Booking connecting hotel rooms on-line?

[smiles33]

I need help booking hotel rooms. Can you book connecting hotel rooms on-line? Are they guaranteed? We decided to just do another road trip instead of the cruise or Hawaii, but I'm going to spend some of our savings on getting 2 connecting rooms instead of squeezing us all into one hotel room. We usually rent a condo but we are going to be spending each night in a different city and you can't do rentals for only one night.

I started researching on TripAdvisor but I can't tell there if hotels have connecting rooms. Is there a better website or some other way to find hotels that offer connecting rooms other then calling each prospective hotel?

The first one I called confirmed they have king bed rooms connecting to 2 queens but there is no guarantee of getting connecting roo s. I don't want to pay for a second hotel room if it's not guaranteed to be connecting, because they DH and I will have to each take a kid instead of getting to send the kids to their room and staying up afterward.

Any advice is welcome!

[infocrazy]

Rather than take a chance on connecting rooms...which in my experience is rarely a guarantee ...I would just focus on getting a suite with separate sleeping areas. Sometimes this separate bedrooms with a common living room but often it is a foldout couch in the common area with a single bedroom. Usually this also includes a kitchenette which is nice even if you plan to eat out the whole time.

[WatchingThemGrow]

I will not EVER book hotel rooms online through Expedia or Kayak. TWICE now I have been screwed.

Last spring break, we were driving home from my mom's in FL. I bought a room in FEB for a trip in April. We were staying one Sat. night, so I booked it at Hampton Inn because it had a breakfast buffet and a little walkable area. On the drive there, I called in the morning to confirm that they were putting a pack n play in the room. Nope. They don't have record of us, even though expedia charged our credit card 3 months before. No rooms available. No vacancies on the entire island or anywhere nearby. We had planned a very special event for our daughter at this location, and now, we had no room. After all day on the phone while we drove, they got us a room 30 min. away. Actually, they didn't just get us a room, but they CHARGED US for 2 luxury rooms - over $600 that I had to make 3 calls to get refunded.

THIS YEAR - actually tomorrow night - we are supposed to be staying in a Homewood Suites because we rented out our house and don't have a place to stay for 2 nights. Booked the suite on Kayak.com last Monday night, and it was charged to our AmEx right then. Friday night I call to see what time checkin was, and sure enough, they have NO RECORD of our registration. Seriously. Again we have booked and paid for a room, called to check on something, and found that they don't have our registration, don't have any room. All hotel rooms within 30 min. are sold out. I want to cry. I've spent 4 hours now calling the hotel, talking with kayak, trying to get them to understand that just refunding our purchase/canceling our registration doesn't actually help a family with 3 small children who don't have a place to stay. Saying they are sorry for a computer malfunction and leaving us homeless or sending us out of the area 30 min. away is just not okay. I'm still not sure what we are going to do. Fortunately, we have the option of staying at the ILs' vacation home (where we are now) but DH has to go to work, DC have swim lessons every morning this week, and we need to get back to our area so we can go see houses to purchase.

Moral of the story - don't book through a 3rd party website related to Expedia.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I agree- go with a suite. Eta- we love Embassu Suites. Family friendly usually, free breakfast and manager's reception.

[sunshine873]

100% go with a suite. Make sure it's a 1 or 2 bedroom suite, instead of just a larger room with a sitting area. Embassy suites or Marriott Residence Inn are usually good choices. We often end up at Residence Inn because they accept pets (for an added fee) and we almost always travel with our dogs.

[smiles33]

Wow, I didn't realize how badly you could get screwed! I looked at an Embassy Suites but only saw a sofa bed option, not a king and 2 queens. I'll keep looking and contact them directly. Thanks all!

[SnuggleBuggles]

Put the kids in the queen pull out together; they'll be fine.

[smiles33]

I can't have them share a bed, as they kick each other and both wake up screaming. I need two separate beds for them or else DH and I have to sleep with one each as we obviously don't cry when kicked repeatedly.

[kaharris83]

Sometimes suites with 2 bedrooms, usually one has a king bed & other has 2 queens or doubles aren't listed on the website but can be gotten through the hotel directly. Also Homewood Suites has breakfast and Managers Reception M-TH usually and they have 2 bedroom suites as well.

[NCGrandma]

Originally Posted by kaharris83

Sometimes suites with 2 bedrooms, usually one has a king bed & other has 2 queens or doubles aren't listed on the website but can be gotten through the hotel directly. Also Homewood Suites has breakfast and Managers Reception M-TH usually and they have 2 bedroom suites as well.

Ditto for Residence Inn, my FA family's favorite because they usually have the best kitchens. They often have few enough 2-BR suites that you have to call. They also sometimes have both regular 1-BR suites (i.e., with a BR door that shuts) and open-plan studio suites.