Most hotel rooms max out at four people. Which means the moment you had kid number three, you added another logistics problem to your travels.
We’ve been figuring this out trip by trip for years now, and our approach basically comes down to two things: how long are we staying, and what’s the destination? That helps us decide whether we’re booking a house or a suite hotel — and once you know your own answer to that question, the rest gets a lot easier.
Our Quick Rule of Thumb
- 3+ nights in a vacation area → we rent a house. More space, a real kitchen, and somewhere for grandparents to sleep if they’re joining.
- Shorter trip or a city we don’t know well → we book a suite hotel. No second room, a little more space, and more confidence we’re staying in a good area for tourists.
Here’s how each one has actually played out for us.
When We Rent a House
For anything three nights or longer — especially if grandparents or other family are coming along — we look for a house. A real kitchen and a separate living space from the sleeping space make a bigger difference than you’d think when you’re all together for several days straight.
The upside
- More room to spread out, which matters more than people expect until they’re living it
- A full kitchen, so you can manage your food budget better by grocery shopping and cooking your own meals on most days. Plus more space for snacks, perishables and drinks.
- Separate hangout and sleeping areas — meaning bedtime for the kids doesn’t mean bedtime for you
- Sometimes a hot tub or other outdoor space thrown in
The honest trade-offs
- Cleaning fees
- No daily housekeeping
- More variation in quality from one listing to the next than a hotel chain
How we actually pick a house
Since “just search VRBO” isn’t much of a strategy:
- Stay flexible on bed and room layout. You might have sleeping rooms on separate floors, and a lot of houses have bunk beds. Depending on the destination, the living spaces might be on the top floor, so you can enjoy the view. Just keep in mind the number of steps you’ll have to climb.
- Book in a resort or touristy area, so you know you’re in close vicinity to other people, stores and necessities if you need them.
- Check how many other vacation rentals are in the area. If it’s mostly full-time residents, you’re probably not in the right neighborhood.
- Read the reviews. All of them, not just the top three. This will give you a good overall feel of the property and communication from the owners.
- Prioritize cleanliness and host responsiveness above everything else — an outdated kitchen is livable, a dirty one is not.
- Read the fine print before you book. Checkout expectations and house rules vary more than you’d think.
We’ve used this approach for our trips to Tennessee, the Outer Banks, and Shenandoah — three very different houses, same criteria, and all worked out great!
When We Book a Suite Hotel
For shorter trips, or a city we don’t know well enough to trust a rental sight unseen, we look for suite-style hotels instead. The goal is always the same: fit everyone in one room without paying for two.
Here’s the thing nobody tells you: “suite hotel” doesn’t mean one thing. We’ve stayed in everything from a basic room with a mini fridge to something that was basically a two-bedroom condo. What you actually need depends on the trip.
Country Inn & Suites, Roanoke, VA
This was a one-night stopover on the drive down to Gatlinburg. About $150/night, booked through Expedia (earning Expedia One Key points). No kitchenette here, but it had free hot breakfast, an indoor pool, and cookies in the lobby every night — which, according to my kids, is the only part of this trip worth remembering. This is the “we just need a bed and a pool” tier. With 2 queen beds and a sleeper sofa, we fit just fine.
One thing worth knowing before you book a stopover for the pool: you’re also packing for the pool (don’t think you’ll get out of it). Swimsuits, goggles, small pool toys and flip flops, all for one single night. We’ve learned to pack one shared suitcase for the whole family just for stopover legs, so we’re not unpacking the entire car for a 12-hour stay.
Eden Resort, Lancaster, PA
We booked a two-room queen suite here for the resort pool feel, since that was part of the trip itself. The layout was different from a typical suite: you walked into a room with a couch and a bed, then a middle area with the bathroom and sink, then a separate back room with another bed. Being able to close doors between the spaces made a real difference on a longer stay. No full kitchenette, just a fridge and microwave, but there was a dedicated spot to keep snacks organized — small thing, but it helps.
Home2 Suites by Hilton, near JMU
Our stopover on the way back from Gatlinburg, and by far the most spacious of the bunch. This one had a real mini kitchenette — actual plates, utensils, glasses, and a larger fridge — so we hit the local grocery store, stocked up, and grabbed a few microwave meals for the kids. About $180/night. The size of the room was about the same as other suite hotels, with the 2 queen beds and pull out couch, but the addition of the kitchenette provided more value.
Club Wyndham, Colonial Williamsburg
Two-bedroom suite, and honestly this one barely counts as a hotel. Full kitchen, dining area, living room, two separate bedrooms and bathrooms — basically a mini-condo. We still got hotel perks like the outdoor pool and a kids’ activity area, but the living space felt like a house. This is the bridge between “hotel” and “house rental,” and if it’s available for your destination, it’s worth a serious look.
What to Check Before You Book a Suite
- Confirm the room actually sleeps 5 — “suite” doesn’t guarantee it, and policies vary by hotel
- Ask about extra guest or rollaway fees before you show up and get surprised
- Check the bed configuration. Is there a pull-out sofa? Do you need to reserve a rollaway? Who’s sharing with whom?
- Find out if the kitchenette has a real fridge and microwave, or just a mini fridge
- Check whether parking and breakfast are included
The One Downside to everyone Sleeping in the same room
Here’s the part that doesn’t show up in any hotel listing: not everyone in your family goes to bed at the same time, and in a hotel, you’re still all in one room. Our oldest tends to stay up later than the other two, and the little one tries to stay up with her. Which means there’s not a lot of downtime, and sometimes one of them is cranky in the morning.
Our workaround: reading lights or headphones, so we can wind down in bed with the kids while still aiming to get everyone to sleep around a normal time. It’s not a perfect fix. It’s just the fix that’s worked for us.
The Bottom Line
There’s no single right answer here — it really does depend on the trip. But once you know your own rule of thumb (ours: three nights and a vacation area means a house, anything shorter means a suite), the search gets a lot faster. And if you’re booking a suite, don’t assume “suite” tells you what you’re actually getting, ask about the kitchenette before you book, not after you arrive hungry.
