainly don’t want other people’s kids with me!

What I’m saying is that there are packages, and ‘packages’

Sure I get you, I'm sure your packages are lovely. Not really for us though I don't think. I like to read the guide book, I like to make it up as I go along. It's probably a bit too fancy for me. I spent 16 years trekking with a backpack on before kids, bumming around India in £2 a night hotels, trekking to Everest Base camp without a guide, I've driven everywhere in the world and quite like the adventure even in places with scary roads. I just like a nice hotel to come back to at the end of the day. Different strokes for different folks! Maybe when I'm old, but it all seems a bit too grown up right now!

😂

You couldn’t do this at IKOS because it’s an all inclusive hotel.
i don’t think the OP is looking at all inclusive as

Why not get a villa it gives you more flexibility and you will have a number of bedrooms then.

That's true. Hotels take passport details.

Because we're not staying anywhere more than 3 nights and there is basically nothing available with a pool in the areas we want to go to.