Best, Worst, Value hotel breakfast

[EastWest Gal]

Country Inn and Suites is good, and they're not a pricey place either. They have free coffee/tea/hot chocolate in the lobby and fresh baked cookies in the afternoon. I like Embassy suites but thy're too expensive for the most part.

 

[NanoSour]

Nothing's free, but if you're staying on the corporate nickel, Embassy Suites tops the breakfast list, IMHO. Also, if you're a frequent traveler and have access to the executive lounge at Hilton or Marriott, the breakfast is usually decent and you don't have to deal with the crowds.

 

[calmloki]

In Prescott this morning and just back from the Holiday Express breakfast. Pretty fair, a definite jump up from our normal "what's the cheapest hole with a bed" breakfast fare. Still, not a patch on the Prescottonian Motel - those folks put on a feed!

 

[GalaxyBoy]

Megacorp sends me to Honolulu fairly frequently and has a negotiated rate at the Hyatt Waikiki (I know, it's one of the very few things I like about still w*rking!). Breakfast is awesome IMHO, with a made-to-order omelet bar, hot buffet, cold buffet, and since there are a lot of Asian tourists, miso soup, chicken teryaki, rice, etc.

Now, this is included in our rate and if I ever go there with DW I'll book this property using my corporate account. BUT, if you aren't so lucky they want somewhere around $30 for it. I think I'd skip it at that price.

 

[Dreamer]

I guess I better not say anything negative about the Hampton's breakfasts but then again we keep comparing them to the "to die for" breakfasts in Germany and Switzerland.

We do like the rooms and beds and stay with them exclusively.

I guess I was thinking more of the Hampton Inn's rooms also. I think that their breakfast is okay, but Embassy Suite's is the best in the hotels where we have stayed.

I have not had the pleasure of going to Germany or Switzerland and I have not stayed at a Bed and Breakfast either. From the sounds of it, I am sure they have much better breakfasts than most of the hotels where we stay. I am going to have to live a little one of these days!

 

[youbet]

Country Inn and Suites is good, and they're not a pricey place either. They have free coffee/tea/hot chocolate in the lobby and fresh baked cookies in the afternoon. I like Embassy suites but thy're too expensive for the most part.

+1

 

[JakeBrake]

DW and I prefer motels where you can park at your front door, preferably on the first floor. These days that usually means the older low end chains or mom and pop motels. We stay away from the big cities. A big city is a town with more than one stop light.

All of these places say that they have a free breakfast. We check out every one of these. Usually, they are beneath our standards. That's OK because we prefer to eat breakfast (breakfast is our favorite meal) at a local restaurant with table service. If a local restaurant is not available, we will go to a chain with table service, like Cracker Barrel, Waffle House, IHOP, Denny's, Bob Evans, Huddle House, etc.

Back in the days when I was traveling for MegaCorp, we were required to eat the free breakfast. That is, MegaCorp would not pay your expense voucher if you bought breakfast while you were staying in a motel/hotel that offered a free breakfast.

 

[photoguy]

The best for me by far was a hotel in Helsinki that was near the university. They had the most amazing spread of cheeses, meats, and rustic breads. I couldn't believe it was free and all you can eat. I think the European's know how to do breakfast much better.

Worst -- cheapo hotels/motels that have the Svenhard's danishes.

 

[MRG]

Gotta agree, some of the European hotels were the best. We were staying in Manchester England, very nice hotel. Some of the traditional English breakfast items were not to my liking, beans, stewed tomatoes, bangers. But they had a lovely international section with cheeses, lox, absolutely fantastic.

I even asked for dippy eggs, I had to explain, but they were perfectly prepared. The English bacon was a treat, reminded my of what we called back bacon.

The worst cheap chains bad coffee, day old donuts.
MRG

 

[braumeister]

Pastries seem to be the mainstay at most places, but I'm a low carb guy.
All I ever want is eggs, sausage or bacon, and good coffee. Anything else is irrelevant. In Europe I'm happy with meat and cheese, and they always seem to have very good coffee over there.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Just spent a night at a Hampton Inn and one at a Fairfield Inn over the past couple of weeks. Fairfield Inn breakfast won hands down between these two moderately priced places. Hampton seems to be coasting imho.

Best included breakfasts for us have been in Germany--great crusty rolls, cheeses, salami-style meats, hard boiled eggs, fruit preserves.

 

[FUEGO]

Many hotels in Europe include b'fast, but it's always good to ask!

Last month we found that yes, they had a nice b'fast, but....there was a 29Euro ($34) PER PERSON charge! Yikes!

Because it is often included, people might sit down and just have coffee and a croissant only to find a $80 per couple bill waiting for them!

I witnessed this happening at an Aloft in Chicago (near Ohare airport). I didn't catch the whole conversation but we were playing pool in the lobby and people watching. An older couple (possibly from India, Pakistan or maybe UK based on the accent and appearance) went to the a la carte self serve breakfast area. They ate a ton of food and when they got up to leave, the front desk staff asked them for their room card. The unsuspecting guests didn't realize you had to pay for the food or that it was a la carte. They were probably facing a $30-45 charge for a 4-5 pieces of toast or bagels, some yogurt, and a few pieces of fruit. Honest and possibly expensive mistake.

 

[FUEGO]

I've always been satisfied with the breakfast at the Fairfield Inn (lowest-end properties of the Marriott chain).

Its kinda funny about amenities at Marriott hotels. The lowest-end places (Fairfield) usually have a micro-fridge and microwave oven in the room and there's free coffee and tea available in the lobby 24/7. It's very functional and has what I want when I'm traveling. Go "upscale" to a Courtyard or Marriot and the furniture in the rooms is nicer and the rooms are bigger, but there won't be a microwave or fridge and the coffee is only available downstairs for a few hours in the morning. And no free breakfast (unless you've negotiated a special deal). All of the places are clean and in good repair.

Among cheap places I've also had good free breakfasts at Drury Inn.

I have noticed this phenomenon, too. The lower end places often include many more amenities I'm looking for, and they don't charge for them. Free breakfast (even if it's basic bagel/pastry/coffee), free wifi, free coffee packets and coffeemaker in rooms, micro-fridge in rooms. Some of the higher end places charge $9.99+ for wifi, $15+ for breakfast, and don't have fridge/microwaves.