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'?

Overall it probably balances out. I had a coffee and a small smoothie this morning as did my colleague. Will likely do the same again tomorrow. The real issue with excessive consumption probably comes from the people who gorge themselves to ‘get their moneys worth’ with several plates piled high, rather than a sandwich per person.

Having said that, I think it’s one of those excessively frugal things that priorities ‘value’ over enjoyment a bit too much, as it’s unlikely to taste great by the time it’s eaten.

We were half board abroad in June. On the days we weren’t going out for lunch I’d take our toddlers snack box and fill it up with the various meats, cheeses and salad bits then buy a couple of baguettes from the Spar and make sandwiches later. I'd often take a few pieces of fruit and pastries for the kids to snack on through the day too.

I have to say there was mountains of food and I wasn’t the only person doing it 😂 I was quite discrete about it (DH didn’t even notice I’d done it!) while others just walked out with armfuls of stuff and none of the waiters said anything.

I recently stayed in a hotel with a take out coffee cup station. Every day I had a full breakfast, left with an extra cuppa and a pastry/fruit for later. I loved it but wouldn't take more than that and if that hadn't been so easy to do I probably would have consumed the same items in the restaurant and got to the office a little later

Totally this. I’m not proud of myself but I have taken a couple of hard boiled eggs to keep us going at lunchtime when we didn’t want a full meal. Felt very guilty but still did it. I wouldn’t make sandwiches or fill a box though….

Yes, I hate this.

I think it depends how much breakfast you eat. I generally have a small breakfast but would have no qualms about taking a roll and fruit for lunch. The total amount I have is still less or comparable to other people I see eating. If I've paid about £10-15 for breakfast, I think that more than covers what I've eaten/taken.

In plenty of hotels in Europe the staff are hired to watch for this behaviour, and stop anyone taking food away from breaky. You can have what you can eat but I don't think it's fair to take anything away for later on.

What are you saying your husband did, because of your IBS?

She’s saying he would tuck into the breakfast buffet at whatever hotel they’d gone into so she could take a shit.

Those tiny pots of jam bring me an irrational amount of joy. 😂 Surely a hotel can’t begrudge me simple happiness?

Of course it's cheeky. Snaffling an apple isnt the crime of the century but making up a tray of butties is!

I will take fruit and a pastry or mini muffin. If I’m with my (3yo) daughter I might take a roll and a piece of cheese because it’s really hard to find a simple lunch when out and about that she will eat.

Im fine with this because I’m petite and barely eat 1/4 of what I see other people eating at buffet breakfasts. I’ll have some toast, coffee and maybe a boiled egg or piece of cheese. I can’t eat that much at breakfast but might need a little something at 11am. I’m basically subsidising everyone who fills their boots for the day.

@Pebbles16 you sound stoned.

I take little Nutella sachets and an occasional mini box of Cocoa Pops for DS when I'm away with work - I only have a yoghurt or fruit for breakfast (I'm away too often to have a fry up) and I don't hide it. I've never been asked not to!

I’d do it, not sandwiches but a muffin and a banana. Not a big breakfast fan so I’d just have a coffee at breakfast and then my pilfered brunch for elevenses.

It was quite nice during covid as lots of hotels did to go bags with granola/ yoghurt, pastry, fruit and coffee. Perfect for me😁

Oh, for what it's worth - I stayed in a hotel about a year ago in the USA (It was the Wyndham Baymont Houston North near IAH, if anyone cares) where there were signs on the free breakfast buffet telling guests that taking any food from the buffet out of the designated meal area would result in a fine at checkout time and/or the possibility of the deposit not being returned.

Same. Id take a piece of fruit. Not a full pack up though 🤣.

I was totally shocked last year in Italy to see the plates piled high with food at breakfast and then left. The amount of food discarded on a daily basis was obscene and of course attracted pigeons and sometimes seagulls onto the tables. Parents would allow children to take endless food and weren’t at all concerned about most of it being left.

I'm sure there are people who happily take Tupperware and make a picnic 😂

I'm GF so will snaffle a packet of precooked biscuits from breakfast to take to my room to have with my afternoon tea! However ds and I stay at this hotel a few times a year, we know the lady who works in the hospitality there and she said to do it as they don't provide GF biscuits in the room - they do provide loads of normal ones!

Other than that a piece of fruit or muffin for ds as a snack. We stay there because he's competing.

I watched on in awe once, whilst a woman made a pack lunch for eight people from the breakfast buffet, she was shouting across the room and asking if they wanted ham, cheese or ham and cheese ? which fruit ? and which pastry ?
I felt guilty letting DS take a nutella sachet !

B&M usually sell them for about 30p a jar just in case you're ever particularly unhappy 😂

I was in Dubai (work) and the person in front just emptied bowls of olives etc on her plate. Extremely expensive hotel, but so what, they didn’t eat any of it in the end.

Excuse me what?! This is definitely getting saved for a glum spell.

i remember in butlins families take masses.
shocking