Premier Inn question about guest

[Workinghardeveryday]

We need to visit a Premier Inn in July for a family event.

As a family of 5 (dp myself, dd16, dd11, ds11), we will need to book 2 rooms. The cost is nearly £300 for one night!

Can I just get a family room sleeping 4 and 2 of the kids share?

I just think it’s very expensive as it is a Premier Inn at the end of the day....

You mentioned re: paying for breakfast, too. Just so you know, two kids per paying adult eat for free, so you should get all three kids for free.
I would have thought it would be breakfast that would catch the OP out. Everywhere I have stayed recently has asked for the room number at breakfast which would give away the extra person. Plus the offer is free breakfast for up to 2 children under16 per paying adult and the OP's eldest is 16. So she should pay for 3 breakfasts.
If I was in the OP's situation and planning to try to sneak an extra person into the room I think I would go elsewhere for breakfast. Don't see how you can turn up with an extra person at breakfast and not give yourself away. It's not like any of the kids are babies or toddlers.

My 12 yo ds always asks for his own room. That's his dream!
What's the reason for your dd not wanting her own room?

i think it would be quite uncomfortable having 3 kids that age and yourselves in one room. In most premier inn rooms we’ve stayed in once the fourth bed is pulled out there is very little floor space which means you’d all be getting in each other’s way when you are trying to get ready, also there’s only the one shower and toilet is in same room as shower

There is a website called sleeps5.com which has been very helpful for my family when we travel.

Some Premier Inns have interconnecting rooms, which could help if your DD doesn't want to sleep on her own.

Used to work at a premier inn on the reception, it’s policy that maximum of 4 to a room and they can refuse you at check in so don’t chance it. You could phone and request adjacent rooms though and DD and DH sleep next door. If you make the booking together then they will automatically try and do this if possible, but always best to phone to get it put on your customer notes too. £300 sounds about right for 2 nights in July with breakfast, the cheaper rates are only really available 6 months in advance and non peak times.

Just a heads up, if you try and cheap out of booking the second room and have all 5 in the same room and they find out, they are well within their rights to kick you all out.

Couldn't you put the kids in one room and you and dp have the other? Not like any of them are little

Can dd16 and dd11 share a room and ds11 be in with you and dh? I understand dd16 not wanting to be alone, but if she is with her sister would she be ok? And request rooms next door to each other?
When I have stayed in family rooms there, one of the beds has been small and hard and only suitable for my (light) under 10 year old. Neither bed would have been comfortable or big enough for 2 11 year olds or an 11 and 16 year old to share. Would have been an uncomfortable, sleepless night for all of us trying to squeeze in.

Also if there's a fire and one of your kids gets lost, no one will be looking for them as they weren't supposed to be there. Honestly not a risk I'd be willing to take for the sake of a few ££

We've stayed in a few quite openly with 5 of us so there is definitely no blanket policy though it might vary between hotels. We've had breakfast with no problems too.

Now my DC are older we have the opposite problem that none of them want to share so we tend to go for Airbnbs these days.

It would be against fire regs to have more people in a room than are registered.
God forbid there were a fire, they wouldn't know who they were looking for if they had to evacuate. Counting you as 5 instead of 4 might mean a single person on their own would get missed as they'd been accounted for under your headcount.

There’s a blanket policy in all hotels everywhere that the room shouldn’t exceed its stated occupancy. Obviously observance of this varies.

As other pp have suggested try other chains. The IHG app will show you all the holiday inn brands - I find the older ones quite cheap and their room plans have more adjoining rooms. We had two rooms in a tourist area for two nights last August for £170. The Staybridge Suites could get you all in one suite with mini kitchen and microwave some ready meals, HIexpress gives you free breakfast. If you're on a budget bring in a bag of Lidl pain au chocolat and fruit or send the driver out to collect McDonald's breakfast while everyone else is getting ready. Think around the problem. Premier Inn isn't the only brand.

Premier inn have recently changed their rules- 16 and over are now adults, and maximum adults in a room is 2.

i had this recently, me and two 16 year olds couldn’t stay in a family room.

add to that you can’t stay in a room with no over 18’s, so they won’t allow a 16 year old to stay in a room without an over 18.

so you and your dp will have to spend the night in separate rooms. Is it that much of a hardship? Presumably you’re not planning on shagging all night with a room full of kids anyway, so you’ll at least get your own bed 😂.

it’s that, lie, or stay somewhere else.

You need to suck it up I'm afraid. I've three kids. When they were little we could "get away"😉 with sneaking the youngest in in a blanket ( we had ways and means), but the age of your children now, no chance!
Two rooms. Dad and one kid in one and the other three in the second. You can ask that rooms be placed close together, but at peak season, it's unlikely.
And, as PPs have said, the hotels really need to have an indication of how many individuals staying in each room.

I wouldn't be too outraged either. That's one of the things you just have to accept if you choose to have a large family.

Airbnb might be a better bet

And the breakfasts aren't that great at PI.

If you felt remotely comfortable to say which area you’re staying in I bet people on here could find some potential alternatives. I know you’ve looked but I’m always impressed by the MN mafia on the case!

I recently booked at the Premier Inn Belfast, and paid £150 per room per night as it was a busy weekend, the Irish dancing championships. It's dynamic pricing apparently, the busier it is, the higher the price. Are there any independent hotels where you are going, might be cheaper?

I have bitten the bullet and booked both rooms 🙄.

with breakfast included was just under £330!!

seems such a waste of money. Better be a good night!!

Hotels normally stipulate in that you have to be 18 or over to stay alone at a hotel, so 16 or 17 yo on uni visits would have to have their parents stay too. Think it's ok for them to sleep in a different room though.

I just wonder if it is more expensive because you are trying to find one very large room rather than two regular rooms, and there just aren't so many.

Have a look at ibis Styles hotels (Accor group). But be aware that like cheap airlines, the price goes up the nearer you are to your arrival date. So the best deal is booked well in advance.

All Premier Inns have family rooms: they’re pretty much the same size. They’re in their basic offer.

In the PI that I have stayed in my nearly 11yo is beginning to get to the size she will be too big for the smaller second pull out bed.

If you have other family staying there too, get one of them to book one of your lot into their room, then set up a bed on the floor for them later.

I'd do it personally and remember on here there's a huge range of income so the value of £300 massively differs.

Could you not have found an Airbnb? You'd get an entire house for a third of that price.