zzz

I understand that in theory, a hotel must offer a lower rate if you don't want breakfast. But have any of you been successful with this in practice? I am looking to book a hotel over the internet and I never see a choice when they list the rates. Has anyone ever booked a room which includes breakfast, and then upon arrival, told them you don't want it? Thanks.

carol

No, I've thought about it a lot, but have never done it. Sometimes with or without breakfast is an option. Where breakfast is included in the price of the room, however, I have a feeling that it would be considered tacky to haggle over deleting the value of the unwanted breakfast and I never wanted to risk making that bad an impression.

xxxx

Please don't do that. It would be incredibly tacky. Consider the breakfast as a generous gesture on the part of the hotel.

Jim

I agree completely. We stayed in a convent in Rome where the breakfast left much to be desired. We never ate breakfast there again, instead telling the sisters we were anxious to get an early start on siteseeing. We then had coffee and tea at a bar close by. I would never think of insulting them by saying that their breakfast wasn't good enough for me. Then again, breakfast in Italy takes a lot of getting used to anyway.

Breakfast

Why whats wrong with a Cornetto and Cappuccino? I find them delicious, especially when the cornetto is full of jam and has just come out of the oven..mmmmm my mouth is watering.

zzz

Thanks for sharing your opinions.<BR>I actually like breakfast at hotels, even when they're not so great, as I get a chance to meet fellow travelers and can practically roll out of bed and have coffee. But the reason for my question is that on this trip I will be staying in several hotels for one night only, and checking out at ungodly hours (way before breakfast time)to catch flights or trains. So it's not as if I'm choosing to bypass their breakfast.

xxx

ZZZ, you are missing the poing. Focus on "generous gesture" and not "entitlement".

Leslie

For the few dollars that a breakfast is worth, its not realistic to ask for the price to be deducted from the room. A simple analogy would be that if you chose not to use all of the towels, or for that matter, use the shower or tub, would you ask the hotelier to deduct a suitable amount because of this?<BR><BR>Not that it was in Italy, but on my last vacation to Budapest, although the breakfast was excellent and very substantial, the last morning, I was checking out at 5am, way before breakfast was even served. However, the owner went out of his way to pack a breakfast for me of fruit, bread, sausage and cheese the night before and actually left a pot of coffee in one of those thermal pots for me.

zzz

Okay, I did ask for opinions, and I'm grateful for all received. But I disagree that breakfast is a generous gesture in all cases. I believe that the star rating in Italy requires some hotels to offer breakfast. I have been to some feasts, and others where they throw a stale roll at you and call it breakfast. And as I mentioned, there are two distinct prices, one for breakfast, one without, according to the law. I was just asking for personal experience whether hotels complied with this law. This has nothing to do with being tacky or appreciating a hotel's gesture.

elina

Every time (and in every country) I have had to check out at some ungodly hour, the hotel has acted just like Leslie described. This has happened at least in Spain, Turkey, Egypt and Thailand.

elina

I answered this once, but obviously I just did not post it. The message was: Every time I have had to leave at some ungodly hour, the hotel (no matter what size or what country) has acted just like Leslie described. This has happened at least in Spain, Turkey, Egypt and Thailand.

xxx

You can ask the hotel if they will deduct the breakfast charge from the nightly rate. Yes, it can be done provided it's the hotel's policy. Other hotels specifically state that breakfast cannot be deducted. <BR><BR>I noticed that in Great Sleeps Italy by Sandra Gustafson, she notes that although some hotels include breakfast in their rates, you can have the breakfast charge deducted. She even says to insist on it being deducted if that's what you want.

Leslie

I really suggest that you contact the hotel directly, and preferably before your arrival date to determine if breakfast can be deducted from the room rate. If it can, then I suggest that you reserve the room for the whole duration of your stay either with or without breakfast. That way there won't be any questions, or any confusion with the staff. Don't be surprised that if breakfast is deducted that the price is a miniscule amount. <BR><BR>Be that as it may, if the hotel refuses to deduct breakfast from the price of the room, then find another location to stay in that will fit your requirements. <BR><BR>

lina

I'm going to disagree with some other posters and suggest that the provision of breakfast is neither generous nor stingy on the part of the hotel, just business. <BR><BR>My guidebook sources confirm that in theory, Italian law stipulates that hotel breakfasts are supposed to be optional. I can't conclude just from this whether the Italian government was being 'tacky' to have passed such a law. <BR><BR>However, I can suggest that a contract that serves the interests of both parties is generally a better agreement in the long run. Given that you are only staying 1 night in many hotels, the hotel's interest of making sufficient profit from the transaction might not be served unless you take the whole package offered, including breakfast. If you bargain too fiercely on price, even though this is technically your right, they may decide your business isn't worth their while. While keeping them happy doesn't guarantee they'll keep you happy, I think the odds are better. Good luck!

StCirq

zzz: Perhaps it is only because you are booking over the internet that you are being required to pay for breakfast. I always book rooms directly with the hotel, and nowhere in Europe in more than 25 years of traveling have I ever been required to pay for breakfast. In fact, the norm is for the hotel to ask you whether you will be taking breakfast the following morning, and if you're not, that's fine, and if you don't know, that's fine too, but you're not charged for it if you don't take it. Why not call the hotel directly and ask?<BR>I agree that it would be somewhat petty to make a big deal out of paying for a breakfast you didn't eat, but at the same time a coffee and a croissant in a Paris or Rome hotel can cost you $10 - that's money you could spend on lunch. I almost always opt not to take breakfast because I can get the same food for far less at a neighborhood caf&eacute; and do some early-morning people watching as well.