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I recently slept in a hotel in Berlin. The hotel is a 4 (maybe 4.5) stars respectable hotel which belongs to a known brand, near the Alexanderplatz. I specifically ordered a king size bed, but when I arrived at the hotel I got two single beds pushed together with two single blankets. After asking the receptionist about it, she said that one can only get twin beds in Germany and together they are king size (i.e. 190x160 cm and not 190x140 cm which is queen size).

While I respect the modesty rules of the locals, can one get a bed for two persons with single mattress (and a single blanket with the same "two persons" size) in Germany?

P.S. All your jokes about cuddling and twin beds are already in this thread.

Mosh
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    Now, do you want a double bed or a king size bed? And more importantly, do you just want to know whether somewhere in Germany there is a hotel with a "real" (whatever that means) double bed? Or do you want to know how to book something like that in Germany? It'd be also helpful if you could specify the terms. – martin.koeberl Nov 07 '17 at 21:05
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    It would be great to know exactly what you booked. Did some (english) website display "king size"? Maybe even the official hotel website? Or did you enter "king size please" into a text field when booking a double room? Having two separate mattresses is pretty much standard in Germany. – Sabine Nov 07 '17 at 21:52
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    "While I respect the modesty rules of the locals" - genuinely, "modesty rules" are of least concern here. It is simply for additional flexibility that there are two separable beds. – O. R. Mapper Nov 08 '17 at 07:15
  • How did you "specifically" order a king size bed? – Neusser Nov 08 '17 at 09:21
  • @martin.koeberl I wanted a king size bed as I ordered (and as I asked in my question). By a "real" king size bed I mean a single bed with a dimensions approximately king size (as in the web site of the hotel, BTW). I also want to know if it is possible to find a single bed (for two persons) in Germany or is it hard to find as the receptionist said. – Mosh Nov 08 '17 at 16:31
  • @Sabine Yes, some English website displayed "king size". It was an option in the room selection and I did not enter it in some "text field while booking a double room". – Mosh Nov 08 '17 at 16:34
  • @Neusser I ordered "specifically" a king size bed in the website of the hotel by simply selecting a room with a king size bed. – Mosh Nov 08 '17 at 16:35
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    @Mosh You know that the history of the question is public, right? So everybody can see that first you asked for a double bed and not a king size bed. But thanks for specifying. – martin.koeberl Nov 08 '17 at 21:19
  • @martin.koeberl Yes, of course it's public, what's the big secret? My question was not clear enough according to some people in the comments, so I clarified my meaning. I think the answer is good and does answer my intended meaning of the question. What would you like me to do? – Mosh Nov 09 '17 at 05:00

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There is no direct translation for "king size" in German. The term doesn’t exist in German, and when you order it, they try to do as near as possible.
German beds for two adults are customarily separate mattresses, and - especially in hotels - separately moveable, to allow separation as needed.

The same applies for the other US bed size terms - be it queen, twin, or whatever. There is no one-to-one equivalent. Bedsizes do not follow an international standard.

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    King Size, Queen size etc also fully exists in the UK and we have a monarchy. I have stayed at a range of hotels where this can mean an actual large bed and also two mattresses put together, so it can vary though. – Tim Nov 08 '17 at 11:14
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    "German beds for two adults are customarily separate mattresses" - in hotels, yes. Not so much in private homes. – O. R. Mapper Nov 08 '17 at 14:10
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    In private homes we don't have names for larger mattresses. They are just described by their width. A queen size is a Eins-Vierzig-Mattratze. These wider sizes (as opposed to the traditional 90x200) have become more popular over the last years, a traditional double bed (Ehebett, from marriage) has two of those in a fixed frame next to each other. Since the bed base (Lattenrost) and the mattress will wear out more if two people sleep on a wide bed, older people probably stay with that double bed concept. – simbabque Nov 08 '17 at 15:59
  • @O.R.Mapper Good to know that cuddling is allowed in private homes in Germany ;) – Mosh Nov 08 '17 at 16:47
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    If you make it over the ‘Bettritze’, @Mosh ... – Aganju Nov 08 '17 at 16:51
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    @simbabque: Of course, some beds are designed to hold two bed bases and one wide mattress. Still, 2x 1.40m seems extremely wide to me. I think an Ehebett is typically somewhere between 1.40m and 2m wide in all. – O. R. Mapper Nov 08 '17 at 17:04
  • @O.R.Mapper you misunderstood my comment I think. The Ehebett is always two small 90x200 mattresses. That was my point. :) A 140x200 bed typically has a wide base and one or two legs in the middle. A 160x200 might have that as well. I've seen a 180x200 bed in a store that had two bases, but one mattress. Laying in the middle of that would probably be less comfortable then the sides. Most hotels in my experience have the movable ones as said in the answer. Some chains have a little wider ones, but I think they are rather rare. – simbabque Nov 08 '17 at 17:07
  • @simbabque: "Laying in the middle of that would probably be less comfortable then the sides." - I have one like that and the middle feels no different from the sides. The mattress is rather thick and not too soft, though, otherwise, one might notice. – O. R. Mapper Nov 08 '17 at 17:10