We ventured out for a hotel weekend for a family event and what used to be a generous hot buffet breakfast was reduced to packaged pastries in a bag.

And I realized how the hotel breakfast is/was a big part of my pleasure in a hotel, not just the convenience but as a congenial way to start the day.

Room service isn’t the answer either (for me) because it seems like having the worst table in a restaurant, close to the damp bathroom towels,

Perhaps the breakfast buffet will return when ......

I hear you!

For various reason since the Covid-19 came on the scene in early March we've had to stay in hotels on 6 different occasions and in each case the "Free Breakfasts" (be they a basic one like you find at any of the chain hotels or a full buffet like you find at upscale hotels) were replaced by a "Grab and Go" bag containing a piece of fruit (usually an apple or orange), some type of pre-packaged pastry and a small bottle of water - not anything that I normally have to start off my day. In addition, if you were staying for multiple days you had to make up your own bed as they did not provide daily housekeeping service. If needed you could request fresh towels, soap and other toiletries and trash pickup. In house restaurants, pools, business centers and work-out rooms were closed. In short, the hotels were no longer providing their normal full service yet we didn't experience any reduction in the room rates.

We all know how 9/11 ruined air travel and now Covid-19 added to the misery (wearing masks for hours on end when in the airport and planes, no in-flight food and beverage services, etc.) and plunging hotels into a similar downward spiral. One can only wonder if we will ever return to the days when travel was an event to be enjoyed.

In a couple weeks I've got another trip that I can't skip and, quite frankly, I'm just not all that enthused about it.

I am not normally big on hotel breakfasts, but when we were in Dresden in January, the hotel we stayed at had the best hotel breakfast I have ever had. The waitress would do special order of omelets etc but there was also a massive buffet spread, with very good offerings. My husband had stayed there numerous times and he insisted on staying there again and opting for the breakfast. I was very surprised at how good it was, and told him he did good I am curious how that hotel is handling it now, but regardless it was a very nice way to go with travel getting halted immediately after that.

Breakfast is one of my favorite meals ( lunch and dinner are the others). I will pay a bit more for lodging if I know I will get a good breakfast.

I'll miss European breakfasts. Won't miss the the American version.

We were given bagels, cream cheese packets, apples, granola bars, pastry, juice and water in a brown bag at Residence Inn Mayo Clinic. It was safer than the former large hot buffet during this difficult time.

Wonder what this means for cruises? Family members who have cruised say all meals were buffet.

ALL cruise meals are not buffet. It must have been your family members' preference. All of the big ships I've been on have what's called "Main Dining Room" with seated service for free, at least for dinner and usually breakfast as well. In addition there are a lot of sit-down specialty restaurants but those were an added charge, usually.

The big cruise lines are looking into how to handle service in buffets if and when they are able to reopen. Possibly will go to having staff plate your food from the line, as was previously done on a few lines (I'm trying to recall but I think maybe Holland America did this).

They'll still have to work out the social distancing part though since those buffets tend to get very jammed up.

Back to the original post, I don't make hotel breakfasts a priority, since I tend to leave before they open up, but sometimes they are worth sleeping in for, especially in countries where the food is new to you so you can sample this and that.

Yeah, European breakfasts hadn’t occurred to me. I would miss those.

us, not so much. Even “good” ones are rarely truly good, and most of the time, the timing doesn’t work out.

I'm with you, OP. I've always kind of enjoyed the breakfast buffet. A hot breakfast isn't something we do a lot at home. When away, it's nice to spend a little time but agree that eating in the room doesn't quite to it. Unless you have a suite, its not a easy space to mess with trays and cleanup and so on.

Mind you, we've gotten ill from breakfast buffets from time to time, including in nice hotels.

I will miss hotel breakfast in new cities (for me)....but I have been warned by so many serious travelers and medical friends to stay away from buffet EGGS that I don't even consider them.

I worry a bit more about cut up fruit, actually.

I won't eat it.

I've gone to whole fruit. Navel oranges for a long time. Now that it's peach season, peaches for breakfast! No more pre-cut fruit, cheese, etc. for me.

Cruise ships will not be back until there is a vaccine.

Breakfast buffets? Really? That's odd.