As a single person, I typically book a single hotel room. I rarely need to look at a list of the types of hotel rooms and suites because, unless I travel with friends, I’m the only one in the room. I don’t take up much space, so a single room with a king-sized bed or two double beds works great.
Before my three female cats went to heaven, I did need to hone in on hotels that offer to let pets stay, too. The tough research came in when I needed to find one that didn’t charge a per cat fee. My boy cat refused to come indoors, much less step into a cat carrier, so he stayed at a friend’s house.
Now, I live alone and travel alone, so a single room in any hotel with a few star rating and cute photos on the booking site gets my money. You, on the other hand, might need to book for a family vacation. Perhaps you want to go on a road trip with friends. Whatever your travel plans, the hotel industry created a room size and style just for your needs. You can serve one room or a block of rooms to ensure that everyone in your party enjoys the same level of service and amenities.
After many years of travel, allow me to offer a few definitions to make comparing hotel rooms easier. With more than 30 types of motel, hotel, hostel, and bed and breakfast rooms available, just bookmark this article to make life easier. Who wants to memorize more than 30 definitions when they don’t have to for a test?
Types of Hotel Rooms and Suites
Let’s jump right into the list, but don’t jump on the bed. If you break it, you have to pay for it.
1. Accessible Room
The term accessible room refers to a standard hotel room equipped with wider doors, grab bars in the bathroom, a roll-in shower, and other features designed to make the room easy to navigate for guests with mobility issues or other disabilities. Many countries require such rooms in each hotel or motel.
2. Adjacent Rooms
When you book adjacent rooms, you book two or more rooms in close proximity to one another – either across the hallway from one another or two rooms next to one another.
3. Adjoining or Joint Rooms
Conversely, booking adjoining rooms, also referred to as joint rooms, means you’ll book two or more rooms with a common wall that may or may not also include a connecting door.
4. Apartment or Extended Stay Hotel Room
The term apartment hotel room or extended stay hotel room refers to a set of rooms larger than a suite that includes the amenities of a fully furnished apartment. This includes a bedroom, bathroom, living room, dining area, and kitchen with dishwasher, oven, range, and microwave. Some apartment hotel rooms also include a washer and dryer, while others offer a laundry room. These hotels typically provide housekeeping once a week.
5. Cabana
The term cabana room refers to a hotel room opening out onto a swimming pool or beachfront. Some cabana rooms contain a private swimming pool. These rooms typically contain a king-sized bed, jacuzzi or hot tub, kitchen, outdoor entrance, and balcony, lanai, or terrace.
6. Connecting Rooms
Booking a set of connecting rooms provides you with two rooms, each with its own individual entrance door from the hallway that also features an interior connecting door. This allows the guests to traverse from one hotel room to the next without needing to enter the hallway. It creates the effect of a much larger room or a suite.
7. Deluxe Room
The term deluxe hotel room refers to a suite of several rooms including a living room, bedroom, and galley kitchen. Deluxe hotel rooms typically offer superb views of the city, beach, or local tourist attraction.
8. Double Room
The term double room refers to a room assigned to and occupied by two people. A double may feature one or two beds in a standard-sized hotel room.
9. Double-Double Room
The seemingly redundant term double-double refers to a standard-sized hotel room featuring two double- or queen-sized beds. A double bed and a full bed refer to the same sized mattress. A double-double can accommodate more than one guest.
10. Duplex Room or Suite
Reserving a duplex room or suite gets you a two-level hotel room. Typically, the bottom floor consists of a kitchenette or galley kitchen and a lounge or living room. The second floor typically includes the bedroom and bathroom.
11. Executive Room
Business guests typically reserve an executive room. These rooms offer access to a club or executive lounge on the same floor. Hotels usually dedicate the next-to-the-highest floor as the executive floor. In some locales, hotels offer a separate female executive floor to increase the privacy and safety of females traveling alone.
Many US hotels refer to these floors as the executive floor or the club floor. The rooms often offer a sitting room area for entertaining business guests, access to private meeting rooms, and complimentary snacks and drinks. Some hotels offer a butler to assist you with unpacking and packing your suitcase. You can find these club floors in larger four- and five-star hotels.
12. Hollywood Twin
The ideal room for small children who’ve outgrown a bassinet or sleeping in a travel pram, the Hollywood twin offers a double bed designed for their needs. The double bed consists of two twin mattresses that share a similar headboard.
