AIBU to sit in Costa for 2 hours?

Not been in this situation, all depends on why i would need 2 hours and if any otjer establishmens nearby.. If i had a 2 hour wait I would probably use the time to pop to a couple of shops, get a coffee and wait in my car. I wouldn't fancy just sitting down in one seat for that long really. Xx

Longest I've stayed is 45minutes, whilst I wait for the best part of my MOT to be done (it's on the same street) but it's weird when the coffee is gone so then I just walk up and down til it's finished.

It depends. I met a friend recently, 3 of us couldn't get a seat in our local coffee shop as x 2 tables for 4 taken by 1 person on each with Lap top presume working.

One of the costas near me would be almost empty if people didn’t use it as a place to study. I use it to study and will often stay up to three hours after buying coffee and cake and then just an orange juice or something. When a coffee costs £4-5 I feel no shame in sitting there for as long as I want.

If they didn’t want people to use them as a place for work or study, they wouldn’t provide so many plug sockets, or tables that only comfortably seat one person.

Thirty minutes.

As long as you want/ until they kick you out. Nice to relax without worrying?! In an independent you should at least buy another coffee.

I think an hour would be the maximum I’d stay, although I can’t remember having been in there longer than maybe 30 minutes before. More than an hour and I’d order another drink.

It's a massive corporation with concessions in every supermarket. I wouldn't feel bad sitting for a couple of hours with one overpriced coffee.

Not that the atmosphere in there is particularly pleasant. Nero and pret has better seating/decor and coffee if you're going to a chain I think.

In an independent smaller shop I'd not want to block a table for more than about an hour max if only having one drink.

My coffee is too cold after 5mins let alone 40! And it’s not milky!

I’d say 30 mins to an hour depending on how busy they are.

I'd say an hour per drink is fair.

I am amazed at people saying the drinks in Costa are hot! I always find them lukewarm and apparently they serve them at drinking temperature rather than time for cooling (probably due to wanting people to drink up and more customers can be seated). I have to ask for my drinks extra hot.
I would only spend around 30 mins max, as I would have downed my drink within the first 10 mins. If meeting a friend I would then feel I would need to order another to stay longer.

Our local Starbucks is full of students with laptops and books … they spend hours there. It is huge though.

Don't people tend to go in coffee shops for a reason like meeting friends or having a meeting etc so not literally just to neck a drink? Pointless to go in for less than 45 mins to an hour really unless you are busy and just want a drink.

It depends on how busy it is. If there are free tables and not preventing anyone else from sitting down, I think you can stay as long as you want.

1 hour. Although agree with others that I would stay longer if not busy. Wouldn't stay longer in a small business

No way would a coffee stay hot for half an hour! How long do you take to drink?!

I think it depends on the Costa, how busy it is etc.

When I moved to my house the wifi wasn't set up yet, so I worked in my local Costa for about three straight days. I bought a drink every 2 hours, and it was never busy in that time (its huge). Had it got busy I'd have moved on.

I wouldn't do it in a small business.

An hour tops ,2 hrs I'd be bored out of my mind.id have exhausted my people watching and a wee scroll in that time.

This. But generally I don’t feel guilty with the big chains. Id probably not do longer than an hour without buying a second though!

Maybe it’s our local ones, but it’s not even cool enough to start drinking until at least 30 minutes in - I don’t know what they do to it!

I go to my local Costa often to study for a change of scene. Nice atmosphere, comfortable and around half full. I get a large latte and stay about an hour. If I have time and want to stay longer, I get another one. It genuinely takes me over 30 mins to drink one of their coffees as they come out so hot and I don’t mind it as it cools. I’d never order a hot chocolate though, always drink them in 5 mins flat!

I go in there at other times eg with the kids and have spent a fortune there over the years!

It depends if it's busy. If it's not, it's better for the business to have a customer at some tables than to look empty.

That said, id stay a long as I needed/wanted to, but can't see it being much longer than 30 min.

I was in a coffee shop in a nice market town recently and many tables were taken with what I assume were sixth form students actually studying ...with books. I've never seen that before.

Coffee would be stone cold in an hour and I don't take milk

I sat and nursed a Costa coffee while I was waiting for DH to finish his first chemo session one Christmas Eve, it was mid lockdown and while Costa were open I couldn't be on the ward with him. Home was over 90 minutes away, the weather was truly awful and Costa was nearby, open, warm and dry. I was there for over two hours, no-one challenged me, there were free tables so I assumed it was OK.

How on earth can it take you 30-40 mins to drink a coffee?! However hot it starts off, it's going to be only warmish within 15 minutes!