To have assumed this about breakfast?

[YouWhatLove]

Staying in a country pub with rooms for a couple of nights away with my dc. We went down for breakfast this morning and the waitress asked if we wanted the continental breakfast for £7.95 or the cooked breakfast for £10.95 (slightly cheaper for dc but can’t remember the price). We all had the cooked breakfast, she took our orders and went off.

I then went to the continental buffet bit and got juice for dc, a cup of tea for myself and 2 slices of toast to go with our cooked breakfast. She delivered the cooked breakfast, it was all very nice and then she presented us with the bill that charged us for 3 x continental breakfast and 3 x cooked breakfast. I said she’d charged us twice and she said that she’d seen me go to the buffet so had to charge me. After a bit of a fuss she agreed to only charge for the cooked breakfast but said to not do it tomorrow and that if I wanted tea/ juice/ toast I had to order it with my breakfast.

I haven’t stayed in that many places that offered a continental and cooked breakfast at a separate price but was I being cheeky to assume the cost of a cooked breakfast included juice and toast from the buffet bit? I’m sure when I’ve stayed in Premier Inn or similar that’s been the case or maybe I’ve just been nicking stuff without realising it 😬

Yes you were being cheeky!

Would you rather have the coat or the blazer, ma’am?

I’ll take the coat, but help myself to the brass buttons on the blazer

🤦‍♀️

@alphons I’m sure at other places it’s been the norm to do it. I wasn’t deliberately being cheeky.

No ignore previous poster! in a hotel usually having the cooked means you have full cold buffet as well. This is more like a small cafe though I guess, though not very competitive if is charging that much!

I would expect tea or coffee to come with the cooked breakfast.

YANBU at all - wherever I’ve stayed in hotels (whether chains like Premier Inn or independents) and paid for breakfast, it’s been a fixed price for continental breakfast or, if you want cooked, then there’s a supplement on top and you can have whatever you like from
the continental buffet and then either choose a plated cooked breakfast or help yourself from
the hot buffet.

It’s usual to have at least a cuppa tea with cooked breakfast!

I would say the buffet is included with a cooked breakfast usually.

i would expect drinks and toast too.

but if they didn’t bring them, I would ask, I wouldn’t go into the buffet area and help myself.

I’ve stayed in lots of places where you help yourself to juice etc when you have cooked breakfast. I’d probably have assumed the same.

So tea/coffee/juice and toast are only with the continental?

Agree that's very unclear. Usually expect those with the cooked breakfast too.

I thought you were going to say you got pastries etc even then though... It seems a strange system.

That’s not usual at all in hotels. You either pay for the continental buffet OR you order a cooked breakfast off the menu. Neither one includes the other.

Always get to go to the buffet at a hotel and extra for cooked breakfast in some places. Hopefully tomorrow the toast will come with your cooked breakfast as well as tea...all included in the price. Her attitude would put me off the place to be honest.

As OP says, many places do a help yourself to toast and juice thing while you wait for the cooked breakfast to come out.

Did the waiting staff not ask if you wanted toast and fruit juice OP?

I can’t remember what the menu said but I’m pretty sure it was just the prices for a continental breakfast, a cooked breakfast and then a slightly higher price for eggs Benedict. I don’t remember there being itemised costs for tea, juice, toast etc as I’d have probably been more likely to order tea if that was the case. I could be wrong though, I’ll check in the morning.

I would also have assumed that the continental was included with the cooked breakfast - that’s been the case wherever I’ve stayed.

She’s wrong, you’re correct - I’m very well travelled. If this is the pub’s policy they should be named and shamed in your review.

It's not like that at all, it's an extension of the original thing.

I'm with you OP, I can't believe they charged you for both, crazy 😆

I think if the place was primarily a hotel then YANBU, but if it was a pub with rooms, then YABU to assume it would include it.

I’d never assume and would check the menu if I wasn’t in a hotel.

@PuppyMonkey she didn’t ask about drinks or I would’ve ordered with her. She just asked if I wanted the continental or cooked breakfast.

I would have totally done the same!
Very odd on their part in my opinion!

I’m glad to hear it’s relatively normal at least. I’ve been remembering all the places I’ve stayed over the years and wondering if I’d been inadvertently nicking stuff.

Never been anywhere where the cooked breakfast doesn't including the "continental" buffet.

Me neither and I would have done the same as you did OP.

Of course you were being cheeky. You chose a cooked breakfast then went and helped yourself to the continental buffet. I'm surprised you got away with not paying tbh

This sounds like a very weird place - is it Fawlty Towers.