Taking food from a hotel breakfast buffet- cheeky??

[Nannyogg134]

Was chatting with Brother and SIL about their upcoming holiday. They've got a long drive with 2 young DCs, so they've booked a chain hotel with free buffet breakfast part way along (to break up the drive.) DM said "Oh good, don't forget to make sandwiches for the drive later.".
This led to a whole family breakdown of what it is/isn't cheeky to do at a breakfast buffet 😂...

• DM would happily take tupperware with her and fill up because 'it's been paid for' (I don't think she does take tupperware, I think it was a figure of speech!)
• DH said he's too embarrassed to take anything more than a banana for later.
• DSIL confessed that she can't resist taking pots of jam

I just wondered what everyone thought- Is it unreasonable to take from the buffet breakfast for 'later'?

Some UK hotels use the app TooGoodToGo (TGTG) and can get a magic bag of either hot food or continental bits.

They are usually available to pick up 10am-10:30am.

Have bought a magic bag and collected it from a hotel on the rare occasion where I have done a group litter pick near or the way back from one of these hotels. Just the job for when I have worked hard.

I have taken a few pieces of fruit before
I don't eat breakfast but often go on minibreaks and have had work trips in the past, with those who do and if the room and breakfast has been paid for and all I am using up is black coffee, I don't see it as doing any harm for me to take some fruit with me for later on-it still costs the hotel less than if I'd have ordered the full english (or whatever) that I was entitled to.

From a foreigners point of view, the exchange rate of the US dollar is rubbish. The last time I visited there in May 2008 it was almost $2 to £1. Purchased some rare CDs on my credit card and one exchange rate was $1.9854. Now its $1.29. Something that cost $20 in 2008 was about £10.40. Now its probably $28 - £21.70.

When we've stayed in Norway we booked what they called 3/4 board, which was the hotel providing paper bags to make up sandwiches from the breakfast buffet - it was a really outdoorsy place and the expectation was that no one would be back for lunch, but we did pay extra above half-board for that. Maybe that's what they were doing?

I think it’s fine. Only because I’ve used toogoodtogo, and seen that all the hotels have offerings from breakfast buffets so otherwise it’ll be wasted. I mean I wouldn’t be making a packed lunch in a boutique hotel, but to make a cheese and ham roll to take at the premier inn is alright I think. They used to give you a little cardboard happy meal type box especially for this in days gone by iirc.

I've often made a sandwich and taken it with me if we've had an early start as I'm not good with eating shortly after waking up. On these occasions that was all I took from the breakfast buffet, I didn't eat there and take extras on top. That being said, this is in the Holiday Inn Express (we always book these for UK breaks), and they provide paper bags next to the baps, so I assume they expect some people to grab and go.

We were at Butlins last week, and I wrapped an entire meal for DS in a napkin to take back to our accommodation. He plated up a meal, then something happened to upset him and he no longer felt like eating (ASD). The food was already on his plate, and would have gone in the bin otherwise. He hadn't eaten anything prior to that plate, and I didn't take anything extra, so I don't feel that was cheeky, but others may disagree.

20 years I'm the hotel industry, I've seen some sights at breakfast.

By far the biggest cheeky fucker move I've ever seen was from a German tour guest who went to the artisan bread area picked up a 3 foot baguette, split it down the middle - filled it with a selection of cheese and meat before sticking it in his bag for later. I was too shocked (impressed) to interrupt.

Letting your kids make super size adult portions just to leave it all over the table is by far my biggest hatred. Much prefer the families who take a yohgurt, fruit and muffin for later than do that.

there are a significant number of posters that worry WAY too much about massive billion dollar corporations…..

I don't know about the UK, but in the US quite a few hotels that are near the interstates and that cater to road trip travelers are franchisees run by smaller business owners.

No, I don’t think taking portable food items from the breakfast buffet to eat later is particularly cheeky, especially if you can’t eat much at breakfast time, like me.

They will have catered for the numbers of people booked into the hotel so it won’t affect their budget and the uneaten food will be thrown away which IS a dreadful waste. They can hardly save it and put it out the following day, can they? 😂

I’ve taken pastries before and the odd piece of fruit if they’re decent enough, but there isn’t much else you can reasonably take from these types of buffet. Presumably, you’re not taking the cooked fried food?

I am loving the replies which begin with "Oh lord no, it's scummy behaviour, I would never take anything from the breakfast room!" and then proceed on with "apart from that one time when I did exactly that <insert spurious reason which usually doesn't make much sense>".

I mean I genuinely don't care if you do or don't, but you don't get to take things and still have moral superiority, particularly when it's for a DC who usually get free space in hotel room and free breakfast under a certain age.

Ill be honest me and my mum have took made up cobs for later but that was on an cruise an was all inclusive meals so we was only eating what we would had done for lunch if we had stayed on the cruise.

Oh actually I remember a time, when my roommate and I had sandwiches made for us because we slept in and missed breakfast completely!

We were 18 and 20 respectively, and were in Thailand as part of a large group of around 15.

I think someone twigged that we must had slept in as we didn't appear for breakfast and were due to leave in around 10 minutes.

Anyway, when someone from our group knocked furiously on our door, we panicked and got ready as quick as we could. Locked our room and dashed to the lift down, and were greeted with a round of toast and jam sandwiches by a lovely member of our group, as we'd missed our breakfast and had to get on the coach.

I don't think they were being cheeky at all in this instance, but I'm sure if some of you were there, you'd have thought they were making sandwiches because they were cheap, tacky, grabby, greedy CFs!

I often ask the hotel to make me a bacon sandwich to take with me, as I leave early and don't like to eat that early.

A late family friend was very naughty. Stayed in RO or SC accommodation on holiday and visited hotel breakfast buffets a few min walk from his place of stay. Some hotels have the restaurant at the front with doors open to let guests sit at the outdoor tables or at the back, walk through the foyer to the pool area and doors open to the restaurant. No one questioned him. He wasn't one for big breakfasts. Bowl of muesli, some pieces of melon and a coffee. He is sadly no longer with us. Unsure if he stuck to one hotel or if place he was staying had loads of hotels, visited a few.

This is far worse than making a ham and cheese roll in a hotel you have paid to stay in.

@Justforoncecansomethinggoright

calling me a liar is really fucking awful. But sadly something I'm used to after years of suffering with this fucking awful metabolic disorder I ended up with after another illness.

But the various people I've lived with over the years have all said I deserve to look like xyz skinny celebrity. Those who I've been with at home, on holiday etc who KNOW that's all I've eaten.

it's people like you that contribute to how awful it is.

i hope you're proud of yourself.

I’d probably wrap a croissant up in a napkin or take an apple.

Don’t do it, it’s wrong. Except for when we did it. That one was fine..

Sounds logic.

There must be an Alan Bennett sketch about this. I can just imagine him agonising about it.

OTOH, I'm very concerned about the underwear in the kettle scenario. Surely boiling would ruin the elastic.

YOU WOULD STEAL A NAPKIN?

Honestly, some people have no shame.

This is exactly where I was going this morning, it all seemed so serious then up pops European Prosecco man.

"A round of sandwiches" is not a feature of American English. Exactly how many would that be? Google itself seems to be confused.

I'm not in favour of theft.

Are you?

She probably means serviette

i reckon you can stand down with the outrage

From Googling "a round of sandwhiches".

“She probably means serviette”, that’s reassuring. I have never done AI , and don’t think I ever will if they don’t have proper napkins.

🙂