13. Hostel or Dorm Room
Hostels offer dorm room accommodations that house multiple guests in a single room with separate beds, which may consist of twin beds, double beds, or bunk beds. The typical layouts in hostels include four-bed, six-bed, and eight-bed dorms. These rooms typically cost the least of any accommodation type.
14. Junior Suite or Mini-Suite
The term junior suite or mini-suite refers to an oversized single room featuring a bed and sitting area or living room. In some cases, a wall separates the bedroom and living room.
15. King Room
When you rent a king room, you get a standard-sized hotel room featuring a king-sized bed. One or more people may occupy this size room.
16. Master Suite or Suite
A master suite, also simply called a suite, provides a larger set of rooms than a junior suite. The set of rooms typically includes a bedroom, bathroom, and living room.
17. Murphy Room
A space-saving design used in hotels or motels with smaller rooms, a Murphy room uses a Murphy bed to increase its room space during the daytime. A Murphy bed folds out of the wall or closet, then folds back up to stow the bed. Once folded shut, the wall appears solid again.
18. Penthouse Suite
You’ve made it in life for sure when you stay in the penthouse suite, the apartment-sized hotel room on the top floor of a hotel. This suite of rooms typically costs the most of any room in the establishment. This rental unit frequently uses its own elevator.
The penthouse consists of multiple bedrooms and bathrooms, a kitchen, and spectacular views. These suites offer a plethora of amenities, including vaulted ceilings, an office, a terrace or balcony, a fireplace, a jacuzzi or hot tub, and sometimes a swimming pool.
19. Presidential or Royal Suite
The presidential or royal suite refers to a suite of rooms rented to dignitaries. Some properties refer to the Presidential suite and the penthouse suite interchangeably. Other properties may feature multiple royal suites and a penthouse. Similar to the penthouse, the presidential suite features multiple bedrooms and bathrooms, a kitchen, and a living room. It may also offer staff quarters and additional security.
20. Pool Suite
When you rent a pool suite, you’ll enjoy a set of rooms in a hotel that opens onto a swimming pool, typically a private pool. This suite consists of a bedroom, bathroom, and living room with a balcony or patio.
21. Pool Access Room
Conversely, a pool access room refers to a hotel room offering a private door to the swimming pool, located on the same floor. Unlike a cabana or pool suite, the pool access room doesn’t offer its own pool.
22. Quad Room
The term quad room refers to a hotel room consisting of two or more beds, designed to accommodate four people. The room usually uses either queen or king beds.
23. Queen Room
When you rent a queen room, you rent a standard hotel room. It consists of one queen-sized bed in the bedroom and a bathroom.
24. Single Room
I typically rent a single room, a hotel room reserved for one guest, but with one or more beds. A single room can feature a queen or king bed, or two double beds.
25. Studio Apartment Room
The term studio apartment room refers to a studio apartment in a hotel. Typically found in extended-stay hotels, you can find studios with a bedroom, bathroom, and galley kitchen all in one room. No walls divide these spaces.
26. Smoking Room
Once upon a time, every hotel room qualified as a smoking room. Changes in the law throughout the US changed this though and now, hotels consist of mostly non-smoking rooms. In a smoking room, you can smoke cigarettes or cigars. These rooms offer appropriate ventilation for smokers. A hotel may designate either rooms or suites as smoking rooms.
27. Super Deluxe
Available in most three-, four-, or five-star hotels, a super deluxe hotel room upgrades you from a standard deluxe room. The oversized room may contain a queen-sized bed and amenities such as turndown service. A super deluxe room often features a spectacular view of a local attraction.
28. Triple Room
The term triple room refers to a hotel room reserved for three people which may include three twin beds, two double beds, or a double bed and a twin. The bed configuration depends on the hotel chain. It may include a sitting room with a roll-out couch.
29. Twin Room
The term twin room refers to a hotel room reserved by two individuals that features two single beds. Single beds, also called twin beds, offer only enough space to accommodate one individual. A twin room works well for siblings, especially children.
30. Villa
Resort hotels frequently feature villa rentals, as do condo complexes. The term villa refers to a standalone structure, the size of a small home. Usually about 1,000 square feet in size, the villa affords guests more privacy. The villa typically includes multiple bedrooms and bathrooms, a kitchen, living room, and dining room.
Also located in luxury hotels, many villas share the same amenities. These structures contain a unique architectural design with their own yard and a fantastic view of the local attractions. A villa may include a balcony or patio, its own swimming pool, a state-of-the-art entertainment system, and an Internet connection.
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