Prefer hotels w/breakfast or without?
 

I've always thought it was better to get a hotel that included the breakfast b/c it is convenient, you can get a head start on the day, and it is cheaper. This is in the US and I was carrying over that philosophy when looking at hotels in Paris. My husband said that he read that it is better not to get a hotel that comes with breakfast b/c you will feel obligated to eat there when there are so many places that serve wonderful breakfasts in Paris. Which do you prefer?

IMO, a very simple answer. If you're staying at a 1/2 star hotel and they provide a breakfast of roll/coffee/juice (go out) or a 5 star hotel with a lavious buffet. We stay mostly at hotels that provide/offer a "nice" breakfast.

You get what you pay for!!!

I personally prefer breakfast at the hotel on most days. It is not generally cheaper than going to the corner shop but I like the convenience. I like to be able to go back to the room and finish getting ready for the day's adventures.

I'm not a coffee drinker but have noticed that you can get more than one cup of coffee at the hotel without the additional charge.

Have a fun trip!

I like having the option. Sometimes after a day or two I'm bored with the hotel breakfast and will search out neighborhood places. I don't feel obligated either way. But if the hotel breakfast is fresh and tasty, and not to my mind overpriced, I like going downstairs to start my day with breakfast, using the time to plan my day, and still having the opportunity to go back to my room to get ready for the day before venturing out.
Obviously there's no right or wrong answer here, just preference. :)

PS, hotel breakfasts in my experience, are rarely cheaper than what you can find in a neighborhood bakery or cafe.

Hi Brender, since I only want coffee first thing in the morning I don't want breakfast included as for me it is a waste of money. Also anytime the weather is even half way decent I want to sit at an outdoor cafe while I enjoy my coffee, people watch and wake up.

I stay at 3-star type hotels in Paris and the breakfast there never interested me.

Paris has so many bakeries and pastries shops on most streets. It's best to go out and try different ones each day. Hotel breakfasts are usually boring.

Hi B,

In France, the hotel cannot require you to have breakfast and must show how much you are being charged for it in addition to the room cost.

If you feeling like eating out, just tell them not to bill you fro breakfast. (Keep track of it.)

((I))

PS,

I have yet to find a hotel breakfast that, considering quality of what you get, is cheaper than going out to Denny's or McDonalds, etc.

((I))

If it's not a question of money (read: I don't need to worry about whether I've somehow "paid" for my hotel breakfast in the room price and thus am obligated to eat it), I like having the option. I like having coffee before getting really ready for the day, as a poster above mentioned. Again, it's more for the coffee than the food.

In fact, I generally stay in apartments because I enjoy lounging about in my pajamas drinking cup after cup of coffee.

I have no problem stopping again later for more/better coffee. Or a delicious pastry. ;)

Ditto on the a cafe for petit dejeuner. I like the idea of sitting at a cafe, planning my day, and just enjoying the ambience of the city while I eat. Sitting in a hotel means (to me) less time taking in the essence of Paris. I'm there, I want to be spending as much time as possible doing "Paris things".

Ah the morning coffee or evening hot cocoa.

I bring a "hot pot" and the coffee bags (like tea, but actual coffee) and the little hot cocoa mixes. The hot pot isn't a big deal, as I can stuff socks in it for travel, so it takes up almost no room. That way, when we're waking up we have that first cup of coffee. My power adapter works great, as the hotpot only uses 900 watts.

Then we are out to find some out-of-the-way cafe and watch the world go by.

dave

Sometimes we book special rates at our favorite hotel in Paris that comes with breakfast at no extra charge. In that case, we usually take advantage of the option to have breakfast in our room instead of going down for the buffet. It's a nice little luxury, to start off the day enjoying croissants and pain au chocolat, fresh sqeezed OJ and coffee or hot chocolate in our room. If the breakfast isn't part of a special rate, then we have it at a cafe nearby.

In Austria and Germany, breakfast is almost always included in the price of the hotels we stay at and we do enjoy those German/Austrian breakfast spreads.

I agree with Leely 100%.

Its the coffee, jump-start, that I truly enjoy...in my jammies, waiting for my hair to set/dry/lay down flat (i.e, serious bed-head), etc.

Plus, I sorta get a kick out of, lets say for example, France's version of Today or Good Morning America.

I've stayed in several hotels that offered breakfast delivered to your room at the same price as in the breakfast room. Though 6 Euros is a bit more than I would have paid for that coffee/roll/juice at a nearby cafe, it was less than half the cost of the same in-room breakfast in an American hotel, so a great treat for me. Since my regular routine includes coffee the minute I get out of bed, I loved havinfthe having coffee while I dressed and watched the weather forecast on French or Italian TV.
However, if the hotel's breakfast is not available in my room, I find my coffee eslewhere.

I don't eat breakfast at home, so I'd much rather pay less and get no hotel breakfast when traveling. Coffee is a definite morning must, but much more fun to go out for it. I gained weight on my last trip, despite lots of walking, because I often ate three meals a day instead of two. I also drink OJ at home, but have had some terrible excuses for it on the road!

I prefer to have breakfast in the hotel.The time of year plays an important rol, in Winter in Europe for instance it is much, much betterthan to go out. It is also true that in some hotels it is out of hand, our last stay in Amsterdam this last Feb/March the breafast was like 23 eu per person, which at the end of the day, in spite of being Winter prompt us to have breakfast in cafes for aprox 16 eu for both.And of course it would have been cheaper in other places .
Location of course is also a factor, like when in a Parador Nacional in Spain, since they are often located on top of hills and the like, it is imperative to have breakfast in the Parador but they are reasonable like 12 eu per person and since we qualify for Seniors there is a 35 per cent discount, and of course we never miss them. As some one said you can mix it up and have breakfast some times in the hotel some times out. In very tiny hotels this might no be possible.
In some hotels ,Hotel DONA mARIA ,4 STARS, COMES to my mind in Seville the breakfast was both bad and not cheap which prompt us to have it out after one try.Once during the off season we had a miserable breakfast in a 4 stars hotel, Best Western it was, facing the sea,forgot the name. Good luck.

The hotel with the shameful breakfast was in Santa Maria Ligure in Italy.
It was off seasons but fresh bread is not that difficult to get...

I never cared for breakfast in the hotel, just my coffee please, however, I have just returned from Norway and now I'm all about the hotel breakfast. OMG I have never been so impressed with a morning meal Norwegians lay out a buffet that is both healthy and delicious. No muffins, no doughnuts, no croissants, bagels or anything we do in the U.S. No fruit loops, cheerios or english muffins. Instead, they put out eggs, sausage, norwegian meatballs, 3 types of fish, fresh baked breads, flat breads, granola, fresh apricots, prunes, raisins, yogurt, fresh fruit, juices, coffee, tea, etc. With a breakfast like this, we didn't get hungry again until 4 pm. and then we ate the fruit we saved for snacks.

Good thing we ate well at breakfast as Norway is probably the most expensive city on the planet and by dinner time you are hungry but very aware that a good meal will cost about $45. Money aside Norway was wonderful.