When you travel with a large group of friends or family, your biggest worry is the cost of the trip. To cut expenses, you may rent a bus for transportation, but what do you do for lodgings? As it turns out, there are ways to maximize the space in a limited number of hotel rooms, so long as you and your extended family are willing to share some rooms together.
Suites and Extra Beds
Although hotel suites look expensive on paper, if you and five other adult family members share the cost of the suite you can sleep in one for the same price (or less) as a deluxe hotel room. Suites often have two queen-sized beds or a king. Sometimes they also have two king-sized beds, or what is commonly referred to as a "California King", which is a king-sized bed with a few extra inches on all sides.
Family members who do not mind snuggling up together, such as siblings or parents with their children, can share the beds that are already present in the suite. Other adults may take the couch in the common area of the suite or request a "roll-out" bed from the front desk. Since a suite has so much extra room, several roll-out beds can be placed all over the suite to accommodate several more family members in the same room. Some hotels even have fold-out sofa beds or murphy beds built right into the suites for the extra guests.
Portable Cots
When you cannot book and use a suite like a giant personal hotel for the family members traveling with you, you can book several standard-sized rooms with double beds and then bring your own portable camping cots for everyone else. Some hotels may frown upon this practice, but usually the hotels that do not have roll-out beds will allow it, especially if you have several children traveling with you. Portable cots fold up like a suitcase, cost less than what a hotel may charge for a roll-out bed, and are much more comfortable than a sleeping bag on the floor. Be sure to use all of the available floor space you can so that you can fit as many adults and/or kids into the room as possible.
Lots of Pillows in the Hotel Room's Bathtub
While this is not the most ideal option, if you have utilized every square inch of your suite or hotel room and are lacking space for one last person to squeeze in, the bathtub works. Request lots of extra pillows from the front desk and try to encourage one of the kids to sleep in the tub so the adults can all have the beds, couches, roll-outs, and/or cots. Most kids will think it a fun and adventurous way to sleep, and may even fight about who gets to sleep there. As for the adults, you will all be glad that you squeezed pennies while squeezing into just one hotel room or suite.
For professional lodgings, consider a place such as Clearwater Lodge.
Share15 October 2015
My amazing husband and I recently celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary. During this special time, we reminisced about our wedding day and the weeklong honeymoon that followed it. Our honeymoon consisted of spending three nights at a luxury hotel on the beach and three nights at a secluded cabin near a quaint mountain town. On this unforgettable trip, my husband and I got to experience both breathtakingly beautiful ocean waves and picturesque mountain streams. Are you planning an upcoming honeymoon? If you want to have a memorable trip, consider combining the things you love the most. For instance, you might want to relax at a lake for a few days and visit an amusement park as well. On this blog, you will discover how to plan a unique honeymoon.