Once a hallmark of hotel luxury, the breakfast buffet is under scrutiny for its waste, overconsumption and environmental impact. https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20250815-the-slow-death-of-the-breakfast-buffet
(Posting for interest. I like hotel breakfasts!)
Many adore the hotel breakfast, I do get it, and I even stay a place or two that offers it as part of the room price, more often I decline the breakfast for a 30 to 50 euro price break, or am staying in a place that does not offer breakfast.
I have had some very good breakfasts, most have not been buffet, but cooked to order at a B&B, and maybe a good buffet at a higher end hotel, but most, in more budget friendly options, are "just OK". I can remember our first trips a couple decades ago, when buffets were much more prominent, after a couple weeks of travel, if I saw another bread roll and cold cut, I thought I would get violently ill.
But, many are of the persuasion where they need a big breakfast immediately in the morning, and in much of Europe, the options, especially South, are few at 7:00 AM, and rarely much before 9 or 10. My wife and I, luckily, are not, and much prefer to find great coffee, maybe a yogurt or a pastry/toast, and are fine.
But to the point of the article, about any traveler can tell you stories of things seen at a breakfast buffet, regarding gluttony, greed, or waste.
That's very interesting and I can definitely see the issues they talk about. I don't like food waste, but breakfast is my favorite meal, so it's a conundrum. I do like the various ideas listed of downsizing muffins and breads, and using smaller plates, though. I've stayed at a number of places that only have small plates available and tiny muffins set out.
That said, if I had a choice, I would rather order from a menu if possible. I know the food will be fresher and made to order, and hopefully I won't waste it.
I like when a hotel includes breakfast because we like to get an early start and it makes that easier. With a buffet I can control my timing more easily.
Not in Europe, but we were just on a weekend trip with our grandkids and the hotel breakfast buffet was great for them. They only have the patience for so many sit down meals in a day :-)
after a couple weeks of travel, if I saw another bread roll and cold cut, I thought I would get violently ill.
Ha! I can see that happening. I think my trips are short enough that I'm more in the club of waking up the first day back home and wondering why there's no spread laid out for me!
From the article;
a small, thoughtfully planned, cooked-to-order breakfast menu can
provide a more restful and luxurious experience for guests.
I don't want that. I rarely eat lunch and want to be a reasonably healthy glutton at breakfast. The budget chain hotel breakfasts aren't for me but I'd miss the upper scale buffets. Two come to mind on my last trip, at the Radisson Blu in Zurich and Hotel Jakarta in Amsterdam. Those breakfasts are a good part of the reason that we're returning to Hotel Jakarta during our short stay in Amsterdam and trying the Radisson Blu in Bruges this Fall.
If you're traveling for business, a buffet is great because you're not looking for a luxurious experience - just efficiency. Also good for traveling families with children to indulge.
I'm not a breakfast person, just needing a little bit of fuel to jump start the day. So what we used to call the "continental breakfast" is enough for me. The traditional 3-C French breakfast makes sense to me.
Seeing fellow Americans upset when they cant get US-style eggs and bacon or pancakes with syrup in Europe, is a minor source of amusement.
I noticed a large change at the nice hotel where I stayed two years in a row at Estepona, Spain. The first year it was a gigantic buffet - so many choices that really did feel like excess! Last February, they served by a very small menu of made-to-order hot dishes. But other locations in Spain were still serving the buffet type breakfast.
My preference in Europe? I do prefer food ready to eat. When I am taking an early train, I can have a very quick breakfast. And, if I am not in a hurry, I can have easy access to a second cup of coffee or a little more orange juice. I don’t overeat because three weeks of that would not be helpful for my limited wardrobe- LOL! Usually the “buffet type” set up in my Italian small hotels or B&B’s that I frequent isn’t a big spread of food. It is a small dining room side table with some cold meat, cheese, bread, yogurt and fruit, along with a baked treat they made that morning. And they ask whether I want an espresso or cappuccino. It can be quick, but it is very limited food they would potentially be wasting because they’re hosting a smaller number of people, and they just replenish their small serving dishes as needed.
I'm like Mardee; breakfast is my favourite meal. And, like Patricia, I enjoy the timing a buffet allows, where I don't need to wait to order, etc. Like Allan, I want to be a "reasonably healthy glutton at breakfast," to sustain me through what is usually a long and busy morning.
I like having more variety than is typically offered when ordering off a menu, especially with fresh fruit offerings, and I like that I can control the portions of each item on my plate. I delight when buffets offer local dishes, in addition to North American breakfast "standards."
However, for decades I've been aware that buffets are wasteful, so I will completely understand if they go the way of the dodo.
Yes, when we have a breakfast buffet we over indulge, especially the first few days. But as we get older and wiser, we have learned to minimize what we take, and eat what we take.
