Questions and Answers

I booked and stayed at a room with a king bed at Hotel Julian in Chicago, IL recently. Upon arriving, we realized the bed was not a king bed. The bed was shorter than our queen bed at home and just about the same width, 60 inches.

The manager the next morning told us it was a “European king bed” and even though they don’t mention anywhere on their website that it was a European king bed, it was still technically a king, so we got what we paid for. It feels particularly deceptive, because our expectation of booking a king size bed in an American hotel was.. any version of an American king size bed in the states, either 72 or 76 inches wide.

I’m curious, what do travelers expect when booking a specific bed size at an American hotel? Does this seem normal?

I don’t know what I’d expect when booking a King. To be honest, I don’t think about it much since any bed on the road feels bigger than my bed at home since the dog sleeps on the bed in our house :rolleyes:.

An American Queen size is 60” wide and shorter than a King, which is generally equivalent to what they call a (roughly translated) “Matrimonial” bed or perhaps what this person would like you to believe is a King, since in most cases it is the largest bed they have given the small size of most rooms. Always ask for an American King or a California King. I’ve lived in Europe and stayed in hotels in nearly every country over the past three decades and I’ve never heard of a King Size European bed unless it is a brand new thing.