Never heard of this story about couples sleeping apart .

About the matter of rooms, I have to say that most hostales (I'd say all) would understand "a double room" (habitación doble) as a twin room.

If you want a double bed, you have to specifically request a cama de matrimonio. By the way, don't say "matrimonial", which amazingly is the word used by most foreigners (can any teacher of Spanish explain the reason? is it used in some other Spanish speaking countries?).

Most hostales / hoteles have twin rooms and it's more difficult to get a double one. For instance, we (at Hostal Chelo ) only have 1 double room (the rest of them are twins). Most people don't mind pushing the beds together (which makes it bigger than a cama de matrimonio) but if you find it really unacceptable, tell your hostal / hotel when booking.

[Please, note that we always to our best to book a room which meets all the preferences expressed in your reservation. However, you have to understand that there are people who come without a reservation. If they rent a double room for a few days, it may happen that we'll only have a twin when you arrive. Also, we'll change you to that room as soon as it's available.]

By the way, the new trend when building a new hotel is putting twin beds together. Thus, you're forced to always share the bed

[ 06-13-2001: Message edited by: Antonio ]