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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Hotel breakfast

147 replies

Tirq3 · 31/05/2023 09:14

Firstly I know this is pretty minor!

I decided to treat my DD7 to a night away by the seaside in a hotel for half term. I’m on a low income so had to save up for it but really wanted to do something special as we can’t afford a proper holiday this year.

I chose the hotel carefully based on the facilities and menu etc. and decided to pay extra for breakfast after checking the menu online. DD won’t eat a cooked breakfast but they listed a selection of pastries and fresh fruit salad among the options which she will eat as well as cereal. I checked the breakfast options again with the receptionist when we checked in and she showed me the same menu.

We went down to breakfast just now and were told they didn’t have any pastries. So I asked if we could have a fresh fruit salad and they pointed at a bowl of tinned fruit cocktail. I asked if they had fresh fruit as per the menu and they looked really put out and said they would check if the kitchen could do that, then came back ten minutes later saying they couldn’t. (I was perfectly polite by the way)

AIBU to be a bit annoyed? Clearly fresh fruit is not something they ever usually have so I think it’s misleading to put it on the menu. I wouldn’t have bothered opting for the hotel breakfast if I’d known I’d be paying £15 for a bowl of Rice Krispies.

OP posts:

SkyandSurf · 31/05/2023 11:38

That's so cheeky of them.

Complain and ask for your money back.

They need to provide what they advertised or accept that people will want refunds .

Original poster

Tirq3 · 31/05/2023 11:39

Sorry I’ve not been back in a while, we’ve been at the beach. The Premier Inn controversy made me laugh! It wasn’t a Premier Inn but an independent hotel. Anyway they gave me a partial refund for one of the breakfasts which was enough to get a couple of ice creams. Thanks for the nice messages x

OP posts:

OttoGraph · 31/05/2023 11:40

I’d tell them that as half the breakfast items advertised were missing this morning you’re really disappointed Ted and would appreciate a refund on breakfast. Ask nicely and explain you believe it’s unfair of them to take your money for something they haven’t supplied.

OttoGraph · 31/05/2023 11:41

Glad they gave you a bit of a refund and you had a nice ice cream

BastetsWhiskers · 31/05/2023 11:43

I was salivating over the breakfast menu at a hotel recently, so understand your disappointment!

We got juices, fresh fruit and yoghurt, then full cooked. They did say cheeses which I didn't spot.

Hope ice cream was lovely :)

EvilElsa · 31/05/2023 11:45

Great! The Premier Inn stuff made me laugh too. Partial refund of one is a bit cheeky considering the bullshit menu and lack of choice, but you pick your battles and it's not worth ruining you break bickering with a hotel. The weather's been nice at least!

Lifeinlists · 31/05/2023 11:56

Elior · 31/05/2023 11:01

Premier Inn deal usually covers most fussy children and I always went for it with mine. Any old hotel making promises and charging that much would make me suspicious as they don't have the footfall to put on a huge spread. Anyway, we caught covid from 5* hotel breakfast buffets twice in the last year so I think we will go back to self-catering.

How did hotel breakfast buffets give you covid twice?

Have I missed something important?

musicforthesoul · 31/05/2023 11:58

Glad you got some nice ice creams.

If you want to do the night away again in the future you're generally better off skipping the breakfast in hotels in my experience and finding a cafe nearby unless you are pushed for time or breakfast is included in the room price.

You can normally find better options elsewhere unless you're staying somewhere remote.

mondaytosunday · 31/05/2023 12:08

No you are not at all unreasonable! Breakfast is one of my fav meals and it is one of the factors in choosing a hotel. Ask for a refund snd tell them you were disappointed.
And this is why customer service is so poor in this country. I stayed in a hotel in New Mexico (USA) and my companion asked if they had honey. They did not (snd it certainly wasn't listed in the menu), but the waiter/manager/owner (who knows) went out and bought some! And subsequent breakfasts it was on our table.

