The hotel my family (we have 3 boys, ages 15, 12 and 8) will likely stay at in Paris is offering to include breakfast for an additional 5 euros per person, per day (the breakfast charge is a special -- it is usually 10 euros). The hotel is in the 16th arrondissement and we will be there in mid-August, when some or many cafes and bakeries may be closed. The breakfast is continental. Would you do the hotel breakfast or would we be better off doing breakfast on our own? Thanks.

EWK, one of the things I like about hotel breakfasts is that I love my morning coffee. At the hotel you actually get a small pot of coffee, rather than a small cup of coffee that you have to pay to replinish. Also, you can take it up to your room sometimes, (or if you're really lucky someone will bring it to you before you get all the things done that make you presentable!).

5 euros seems like a pretty good deal. It's likely to be coffee, and a croissant and hard roll. Maybe some juice if you're lucky.

You probably don't need to decide ahead of time. Try it the first day, scope out the other possibilities in the neighborhood, then decide.

Five euros is a really good price, especially with the convenience of eating at the hotel rather than having to go out. You can always pick up something additional if you pass a boulangerie when you leave the hotel in the morning--the boys, at least, would probably love pains au chocolate.

I always look at the service first, and decide if it's worth it. €5 sounds pretty appealing, but not if it's just a continental service.

Like elberko said, you probably don't need to decide ahead of time. If you find a cafe or bakery open that looks appealing, you might want to do that at least once. But 5 euros for a continental breakfast is a good price.

Very generally speaking, 5-7 Euros for a hotel breakfast should get you (for each person):
- 1-2 'breads' (croissant, pain au chocolate or the like)
- small pot of coffe
- small pitcher of hot milk
- butter, jam
- sometimes orange juice

rats, "coffeE"...

For five people, 5 Euros x 5 would get you a lot of groceries at a local store. For one or two people the difference is far less extreme.

We were very lucky to have a continental breakfast as part of our package in February. Food included great bread and pastries, cereals, ham slices, cheese, hard boiled eggs, juices, and a great coffee machine that dispensed several varieties, most of which were too strong for me but which my husband enjoyed. I agree, tho, 5E is a decent price. (My boys were VERY hungry at those ages...)

It depends on if you like to sit down and savor your coffee! I love French coffee and milk, and the hotel's breakfast was a good time for our party of 8 to meet and go over the day. We ended up ordering cafe au lait and sharing the breakfasts, instead of everyone ordering a breakfast. We knew we were going to snack along the way, so the continental was good for us. You would probably do well to take it on the first morning, and then decide from there how you want to do on the other days.

For us it's the convenience. Also continental breakfast is not like a buffet but it's good. If you get a continental buffet breakfast that's better as it has cheese, fruit, cereal, and it's unlimited. Another thing I appreciate is the coffee and hot chocolate are very good and plentiful. My son can't drink coffee so he gets hot chocolate. This means a small pitcher that's large enough for two. And my husband and I get our own pitcher of coffee and hot milk. I would rather eat breakfast at the hotel.
For a change I went to Paul boulangerie on rue de Buci in February for breakfast. Honestly, the price of 8 euros was comparable to a hotel continental breakfast except the coffee is just one cup.

I stayed in a small hotel in Paris and this Spring offered a 6e continental breakfast - a pot of coffee - more than 2 people could drink-- orange juice a croissant and half a baguette, or the coffee for 2.50 euros- the best buy in town, and it was good coffee. Now, that little baguette and croissant were worth about 1 euro at the bakery.It was convenient, so I took advantage a few times. If your hotel does not have a restaurant, you might find that they simply bring breakfast in. But you still would not usually have to let them know in advance.

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