Best Hotels for Families of 4 in Europe to Book with Points [Map]
While it is standard in the United States to find hotel rooms with occupancy of 4, it is a lot less common in Europe. This makes planning a family trip using points to Europe more challenging.
This map was inspired when we started searching in 2019 for hotels our family could book with points. The process was very frustrating! It’s not even as simple as searching for a room for 2 adults and 2 kids. Sometimes the fine print allows children under a certain age to stay for free but the room will still show as “unavailable” if you enter more than 2 adults on the website.
What surprised me most as I researched these properties is that two chains in particular rose to the top. Both IHG Hotels & Resorts and Choice Hotels had lots of properties families could choose from — many more than any other chain. A lot of their hotels offer free breakfast, too! Also surprising was the value I found from these chains. For the same price I could book a Choice Hotel in the middle of nowhere USA — I could book one in the heart of Venice.
Just starting out with credit card points? Check out my post on picking your first travel points card.
Best Credit Cards for Hotels in Europe
For the most options, get a card that will give you IHG One Rewards points or Choice Hotels points. Here are my favorites.
Best Cards for Choice Hotels
Citi Premier® Card is my favorite option because the points DOUBLE when you transfer to Choice. That means if you get the 80,000 point limited time bonus — that’s 160,000 Choice points!
You can also get a Citi Custom Cash℠ Card and combine the points from both cards!
Choice Hotels has its own card as well — but due to the way Citi Thank You points double, I think these two are the best option.
Current Bonus:
60,000 points
Earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. Plus, for a limited time, earn a total of 10 ThankYou® Points per $1 spent on hotel and car rentals bookings on the Citi Travel℠ portal through June 30, 2024
Annual Fee:
$95
Current Bonus:
$200 Cash Back
Earn $200 cash back after you spend $1,500 in purchases within the first 6 months of account opening.
Annual Fee:
$0
Best cards for IHG One Rewards Stays
My favorite feature of the IHG One Rewards cards is that when you have one your 4th night is free on award stays. Prices are variable on award stays so if you can get your 4th night to be the most expensive one, you’ll really save.
Current Bonus:
140,000 points
Earn 140,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee:
$99
credit card
Current Bonus:
175,000 points
New Limited Time offer! Earn up to 175,000 Bonus Points. Earn 140,000 Bonus Points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Plus, earn 35,000 Bonus Points after spending a total of $7,000 in the first 6 months from account opening.
Annual Fee:
$99
Best cards for Marriott stays
Though it has relatively few options, the current Marriott credit card offer of 5 free nights (up to 50k per night) is an offer that can get you 5 nights in a city center in Europe. We stayed at the Residence Inn London Kensington and Marriott’s Village d’ile-de-France and had a great experience at both.
Current Bonus:
Earn 3 free night awards
Earn 3 Free Night Awards (each night valued up to 50,000 points) after you spend $3,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from your account opening.
Annual Fee:
$95
(Terms Apply)
Searching & Booking Tips
- For Choice and IHG: search for 2 adults. Some rooms actually allow 2 kids in addition to the adults. Check the fine print and call or email the hotel to confirm.
- Choice Hotels only allow you to book 100 days in advance with points. Book as close as possible to 100 days in advance to have the most room options.
- Most of the Hyatt hotels only allow a family of 4 to book if you are booking a standard or premium suite. When you search a destination, it will show points as if a standard room is available. When you actually click the hotel, it might say it is unavailable with points if you enter 4 people.
- When in doubt – you can also reach out to hotels via email or Instagram to see if they allow kids to stay in rooms for free. Fire codes are strict but sometimes a few rooms at the hotel have a larger occupancy.
Searchable Map
Click the [ ] in the top right corner to expand the map. You’ll have a better experience searching it that way. If you find a hotel that I’m missing or is out of date — send me an email or leave a comment so I can update it!
Red icons show IHG Hotels – shows pricing before switch to dynamic pricing
Blue icons show Marriott Hotels – shows pricing before switch to dynamic pricing
Yellow icons show Hyatt Hotels
Green icons show Choice Hotels
Have a favorite hotel I missed? Let me know in the comments so I can add it!
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This map is crazy helpful! Thank you!! I did notice the Residence Inn London Kensington has rooms for 4 people. Including a kitchen! And also includes breakfast :)