bcla
On our rugged Eastern foothills.....
- Joined
- Nov 28, 2012
I guess there's a lot of talk about this on the other thread. I've stayed at everything from cheap motels where they barely had cheap coffee, a mini-fridge with milk cartons and yogurt, and some nearly stale pastries/bread, to some places where I'd think I'd be spending $30 on the breakfast buffet if I had to pay for it separately. Of course in some cases it did cost extra (as part of a premium room rate), I had to present a coupon that I got during check-in, and/or every guest got it for free without any kind of check that someone might have just wandered in. A few of the breakfast rooms actually required a room key to enter.
I guess some of the nicer ones were when I stayed at Hyatt Place locations. The coffee was quite good, they had some of my favorites including steel cut oatmeal, and biscuits and gravy. Once I was staying with my in-laws, and they had no idea what the sausage gravy and put it in bowls thinking it was some kind of soup. There were a few hotels where the included breakfast had made to order omelettes.
It may be kind of a gray area, but a few places we had to use a special room rate that included breakfast at an additional price that cost less than paying for it off the street. We stayed at a few high-end hotels like this in China on this big trip we took. Many of the moderately priced hotels in China traditionally offer a basic breakfast for all hotel guests, but often newer hotels affiliated with "western" chains don't. We had some friends help us get special rates, including one five-star hotel that cost us maybe $70 a night that included the breakfast. In Shanghai we stayed at the Four Seasons Pudong, which frankly messed up our expectations for hotel stays in the future. However, the breakfast was stellar with everything from typical Chinese breakfast items to omelettes and European style pastries. On top of that, I think their service manager was English (judging by his accent when he asked me if I wanted more coffee) even though most of the guests there were Chinese.
Perhaps one of the most bizarre case was when I was visiting Yosemite during the winter. I didn't stay inside the park, but outside at a motel in Mariposa. I went into the breakfast room, which was in an unattached building across the parking lot. They had a single attendant who seemed a bit uninterested. They had their standard spread. However, when I checked out I noted how barren the place seemed. The desk clerk informed me that they only had two rooms occupied that night. They actually had more employees than guests that night.
I guess some of the nicer ones were when I stayed at Hyatt Place locations. The coffee was quite good, they had some of my favorites including steel cut oatmeal, and biscuits and gravy. Once I was staying with my in-laws, and they had no idea what the sausage gravy and put it in bowls thinking it was some kind of soup. There were a few hotels where the included breakfast had made to order omelettes.
It may be kind of a gray area, but a few places we had to use a special room rate that included breakfast at an additional price that cost less than paying for it off the street. We stayed at a few high-end hotels like this in China on this big trip we took. Many of the moderately priced hotels in China traditionally offer a basic breakfast for all hotel guests, but often newer hotels affiliated with "western" chains don't. We had some friends help us get special rates, including one five-star hotel that cost us maybe $70 a night that included the breakfast. In Shanghai we stayed at the Four Seasons Pudong, which frankly messed up our expectations for hotel stays in the future. However, the breakfast was stellar with everything from typical Chinese breakfast items to omelettes and European style pastries. On top of that, I think their service manager was English (judging by his accent when he asked me if I wanted more coffee) even though most of the guests there were Chinese.
Perhaps one of the most bizarre case was when I was visiting Yosemite during the winter. I didn't stay inside the park, but outside at a motel in Mariposa. I went into the breakfast room, which was in an unattached building across the parking lot. They had a single attendant who seemed a bit uninterested. They had their standard spread. However, when I checked out I noted how barren the place seemed. The desk clerk informed me that they only had two rooms occupied that night. They actually had more employees than guests that night.