Cyclebabble · 31/05/2023 12:15

Hotels make good money on breakfasts. Your DD's needs were fairly straight forward and they could not meet them. So I would be asking for a refund. IMO you are right to feel agrieved.

Bunnycat101 · 31/05/2023 12:15

Hotel breakfast is the best bit if a stay away for me. You were right to raise it. Hope you enjoy the rest of your trip.

TakeMeDancingNakedInTheRain · 31/05/2023 12:15

If the breakfast isn't included in the price we find a nice cafe and go there, you get a far better breakfast than a mass cooked hotel one. For a child who won't eat a cooked breakfast I'd have just opted for a cafe or found a local supermarket even and got stuff myself and had a beach picnic.

Lysianthus · 31/05/2023 12:24

@Elior please do expand?

Coronationstation · 31/05/2023 12:26

FlamingoQueen · 31/05/2023 09:52

Ask for the £15 to be deducted from your bill - especially as you asked when checking in. It’s not a Premier Inn is it?

It's £9.99 for a full cooked breakfast and £7.99 for the continental option in Premier Inn but kids under 12 eat free if an adult buys the full cooked option. IME their fruit is usually fresh and if anything has run out they'll restock if asked or get you something from the kitchen if it's near the end of service and they aren't restocking the buffet.

TonTonMacoute · 31/05/2023 12:26

YANBU. They should provide the breakfast advertised.

However, why did you opt to pay £15 extra for breakfast if you knew she would only eat fruit and cereal?

Spanglybangles · 31/05/2023 12:26

Definitely ask for a refund as that’s pretty bad. I know it’s not UK, but we were in Canada earlier this year and the hotel breakfasts were brilliant. I specifically picked hotels with breakfast included as we are a family of 4 and the cost could add up to eat breakfast out daily.

Each hotel had much the same choices, but included actual fresh fruit, yogurts, cereals, porridge, cooked breakfast items, various pastries, muffins, cookies, toast and make your own waffle and pancake machines. I was really impressed particularly as the prices paid for bed and breakfast for us all in decent enough 3 star hotels were very reasonable (highest being £169 but that was in a Vancouver airport hotel).

kitsuneghost · 31/05/2023 12:32

I would ask for a refund for the breakfast

Tiredalwaystired · 31/05/2023 12:33

Complain. The only caveat to that is if breakfast finished at 9.30 and you made it down at 9.28. Then I would say if you really wanted pastries you should have got there earlier. But otherwise £15 for Rice Krispies is ridiculous and they haven’t provided the promised service.

Tabitha1960 · 31/05/2023 12:36

They lied.

Goodoccasionallypoor · 31/05/2023 12:41

It's totally reasonable to ask for a refund for one of the breakfasts op. No need to mention your income to them - just say they did not provide multiple items they advertised and confirmed on check in.

3luckystars · 31/05/2023 12:51

Fruit cocktail in a tin would have crossed the line for me too.

I like tinned fruit, but fruit cocktail in a tin is absolutely disgusting. I have a memory of my mother putting some into a baked Alaska and even at that young age, thinking ‘why’ ??

It just ruins everything.

gogohmm · 31/05/2023 12:54

Complain, I managed to get a 50% refund at premier inn because they didn't have a working coffee machine (and that's all I really wanted, bad hangover )

rookiemere · 31/05/2023 12:58

@gogohmm that's good going because the PI coffee tastes like dishwasher liquid anyway. I always bring my own coffee bags.

SparklyTwinkleGlitter · 31/05/2023 13:06

A partial refund isn't good enough. They've misled you by false advertising so consider writing to them when you get home to complain again.

I rarely pay for hotel breakfasts unless it's a 5 star hotel somewhere really remote. If you're staying in a seaside resort, surely they have a couple of decent independent cafes? The coffee is usually much nicer too at a good Indy cafe.

TheMurderousGoose · 31/05/2023 13:07

You'd checked and double checked as to what they claimed was available for breakfast, so good for you for getting the partial refund.

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