To consume shop-bought food and drink in a hotel?

[Alcemeg]

Four nights at a nice French hotel where we feel a bit out of place (other guests a bit snooty). Dinner in the restaurant here is a very hushed and formal affair -- not inclined to repeat the experience. It's also very rich food, served slowly, so you go to bed feeling as though you've swallowed a tub of cement. It's hard to sleep after that little lot.

Our room has a little terrace overlooking the hills. Our preference is to grab our own food and drink from a supermarket when out exploring during the day and stash it in an ice box so we can do our own thing when we get back to our room. But is this a bad thing? Is it rude to the hosts?

YANBU = Go ahead, relax and enjoy your terrace views while scoffing a big fat sarnie washed down with local wine

YABU = Only eat and drink your own stuff secretly in your room with the curtains drawn, or in a layby on the way back from the shops

Do what makes you comfortable

You're in a hotel, you're not obliged to use the restaurant. A balcony picnic sounds lovely!

Of course you can! You’re not obliged in any way to eat at the hotel’s restaurant - and you can use the room you’ve paid for to sit and enjoy food you’ve bought elsewhere!

I went to a fancy hotel once with DH and we were so exhausted after a day exploring we sat in bed with a bottle of wine, chips and dips for dinner. It was great! Big fluffy duvet and squishy pillows and junk food.

Absolutely love a hotel picnic.

French McDonald’s sell macarons.. just saying.

I eat & drink supermarket food in hotel rooms all the time, most recently an M&S picnic in my room in the Hilton on Edgware Road.

I'm just terrified of the owners, who walk past now and then to tend to the grounds. I don't know if they would be furious if we sat there snacking and drinking away when their restaurant is just round the corner. On the plus side, we feel this saves bothering them every 10 minutes for another tiny beer (DH drinks fast!) 😋

This is completely normal behaviour in hotels. You have absolutely zero obligation to eat in the restaurant

I do this all the time. Sometimes the food gets eaten on the bed, not even out on the terrace. Let them be furious - you’re paying for your room and can do whatever you want in it!

Enjoy your balcony picnic (or find a relaxed local bistro) , just don’t leave a big mess for staff to clear up.

Bon appetite!

You are able to take your own food

We don’t have stocked minibars in the hotel I work in due to food waste, but we’ve left the fridges and encourage guests to buy drinks and snacks from the supermarket across the road to keep there!

How is this even a question? It is entirely normal to eat whatever you want in your own hotel room.

Four nights at a nice French hotel where we feel a bit out of place (other guests a bit snooty). Dinner in the restaurant here is a very hushed and formal affair -- not inclined to repeat the experience. It's also very rich food, served slowly, so you go to bed feeling as though you've swallowed a tub of cement.

This made me laugh! Yes, sounds like France! 😂 silent, overly fancy, very slow meals and being looked up and down constantly.

Are there other less formal restaurants/ cafes around?

Consider eating a proper meal at noon then having wine, bread and cheese on the balcony in the evening.

Why not go out and find a nice little restaurant and a bar. I wouldn't want to stay holed up in my room all the time.

Misread which way round you had Aibu initially and wondered why it was so high!
Do it and enjoy!!

@PurpleDaisies

How is this even a question? It is entirely normal to eat whatever you want in your own hotel room.

@PurpleDaisies We're not really hotel people. We usually stay in self-catering places. And we feel a bit out of our depth here as it's so posh.

@Animood
Yes, you've got it exactly spot on in your description! And we were wondering that, about having the main meal earlier. Great advice, thank you.

Driving out at night doesn't appeal to me much as we're in the middle of nowhere with windy, one-track roads.

I will snack with confidence tomorrow evening!

There is no obligation whatsoever to eat in a hotel restaurant or to refrain from eating food bought elsewhere whilst enjoying your room's balcony and view. You are fully entitled to enjoy your holiday as you propose. If the hotel notice at all, their response should be to improve what they are offering to make it more appealing, not to disapprove.

@DartmoorChef

Why not go out and find a nice little restaurant and a bar. I wouldn't want to stay holed up in my room all the time.

But if someone else who wasn't you wanted to do that and was perfectly happy to do it of course it's fine.

If I wanted to stay and enjoy my balcony why would I care what you prefer . People should do what they want to do on holiday.

I can't believe this is even a question! Have you never stayed in a hotel before? What would make you think there's something not right about taking food and drink to consume in your room?

Hotel room picnics in France are the best! Baguette, french cheeses, remoulade, those peanutty things they always put out in cafes with drinks, olives, all washed down with tons of ludicrously cheap but good red wine.

How will you freeze your ice packs? The practicalities always bug me.

But YANBU.

I blew DPs mind by ordering pizza to our hotel room. It's allowed!

And when we stayed in Rome over Christmas we spent Christmas eve touring the best delis and choosing what we fancied and the day itself having an outstanding and amazing picnic of Roman goodies.

Ah... I love hotels...

Thanks everyone for the reassurance.

We're not using ice packs, just bags of ice from the supermarket frozen section.

I wish I'd asked sooner. This is the second night I've been too scared to eat outside! Tomorrow it will be an absolute event.