What is it with tiny beds in holiday cottages

[AirborneElephant]

When there’s clearly plenty of space in the room? Trying to book a UK break in October. We would like a super king, but at the very least need a king. But cottage after cottage is just double beds. Why? And you can’t even easily search for it, although I know I’m not the only one wanting a decent nights sleep.

We have always had a double until very recently, when we went on holiday and had a superking. I always thought I was a shit sleeper. My sleep has got worse lately amd I thought it was perimenopause. Nope, it was the bed. No elbows and knees sticking into me, no feeling someone else's breath on my face, no snoring right in my ear. I had 10 nights of perfect sleep on holiday, came home and immediately ordered a superking. The difference it has made to my sleep is immeasurable and I am never sharing a double again. I would now refuse to book a holiday home that didn't have at least a kingsize.

@evilharpy I enjoy sleeping in a kingsize bed on holiday and sometimes sleep better.(my usual sleep is horrendous) but can confirm - on holiday in a K/S bed - that DH snoring is just as bad and just as noisy from my half than at home in our double! 😄
(I am going to measure up for a K/S bed at home but unsure if he will agree to it, he sleeps fine everywhere!)

How is a double bed a tiny bed? How is the host supposed to know you like king or super king size beds?

I thought you were going to talk about single beds that were smaller than normal single beds, which I've actually experienced in hotels.

Posts like these make me feel like a Borrower! When I was with my ex, we used to share a small double and it was fine. I'm single now and have a proper double bed and feel like what you all must feel like in a super king size bed!

I agree they should have bed options for tall people and make their websites easier to navigate.

First thing I bought when I set up my holiday cottage, two super king beds. They are the zip and link so I can split to twin if required.

very rare though.

most people seem to prefer the super king for sure. Even if two kids.

Same. We have a double and we have coslept in it with our kids as well, when they were little we would have four of us in bed at times. I don't find it too small.

2'3" per person really isn't enough for a person to sleep comfortably. The smallest single beds are 2'6".

"No elbows and knees sticking into me, no feeling someone else's breath on my face"

Sounds more like he was encroaching on your space than the bed being too small. You can quite easily not touch accidentally in a normal double bed.
The only plus I see with a king is that you can have two mattresses so one person turning around doesn't move the mattress for the other. Also more easy to have your own duvet of your preferred thickness.

So do I! DH is 6’4” and needs a king size. I have to spend ages looking at pictures of the beds in cottages, to see if they have a footboard! I wish I could do a search for king size beds without one!

I suppose they choose small so it gives the illusion of a large room, esp in photos. most old places have poky, small rooms, so they need it to look spacious. Same on show houses, I guess they choose the furniture to make it look spacious, then when you move in, you wonder where on earth you can fit everything!

Our bedrooms in our holiday cottage won't fit more than a double. I guess lots of people don't book because of that.

We used to have a super king bed in our spare room. It was magnificent. But it took up the whole room, we had a room doing nothing for most of the year. We got rid of it and it's changed my life because I now iron in there.

There’s not much online about it, but looking at fitted sheet / duvet covers in shops would suggest plenty of people have king sized beds - it’s not like there are shelves and shelves of double sized ones and just a handful of king size.

Also there’s this from 2018 (by a bed company though!) suggesting that around half of couples have larger than a standard double, so it’s not exactly niche.
https://www.co-operative.coop/media/news-releases/brits-are-kings-in-the-bedroom-says-co-op-beds

@ObstreperousCushion , but as two average sized, normal weight adults, we find it absolutely fine.
You are average height.
I'm average height for a woman, DP is tall. Both of us are within the normal BMI range. DP is longer than a double bed.
He is almost as long as a king-size bed.
You need some clearance at the headboard end for your head and a pillow, so his feet are dangling over the end.

He is not the tallest in our group of friends.

It's not just beds that are geared towards the average height, it's washbasins, fixed shower heads, kitchen sinks and worktops, car and airline seats, etc.

We have a standard double at home despite space for bigger, because we prefer it.

I can tolerate a kingsize on holiday, if I must, but hate the superkings which are effectively twin beds pushed together. If we'd have wanted separate beds and a twin room, that's what we would have booked.

But DH and I like each other and quite enjoy sharing space. Neither of us bed hog, snore or starfish. We cuddle and chat, then sleep next to each other comfortably. We're both averagely tall (5'6" and 6") and I'm definitely a bit overweight.

In order of preference for us it would be
Standard double (much preferred)
Small double
Kingsize
Superking or twin beds (avoided)

Yep. We have DS6 in with us and it’s enough of a struggle in our SuperKing…. a double means either me or DH gets relegated to another bed.

How ridiculous! Not a healthy way to sleep at all having to consciously keep his legs bent up. Why doesn't your DH just bend himself in half, then he could sleep in a toddler bed and save you even more space!

Quite the drama about my husbands bent knees since I’ve been gone, to clarify he sleeps on his side, so in something of a fetal position. I naturally do the same, despite being shorter than the bed. Given that an apparent 60% of people sleep on their side I’m stunned that anyone actually imagined he was sleeping on his back or front with his legs bent up??! It’s given me a laugh anyway

@CheeseWisely I’m stunned that anyone actually imagined he was sleeping on his back or front with his legs bent up

I don't think any of us actually thought that! I certainly assumed he was lying on his side in a foetal position- but needing to keep his knees bend up due to a small bed!

Jesus 😅
This is right up there with finding your diamond shoes too tight

@JDM625It’s the suggestion that it’s a conscious effort to keep them that way, not just the way he (and many others) sleep. I’m more surprised that there are people his height sleeping dead straight like they’re on a medieval rack and therefore hanging off a 6’3’’ double or even 6’6’’ King.

It's not, @MKDex . We had a city break in a lovely hotel only the bed was too short for DP, which meant he slept diagonally, and the shower was only just high enough for me (woman, nearly 5'4"), so almost unusable for DP.

Everyone I know well enough to have either chatted about this, or seen their bedroom when staying with them, has either a king size or super king.

I can't think of any couples I know who sleep together in a double.

And my 2 good single friends whom I’ve stayed with also have king size beds actually now I’m thinking.

Im the same as OP, always check the listings to make sure it’s at least a king. Why would I want to be uncomfortable on holiday in something smaller than what I have at home? Nope!

You can search for king using the filters on Air B&B. I won't go anywhere that only has a double. It's ridiculous, I agree OP.

No it's not. A double is too small for many couples, especially if they're tall, chunky, disabled, whatever, can't stand having hardly any room...

Why would you pay a lot of money for a holiday to then have a really uncomfortable bed and not get enough sleep? How ridiculous.

My oh and I are both pleasantly plump and manage perfectly well in a double on holiday.