Sleep Stops: Top 10 weirdest hotel bed facts from around the world

Angela Goh

19 Mar 2016

updated the Saturday, March 19, 2016

1/10
Cosy it up in “French” beds
Found in countries like Austria, Switzerland, Germany and Greece, the “French” bed is usually smaller than your standard sized double beds, so it might get quite cosy for two.
2/10
Triple room beds with exotic names
Beds with the most exotic sounding names are usually found in the United Kingdom, where beds in triple rooms can have names such as Eastern King, Emperor or Caesar. With these, up to three guests can snooze comfortably in a ridiculously huge bed almost 250cm wide and 220cm long.
3/10
Please mind the gap
Travellers visiting Germany, Austria or Switzerland expecting to find a double bed with a single mattress might be surprised - a ‘double bed’ usually means two single beds pushed together.
4/10
The conservative bed
Some hotels in Italy and Poland use the name “Matrimonial” for double beds, a seemingly old-fashioned moniker that assumes any couple using one of these beds is married.
5/10
Super compact single beds
Hotels in Britain join those in Norway, Sweden and Ireland by offering the world’s narrowest single beds to travellers, measuring just 75cm in width. Singapore’s singles come in wider at 90cm.
6/10
Spacious single beds Down Under
The beds you find in Australia and New Zealand have everything to do with comfort for the solo traveller, with King Singles up to 107cm wide and 204cm long.
7/10
The king of all the double beds
The United States of America is the kingdom of the biggest beds around: the “Grand King Bed” is the longest double width bed available at 2.5 metres, but picky travellers can go even further and request a custom oversized bed, which reaches an impressive 360cm x 300cm.
8/10
Unlimited bed types
Choose from up to 11 beds in countries like Japan and the United States, depending on hotel offers and availability.
9/10
The Californian bed
In the United States and Canada, hotel guests can book a “California Bed”, or “California King Bed”. The name harks back to the bed’s origins in 1960s Los Angeles. These days, the California King can be found as far away as Australia and New Zealand.
10/10
No-name bed types
Over in China, they do things a little differently to what we’re used to. In some hotels, they commonly classify and name beds by their width alone.

Beds come in all sizes – we just weren’t aware there could be so many different types!

So you’ve just decided on vacationing somewhere outside of Singapore. You’ve done plenty of travel research and purchased some plane tickets. Now, all you need is to find a place to stay. Booking a hotel guest room and have no idea what on earth a “California King” or “Matrimonial” bed might be? With such odd names, how in the world are you supposed to know if these beds have enough room to comfortably accommodate you and your partner? On that note, why do some hotels have the audacity to push two single beds together and call it a “double”?

Travel search engine KAYAK.sg has recently collated a list of some of the strangest facts about hotel beds from around the globe. Head up to our gallery to check out their top 10!

Angela Goh

Photos: Getty Images

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Sleep Stops: Top 10 weirdest hotel bed facts from around the world

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