[BeckyBoop]

True hun but you don’t eat the macdonlds ones all the time ..lol The best ones i have ever eaten are at the Mandarin oriental in NY and they were with prop syrup 😉 xx

[RichardB]

The price and whether breakfast is included in the room price is normally linked to the travel policy the typical guests have. Nordic countries (like Finland) have fixed daily allowances that don’t require receipts. Since you get the money regardless of what you spend it on, travellers in Finland would not spend 20 or 30e of their allowance on breakfast when the cash would otherwise end up in their pocket. End result – all hotels I’ve stayed at in finland and Scandinavia include breakfast in all room rates.
This system beaks down when you travel to countries with different styles of travel policy. I would not use up 40e of my 80euro (tax free) daily allowance in Greece for breakfast at Athens Hilton. It would otherwise be 40e in my pocket and a two week trip at 80e per day tax free soon makes a nice bonus.

I spend 4-5 months of the year in hotels and don’t find hotel breakfasts that healthy either. Plus I’m not going to get dressed, wait for the lift, sit down, eat and then go back to my room just for a cup of tea and breakfast. Especially if it’s the type of restaurant where you have to ask for the bill, sign it, ask for the tea, wait for them to bring it. Instead I have a small kettle to make my own tea and small packs of instant porridge. That and some yogurt from the local supermarket mean breakfast in bed for about 1euro instead of time wasted going to the hotel restaurant for it at 30-40x the price.

I think mini-bars have started to disappear from UK hotels due to company travel policies not paying for items from mini-bars. But I doubt the same thing will happen about hotel breakfasts. If it did then the hotels would soon follow the Nordic model.

[LuganoPirate]

I’ve a friend who takes his own toaster with him. Using the room kettle he can then have “hot” toast and tea.

[stevescoots]

I never eat breakfast in hotels, usually ia m up too early to catch a flight, or having a lay in! I have seen the prices though and yes, they are rediculous in most cases.

McDonanlds coffee is probably some of the worst around as well!

[SimonRowberry]

Had the same problem as VK, when staying at the W in Istanbul.

I came back to the hotel (a little worse for wear, admittedly) and thought that I’d fill the breakfast card in at reception, whilst still vaguely compos mentis. The concierge helped me (I’m not sure I still had the ability to write at that point).

When I settled the bill later that morning, I discovered that they too had charged by the item. I can’t remember the exact amount but it was somewhere around €50.

What made it worse was that I had such a hangover, I only had the juice, toast and coffee and left the rest.

Still, one learns from one’s experiences. Allegedly. So they say, anyway.

Simon

[SimonRowberry]

Richard B,

What you say is correct, except in some of the more upmarket properties and, of course, where room service breakfast in concerned.

I stay quite often at the generally quite splendid Hotel Kämp in Helsinki. It was the case until a couple of years ago that if you were on a breakfast inclusive rate (and not all of them are), you could have room service simply by paying the tray charge (which was something like €8). I had done this many times.

On one occasion, I followed my custom and practice and filled out the room service menu, only to be hit by a bill of something like €40 for breakfast and tray charge. The policy had changed to one where rate-inclusive breakfast could only be taken in the restaurant and any room service brekkie was at full price.

I had not been told of this change (in fairness, there’s no reason why they should have, I guess). I explained to the front desk on check at and as I was (at that time) a regular and known guest, they waived the charge.

Simon

[LeTigre]

Hi LP and everyone,

Sorry for the late response, here’s the link to top secret hotels:

http://www.lastminute.com/site/travel/hotels/deals/top-secret.html

Essentially, you cannot specifically search for top secret hotels, they come up randomly, generally in cities with lots of hotels. I just checked Milan, and you can get a 5* in the centre for £70/night for two RO.

What happens is you do a general search for your destination, if a top secret hotel (can be independent or chain hotel) pops up, you can see its star rating, rough location, tripadvisor rating, facilities and prices. The name will not be disclosed. Generally you can piece together what hotel it is if you are clever enough. After you book the hotel, you receive the name and details in the confirmation email. Also, don’t forget to go through topcashback.co.uk to get a further 10% cashback, which is immensely useful if you are booking for the business!

Hope this helps,

Hengli

[LeTigre]

Oh yeah, so far I’ve got these through secret hotels:

4* Rome centre BB £60
4* Deluxe Kuala Lumpur Centre RO £35
4* Deluxe Singapore Centre BB £60
4* Deluxe Milan Malpensa BB £50

and quite a few more, I don’t recall them all.

[esselle]

A recent breakfast at a starred chef’s restaurant linked to an hotel in London included poached eggs which could have been used as squash balls.

The head waiter did not understand my complaint, accepting that they were perhaps “a little over done”, but not willing to replace them.

I did not pay.

[RichHI1]

Tangential to thread. One time I make sure to eat breakfast and don’t mind spending is when I am in a property with a local breakfast I would not get elsewhere, e.g. China, Japan, India…

[LeTigre]

The best way to demonstrate overdone eggs is by throwing them at the head waiter.

[RichardB]

The hotel Kamp in helsinki would fall into the category “linked to the travel policy the typical guests have”. I doubt many Finns stay there since it’s so expensive, so they have adjusted their breakfast policy to those coming from other european countries who have receipted expenses and so don’t pay out of their own pocket.

The only trouble i’ve had with the price of breakfasts is when booking a single room but having a guest for free with something like Hilton Honors card. Only when checking out did I find out that the extra guest is free on the room rate but not a breakfast for them (even though i did have breakfast included). At Athens Hilton we then ate in the lounge since then breakfast for two was included (but not in the main restaurant downstairs).

[RichHI1]

Does Hotel Kamp still have rubber ducks in the bath?

[pointyendpreferred]

Mandarin Oriental Paris last week: 52 euro per person for breakfast!

[LuganoPirate]

It always annoys me when hotels make a “tray charge” to bring anything to the room, especially in 5 star hotels where you are paying extra for top service. I have mentioned this a few times and at two hotels at least this policy has been stopped.

I also think it unfair to charge for breakfast delivered to the room when it is inclusive in the room price.

I do remember once, Mrs. LP, who keeps a close eye on the pennies, going down to breakfast, loading a tray and bringing it to me in bed! She’s a great woman!

[Author]

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