This past March in Tokyo, our last hotel had a very small, limited buffet and a menu with 3 choices. It was a nice alternative.
We would not be upset if the breakfast buffet disappeared and a menu for breakfast was available. Maybe it would slow the rise of prices at hotels in the future.
I would be fine if the demise of the buffet breakfast came to pass. But I understand the concept of "different strokes for different folks." So my opinion doesn't matter any more than anyone else's.
Things that do matter to the hotels that will be making the decision:
Hotels will have to weigh these factors (and maybe others I've left out) to determine whether or not to continue offering breakfast buffets. And I doubt they will include factors regarding our personal preferences, except insofar as they affect our loyalty to their brand.
Mary, I’m like you, re- entry to the real world after I come home is tough. Where’s my breakfast, where’s the fun stuff I get to do today!? What do you mean I have to cook and do laundry again!?!
Seriously, the only time I do hotel breakfast is when I’m on a RS tour but I really like it. I can get a healthy protein in me as well as maybe a little local bread or sweet and it does really last awhile. When I’m a solo traveler, which is often, I buy a scone or croissant the afternoon before and have it with my tea the next morning. I just don’t want to add the expense of the hotel breakfast and many places I stay don’t offer them. I enjoy the slower start to the day but it isn’t as healthy. I frequently don’t have a frig in the room to stock anything better.
And I have to say on the many tours I’ve been on I haven’t seen anyone wasting food.
I don't usually eat much at breakfast and if there's a buffet I'll typically have some cheese, cold cuts, fish etc. The exception to that recently was the Radisson Blu in Gdansk where the buffet was so good with a huge choice and variety it was a shame not to indulge. It's by far the best breakfast spread I've experienced in a hotel and I understand it's similar at other Radisson hotels so I'm looking forward to my forthcoming stay at a Radisson in Baku.
Typically though I'd rather focus on lunch as food is such an important part of my travel so I'd prefer not to fill up on what is generally cheap, lower quality fare and seek out something decent for a proper lunch.
For me, the breakfast buffet is part of the travel experience, and I love seeing all the different food choices! My favorite thing is all the choices on the automatic coffee machine:)
The downfall for me is that I always come home weighing more than when I left:(
Personally, I like the breakfast buffets, particularly in my travels to Japan. I typically stay in a business hotel which provides a small buffet. After years of getting up and rushing out every morning, it is nice to go to the buffet and linger for a while before heading out for the day.
Most Japanese breakfast buffets have a mix of western and Japanese items so it gives me an easy way to sample some new dishes without ordering a meal I may not like at a restaurant. And it often provides an opportunity to chat with fellow travelers, either westerners visiting the country or someone like the retired Japanese school teacher who chided me (gently) for my incorrect pronunciation of Aomori.
And usually the pricing is very reasonable - either free or a low rate (maybe the equivalent of US$10 or so) which makes them a good value.
My biggest issue with any sort of buffet is hygiene. People come to the line without having washed their hands. The better buffets at least provide a dish for placing serving utensils next to the food dish rather than dropping it in on the food itself. If you simply sit and watch how people serve themselves for 10 minutes, it ends up being less than appetizing. My solution is to go to breakfast as soon as it opens before the crowds have come to spread their mess.
Do they really put everything not used into the bin each day? I'd always assumed it was like a typical Spanish tapa bar. Everything not sold that evening is put into the cupboard and brought back out the next day to try and sell again.
Most American hotel breakfast buffets are awful. Pasteurized liquid eggs, underseasoned and overcooked to the point of turning gray. Store-bought "bread" products. Under-ripe melon. A basket of cheap apples. Always a disappointment. As a diabetic, I am always stuck with the plain yogurt, which I really don't care for.
Meanwhile, the continental breakfasts in the few European hotels I have stayed in have been just the thing.
"My biggest issue with any sort of buffet is hygiene."
Oh yes, totally agree with this! I am not a breakfast eater in general but I do usually have breakfast the first few days of a trip. I think it helps reset the circadian rhythm of my stomach, lol. (And yes, I've read that each organ in your body has a different circadian rhythm all of which get out of whack traveling across time zones!). I'm an early riser and want coffee by 6A so I try to be one of the first to breakfast.
The Ibis Styles St Andrew Square in Edinburgh had an awesome breakfast buffet including salmon and eggs.
I do want 3 or 4 cups of coffee but usually have to start in my room because I want it right away, lol.
Hygiene is overrated. Back in the good old days, like the Middle Ages, the breakfast buffets would leave the mutton out for days and it just improved the flavor... or so I am told.
I like a good all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet but alas it is bad for my waistline! (With that said, I'm thinking I really should travel to Gdansk to enjoy the spread at the Radisson. I imagine a good fish selection with lox and other smoked delicacies that will boost my vitamin E levels. Good for the waistline too!)
