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'?

Definite CF behaviour but I do enjoy watching people make up their cheese and ham sandwiches and grab a yoghurt pot and fruit.

I’ve never done it myself but it happens a lot skiing because the mountain restaurants are so pricey.

Some people have food insecurity.

Not everyone has the same childhood, with a plentiful fridge and well-stocked cupboard available 25/7.

The feeling of worry, the emotion of guilt for leaving food behind, well, I refuse to judge people coping with that.

24/7*

I once watched a mum load up the basket under her pushchair from the breakfast buffet - I think it was the Holiday Inn in Middlesborough. At the time it seemed a natural thing for her to do.

I like to take a muffin to eat for later, but wouldn't make a packed lunch.

I once worked as a nanny for a very wealth family who owned several houses around the world, so they never stayed in hotels. We once went somewhere for the day, and had access to a hotel suite, complete with a selection of mini jams. The DM was so taken with the mini jams she made me put them all in my bag and carry them around for the rest of the day. The bag was bloody heavy

I was going to say the same thing! Our ski hotel in Austria provides bags. It’s great for my mum as they have a good gluten free selection and some of the restaurants don’t have many options for her.

When I stayed in Ostend there was a notice asking people not to take food out of the dining room and saying that the staff would be happy to direct guests to the local bakery and shop.

I've no personal qualms about taking a piece of fruit, and wrapping up a pastry to take for later.

That's very different though as a FB customer has already paid for lunch, so I would say it's up to them if they want to take it in the format of sandwiches, rather than coming back to the boat.

I would also say that they have paid for all their meals, so it's not particularly strange that they would want to eat them, rather than paying to eat elsewhere. It's one of the reasons I would struggle with a cruise, as - like you - finding places to eat and enjoying local cuisine is a large part of the holiday to me.

I suppose it was a bit like a recent ladies ski holiday. We were HB but food wasn't particularly good, or to be more accurate to our taste. Some people were keen for us to go out for a number of evening meals, whereas as the holiday was already expensive, I was more prepared to grin and bear it as I wasn't there for a gourmet experience and would rather not spend an additional 50 euros each evening for something I had already paid for.

We also like to have lunch ashore when in port if we aren’t doing an excursion; part of the fun of exploring. And helps the local economy a bit.

I think it's naff and embarrassing - maybe a croissant and piece of fruit is ok tho. We recently took PILs to a nice hotel. MIL, who very much likes value for money went crazy at the breakfast buffet - umpteen courses- we watched mesmerised that one person could/would eat so much. She wanted to take a glass of bircher oats and fruit away and DH stopped her. She was a bit huffy but then ate it too.

Depends where I am.

In the UK staff take buffet leftovers at big chains so I have yet to stay somewhere that tolerates it. Even high end places don’t like continental breakfasts taken away.

In Europe it depends where you are. At cheaper places where it’s all cold supermarket items they don’t end to mind. But higher end including cooked food items are expensive & European resorts prefer to reuse leftovers for lunch and dinner - som 4 star and above resorts in Spain even view it as stealing lol.

Asia /Middle East / American hotels are more relaxed about things but you are expected to tip. If you don’t you’ll only be able to do it once lol

People who say it is naff etc are also saying unless it is just a pastry or a fruit. That is all most ppl take anyway. clearing whole trays is not the norm and is selfish. We are just saying, take whatever is left in your plate, it’s not a big deal and it isn’t theft!

Your husband wasn’t ‘possibly’ a CF, he was!

If I understand correctly, a hotel you are non-resident in kindly let you use their facilities and your husband repaid this consideration and good will by stealing from them. Nice. Actually, I changed my mind. Your husband wasn’t a CF, he was just a thief.

That sounds really lovely.

When away with my husband, we'd always take food away as he couldn't eat early in the day; as far as we were concerned, it was food we'd paid for. So maybe a bacon roll an piece of fruit. I always feel sick in the morning, so eat very little, so again feel that it's ok to take the equivalent of uneaten breakfast to have later in the day. If we'd had a big breakfast at breakfast time, we would not have taken anything for later.

Despite the size of my belly I don’t eat a lot but I enjoy nice places to eat near me

i'd love to go to the fancy restaurants near me and pay for my tea but then expect them to pay for my supper cos I want to take their food and eat it later

the PP who said they’d saved £20 for lunch by stealing from the hotel was just ridiculous

Disgusting post ethelred

What a nasty comment!

Anyway, I own my home outright and still take the odd pastry from a hotel buffet.

Wow @Æthelred Do you think making a comment like that somehow makes you sound classy? Because it really doesn’t. Quite the opposite in fact.

I went on a holiday AI with my family member who has type 1 diabetes. Every morning they took an extra roll and a wrapped cheese or a banana. I couldn't see any issue with this. The lunch places didn't open til 12.30 and the snack helps them maintain their blood sugar. They would have a chocolate bar and dextrose tablets for a glycaemic emergency but the bread and fruit or cheese would be a much better option for maintain blood sugar stability.

You wouldn't know he had a health condition by looking at him and might just think he was a CF

https://grc.studentorg.berkeley.edu/the-unsustainability-of-buffet-food-waste/
Nearly half of the food at buffets is wasted, and this contributes to the yearly 108 billion pounds of food wasted in the United States.

Just come back to this thread because coincidentally I saw this post on Instagram this morning:

I have spent the last 6 nights staying at the [name] Hotel in [town in Wales]...Only real let down was breakfast to be honest. Set up as buffet, but staff have to get it for you and you’re only allowed one of the each item

Some of you will approve of this approach!

Ha I’m in a hotel this morning and have just watched a couple try to surreptitiously butter a very soft roll with some very hard butter under the table. A crumb tsunami ensued and they Ended up with a very ropey looking lunch. Kept me entertained and distracted From the two toddlers running the length of the breakfast room for 20 minutes while their mom looked at her phone.

I thought the whole idea of a buffet was that guests could serve themselves. Although it stops guests from taking more than what they need, it's a bit of false advertising. The hotel needs to be upfront about what type of meal is provided with the cost.