Breakfast may be the most important meal on vacation

Flying Squirrel


 

 

You’re staying in a hotel. After showering and dressing for the day, what’s the next thing you do? Probably what most Americans report doing on a daily basis. You eat breakfast.

Breakfast while traveling—especially on vacation—can be the most important meals of the day. Unless your daily plan involves a sedentary commitment to the pool or beach for eight hours, you probably need the energy a good breakfast can provide.

If you’re vacationing on a cruise ship or staying at an all-inclusive resort, you’ve probably got the whole breakfast thing covered. You’ll have lots of options, and they’re included in your cost.

But when you stay at a hotel, do you know if breakfast is available, and if so, is it included in the price? If it’s not, should you look for a hotel where breakfast is part of your room rate?

The answer to this can vary.

Some hotel brands promote a complimentary breakfast, though what that consists of can vary, e.g., whether it’s “continental” or “hot.” Other brands have breakfast available for a cost. Still others offer it as a free perk to elite-level guests.

 

 

If the availability of breakfast is important, you may want to research this question before you travel.

The hotel chains that typically include some form of complimentary breakfast include Embassy Suites, Hampton by Hilton, Holiday Inn Express, Residence Inn by Marriott and Springhill Suites. There are others, but these are the brands you may be familiar with.

These properties all generally offer a hot breakfast that can include eggs, fruit, baked goods, oatmeal, waffles or pancakes.

A quick note. Some hotel brands may state they offer a free breakfast, but you should always call the hotel location itself to confirm they participate in the program.

A hot breakfast can add up to considerable savings, especially if you are traveling with a group or family.

If you were to pay for breakfast, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to budget $10 to $15 per person. For a family of four, this can add up to as much as $60 before you even start your touring.

Is this going to be the best breakfast you’ve ever had? Probably not. Some brands standardize their food preparation to ease the consistency of delivery. Waffles may come precooked. Eggs may lack customized preparation. But I’ve stayed at properties where the selection was extensive and the quality outstanding.

The next hotel tier above this level is likely to offer breakfast on a paid basis, but you may have more selection and higher quality. Hotels in this category might include Sheraton, Hyatt, Marriott and certain Hilton brands.

At these hotels, you’ll often have a choice of a breakfast buffet or a menu you can order from. This gives you greater selection and the benefit of made-to-order freshness. The properties may also offer the ever-popular omelet bar.

The third option in booking your travel is whether to choose a hotel rate that includes breakfast or one that does not. You’ll often see this for hotels in Europe.

There may be instances where booking the breakfast rate saves you money. This can be true if the amount you’d pay in advance is less than what it would cost you at the time of your stay.

There’s one other thing to consider when deciding if you want to pay the breakfast-included rate. Will you want to be locked into eating at the hotel all the time?

You might visit some destinations where you want to go out for breakfast and experience what that town has to offer. Maybe there’s an iconic breakfast food or a restaurant everyone says you must try. In these instances, having prepaid the hotel breakfast might hold you back from exploring something new.

You probably never dreamed this much thinking could go into breakfast. But if you want your vacation day to have the best possible start, a little advance “menu planning” on how and where you’ll eat breakfast can pay dividends in your traveling experience.

Thor Challgren is a travel writer who lives in Thousand Oaks. For more info, visit loveyourvacation.com/acorn. Email questions for Challgren to tchallgren@cruiseplanners.com.