Hotel breakfast likes & dislikes

[Mattg]

What do and don’t you like about breakfast served at a hotel?

I’ll start….

Like:

• When it’s served until later than 9.30am (I’m at a hotel currently where the breakfast buffet ends at noon and it’s great!)
• When the scrambled eggs are freshly prepared from real eggs
• When there’s a juicer to DIY fresh fruit juice
• When the coffee is made by a barista

Dislike:

• At American-style hotels, when they don’t make coffee or water available for self service from the buffet and instead you have to wait for a waiter to bring it to your table - which is fine, except when you have to spend ages trying to flag someone down. That’s literally the opposite of premium!
• Often, the price (unless it’s included with the room or via status)
• Extra charges for coffee or hot food

 

[RooFlyer]

Dislike
*The cost when it’s not included - frequently over $50 for my continental breakfast (I don’t pay - I go to a coffee shop)
* dodging kids when I’ve got my hands full
* cough coffee
* “ find the butter”

Like
* fresh juicer
* plenty of tables – not packed
* variety with the fruit - not just cantaloupe watermelon and pineapple. Bonus points for raspberry coulis for my cereal.

 

[Mattg]

I have a new "dislike" to add after this morning's breakfast...

When your breakfast is free, but the server still asks for a tip.

 

[Hvr]

Toast.
It's stereotyping people but in Asian hotels they consider bread to be toasted if it is exposed to a match flame at 50 metres for a maximum on 2 seconds. Whereas Europeans prefer their toast to have undergone the Maillard reaction which creates new, complex flavour compounds and a crispy texture.

I basically have to run the bread through the toaster 2-3 times to achieve above changes. It's a jolly nuisance.

 

[Beer_budget]

I have a new "dislike" to add after this morning's breakfast...

When your breakfast is free, but the server still asks for a tip.

20% of nothing is....

 

[MollyJones]

My most favourite thing I have seen in a hotel breakfast was an egg boiler, so you could boil your own eggs.
As someone who prefers a soft boiled egg above all other ways of preparing them, this made me very happy.
Travelling with a gluten free MrJones, it is always interesting how hotel breakfasts cater for dietary requirements. Some have an entire spread catering to allergies and dietary restrictions, others there is nothing.
My most intense dislikes are long life milk and pathetic tea bags.

 

[LadyC]

One of my strong dislikes is undercooked bacon. Tastes terrible and very unappealing visually.

A small high quality buffet is always better than a large low quality buffet.

Breakfast is a key meal in our house so when traveling, it's important to have a good breakfast buffet. So much so, we rate our hotel breakfasts and will discuss which is our favourite and try and plan a return visit!

 

[Denali]

Like:
Egg station that includes poached eggs
Hotels that let you order eggs benedict so you bypass the buffet completely

Dislike:
The toaster. Ive only ever had one hotel toaster that seems to toast at warp speed but the marjority are slow and ineffective and require two passes to get a hint of brown
American styled bacon that it shatters as its so over cooked and crispy. Sadly Im seeing this more in Aussie hotels

 

[luxury-lizard]

Like:

• A la carte
• Big selection of fresh fruit (kept cold) including berries
• Yoghurt which is kept ice cold
• High quality breads and pastries
• High quality coffee which you can make yourself (e.g. industrial Nespresso machine)

Dislikes:

• Pathetic buffets (which almost all are IMO even in some 5*)
• On a buffet, cold food not kept cold and hot food almost cold instead of piping hot
• High prices now being charged (50 EUR is common in Europe) - even room rates which include breakfast are significantly higher than without breakfast
• Overcrowding / slow service when required
• and here's a really picky one - one of my treats when travelling is toast with peanut butter - sometimes not available

 

[elanshin]

Like
Big selection. If i stay a week and I have no hope of trying everything, you're doing pretty good.
Freshly fried chicken. This is a rarity and yes I'll have fried chicken for breakfast.
Lactose free milk.


Dislike
When they charge more than 5x the price of an average breakfast outside.
Can't find seating - either too crowded or not enough service to clean up.

 

[OZDUCK]

With the caveat that 99% of the time I will not pay for a, usually overpriced, breakfast if it is not included in the nightly price. I am usuall happy with a piece of pastry and an orange juice from a bakery.

Like

Scandinavian hotels that include a fascinating array of herrings served with various sauces.
Sticking to a Scandinavian theme - the Brown 'Cheese' (Brunost) served in Norway.
Hotels that have a variety of fresh fruit juices. I don't drink coffee.
Turkey bacon in Malaysia/Brunei - not that I actually particularly like the taste but because it instantly tells me I am on holiday.
Local speciality cakes and pastries being available rather than just croissants and 'Danish'.

Dislike

The ludicrously expensive prices many hotels like to charge for breakfast.
The 'cordial' disguised as fruit juice in cheaper hotels.
Hotels in Malaysia etc that have almost no fresh fruits when there are fruit trees basically just outside the door.
And in common with many others - toasters that are les effective than a candle.

 

[Pushka]

Cava in the ice bucket. Done and dusted.

Less important likes
Eggs cooked to order and they get them right.
Honeycomb honey

Dislikes
Kids touching everything. Getting in the way with hot drinks and food.
Dirty tables left around.

 

[aikman]

The best hotel breakfast is a lavish buffet with a massive selection of food and drink from every cuisine imaginable. Just sit down and feast. Try a little bit of everything with the option to come back for more of what you liked. No need to look through a menu, no need to call over a staff member to take your order, no need to wait for a chef to cook and plate your food, no need to wait for a waiter to bring it to your table.

 

[Aeryn]

Likes:

• Included a la carte breakfast with a decent hot option menu. Extra marks if also has a supplementary fresh fruit buffet - Hotel Indigo Edinburgh (not Princes) fantastic for this, the fresh berries amazing.
• If a buffet it must have 1. bacon, a little cripsy not soft and undercooked. Im not paying for a hot breakfast where there is no bacon (turkey or soy bacon again is not bacon) and 2. have eggs cooked to order (i hate scrambled eggs - always dry and rubbery or too sloppy, give me poached everytime)
• Barista made coffee with skim milk available (machine , pod , dripalator/perculator, instant do not qualify as coffee)
• Real butter (hate it when there is only margarine - ewww)
• Fresh cut fruit in separate containers (I dont want my yummy berries or pineapple being contaminated with melons)
• Chia puddings done right (small container made with coconut milk and topped with passionfruit or berries).
• Real maple syrup not fake syrups.

Dislikes:

• Continental breakfast - where everything is carb laden. Its important to have at least 30g of protein and 15g of fibre to start the day; not just sugar.
• Lack of rye/brown/multigrain toast options
• Lack of real coffee

Unless included, a crazy early start or hotel is away from other options I usually find its better to find a decent cafe for usually better coffee and better food options at half the price.