Happy travels.
I like the buffet, if it seems to be included in my room price...if it's not, then I calculate the number of mornings I have to be out and about really early/no time to eat leisurely, and often it wouldn't be worth it. A few hotels in my travels over the years really impressed me with their spread--the Metropol in Munich, Medosz in Budapest, the Von Stackelberg in Tallinn. At the very least it's nice if rolls, pastries, fruit, and perhaps yogurt is offered--I do best if I have some protein to get me off to a good start.
I love the breakfast buffets in Europe but in the US, not so much. At home I don’t eat breakfast but when I travel I like to have a nice breakfast then something easy for lunch like a slice of pizza or even just an ice cream or gelato. I walk so much on vacation it’s nice to start the day with a good, easy to get breakfast. In Europe there is usually so much variety on their buffets and it’s interesting to see what people in other countries eat.
Never been a big breakfast eater so I’ll get a piece of fruit for a mid day/night time snack, and make some toast.
That keeps me going till about 3pm when I get my main meal of the day. Usually back in my room before 7pm. If hungry I’ll eat the piece of fruit. Not hungry it goes in my Baggalini back pack for the next day’s consumption.
I’m big on getting cheese slices, crackers and eating the apple or pear or plum I might have taken from the buffet. Perfect combo.
I've disciplined myself to stay away from the North American selections of bacon, pancakes, etc. and try to stick to yogurt with granola and a banana, however my kryotonite is freshly squeezed orange juice and Nutella (not together). Since it's considered uncouth, I don't stick a spoon in the Nutella bowl at the buffet table and lick it clean. Instead I'm forced to add a couple of chocolate croissants to my plate to go with the it. And since I'm having the croissants, I'm forced to wash it down with extra glasses of orange juice. As I see it, the fruit and yogurt cancel out the Nutella and croissants, resulting in a calorie neutral breakfast.
Mmmm. Nutella. One of the best things about European breakfast buffets.
With that said, I'm thinking I really should travel to Gdansk to enjoy the spread at the Radisson. I imagine a good fish selection with lox and other smoked delicacies that will boost my vitamin E levels. Good for the waistline too!)
Yes, plenty of lox along with herrings (done multiple ways), sprats, smoked salmon and some other local fish along with a myriad of cheese, hams and other cured meat, cured sausages, salads, fermented foods, yoghurts, fruit, cereal, bread, pastries, Polish cheesecakes and chocolate cake plus the obligatory Western eggs, bacon, sausage, mushrooms etc. You can also order a selection of cooked to order dishes. It is a very impressive breakfast buffet.
I'm with Mardee! I need a substantial breakfast to start the day when on vacation. The buffet breakfast serves as a good place to have lots of choices, so I hope it is not being phased out!
We eat healthy foods at breakfast--starting with fruit--but then like a substantial breakfast--not a snack of carbs.
For those who have Celiac Disease, a breakfast of cereal, croissant and coffee means they can only drink the coffee.
Most hotels serving a tiny continental breakfast do not bother to stock gluten-free items.
Celiac Disease is an autoimmune condition giving the sufferer stomach and intestinal pain, but it also affects the whole body, with joint pain and muscle weakness.
Diabetes is another medical condition that limits tolerance for carbs--A load of breads, cereal and pastries for breakfast will not be good for this person.
Those with diabetes will need a breakfast of protein, meat, cheese, plus fruit. They are restricted in the amount of carbs/servings of bread they can consume. So the tiny meager breakfast served by some B&B's or hotels--cereal, croissant and coffee means they can only drink the coffee. Doughnut and coffee put out by some cheapo-hotels just will not do.
I say, please keep the breakfast buffets! Choice is a good thing.
And remember that waste can happen even if someone orders a made-to-order breakfast from a menu and then leaves half of it. So that's not the solution to waste.
People need to exercise restraint at the breakfast bar.
Good article; thanks for posting.
One hotel in the article now puts out signs, polite reminders near buffet stations: "Take only what you can eat."
Perhaps this will help remind people not to waste food.
I agree with mnannie, above: "For me, the breakfast buffet is part of the travel experience, and I love seeing all the different food choices!"
For me, as the person who prepares one meal after another at home, it's a welcome break to come downstairs in the morning at my hotel and find the breakfast bar, where someone else has laid out quite an array of goodies.
Hotel breakfasts while in Europe? Yup...need to lay the foundation each day.
I used to eat WAY too much when confronted with a buffet. Now, for breakfast I'm more apt to grab some porridge with brown sugar, a pastry, bagel or toast, some fruit &/or yoghurt and COFFEE! When in UK I do love to occasionally have their 'full English' as a special treat and I also love to have a cream tea for elevenses. I do agree buffets can be wasteful, cause folks to over consume & sometimes not be as hygienic as you might wish.
