When planning your holiday, it’s tempting to skip the hotel breakfast in favour of exploring local cafés and restaurants. Often, travellers assume that venturing out for a coffee and a croissant will offer a more authentic or cheaper experience. However, we discovered during recent trips—not just in Switzerland, where it’s well known that everything is so expensive, but also in Lisbon, Portugal, and beyond—that this is not always the case. In fact, we found that a simple coffee and pastry at a local café could easily cost more than the full breakfast provided by a hotel.
Hotel breakfasts often boast a wide variety of options that go far beyond the humble croissant and espresso. From freshly made egg omelettes and soups to a selection of cheeses, cold cuts, cereals, yogurt, and plenty of fresh fruit, the spread can be surprisingly generous and well balanced. Having a good portion of fruit is particularly important while travelling, as it ensures you get plenty of fibre and vitamins—nutrients that can easily be neglected on the road. Add to that the almost endless supply of hot and cold drinks, and you have a hearty, healthy start to your day without the hassle of hunting down a café. What’s more, the attentive service from professional and friendly wait staff, who continually ensure your needs are met, adds a touch of luxury that is often underestimated. For my trips, sticking to the hotel breakfast was not only more convenient but also better value, allowing me to savour local flavours in comfort before setting out to explore.
TOP TIP: No two hotels are the same, so I recommend looking at recent reviews of the hotel to find out what people say about the breakfast. Quality can improve and deteriorate, which is why it is important to focus on more recent reviews.
