Has lack of Premier Inn breakfast ruined the weekend?

[Liesmorelies]

I mean, it hasn't, not for me, but DH seems to feel otherwise and I don't know if I've been UR. We (us and two dc) were in London overnight to see a show. We would normally maximise our time in the city and leave maybe this sort of time on Sunday, but we've all been ill and still feel a bit tired and rundown and so agreed we'd leave after breakfast and maybe a walk/quick trip to a park or the river.

When I woke I realised our PI was about a 20 minute walk from Shoreditch market where I was sure there are loads of cafes and stalls. Although we normally have the PI breakfast I thought this would be a nice change and mean we would be doing what we had planned (quick trip to somewhere nice and a walk) and could then leave. Also looked up a particular cafe that looked nice. Everyone agreed - all fine.

When we arrived at the cafe there was a queue. DH immediately said in a moody way, 'That's that then,' and started huffing. I said let's walk up (we were at the end of the road) it might not be that bad, but he had walked off. We ended up wandering around the area with him getting increasingly grumpy. Sods law, we weren't really going past any suitable looking cafes, although I'm sure the area is full of them. We did see a Pret but I didn't want that.

We eventually saw a nice independent cafe where we were able to have porridge,pastries, toast and spreads, fresh juice and lovely coffee. We all ate but DH wouldn't stop going on about the bloody PI. Yes, I get that he would eat his body weight there and we ended up with a relatively small breakfast that probably cost more (though our kids are 16 and 18, so no more free PI breakfasts!) but what we had was lovely, the place was lovely, and a bit different, and, ffs, PI will still be there next time. I offered to look for another place or even a Greggs for him to 'top up,' but he went in full strop mode. DS1 loves a PI breakfast too and he didn't moan, and dd was wanting pancakes in the place with a queue but she didn't moan that she didn't end up getting them, it's just him acting like a child. He also moaned about the cost, saying PI breakfast would have done for lunch as well, but we were home in time for a late lunch and no one wanted food on the journey so it's like he's just looking for stuff to moan about.

We're home now but he has said he's sick of me making all the decisions, I'm fussy and nothing is good enough and I'm just hard work. He's gone for a run but it was an atmosphere all the way home. Did I do wrong - I get I could have looked at booking but to me it worked out fine in the end.

The only cooked to order breakfast I have had was in Trowbridge one Christmas when they had hardly any guests. I have stayed in a lot of Premier Inns and all the others have been buffet style. The one we had in Inverness (Millburn Road) was better than most TBH. It was also a pretty decent Premier Inn.

Where are people getting that op unilaterally decided on breakfast elsewhere or insisted on it? It sounds like she suggested it as an alternative and everyone agreed. Unless she's missing out the bit where she held a gun to their heads when she suggested it ..

I would go out for breakfast with my daughters but not with my husband & sons. PI breakfast for them.

It sounds fine but it's not a fry up, and if I really fancied bacon, eggs and sausage and someone palmed me off with pastries, toast and porridge I would be less than impressed, no matter how nice it was.

I don’t understand all the people saying OP is unreasonable. Her and DD aren’t keen on the premier inn breakfast but usually have it. DH and DS might prefer it but should have accepted that it’s not always their turn to get what they want! These things should be equitable. 2 people in the family don’t really like the breakfast, 2 people do. Therefore they should only really have the breakfast 50% of the time.

This is one of those things that drives me up the wall. Mums and wives are expected to put their choice for food last all the bloody time. Because grown men can’t control their temper if they’re a bit hungry. It’s sexist as fuck.

My DH loves a PI breakfast. Having had so many hotel breakfasts over the years when I travelled for work I don’t think they are usually mediocre, as long as there is an option for your own choice of eggs cooked to order and you go for breakfast before the last hour of service.

We did stay at a PI in York where there wasn’t a buffet selection and someone came and took the order and a spotty youth in a grubby overall basically picked from a ‘kept warm’ buffet through a hatch; absolutely the worst cooked breakfast either of us ever had as it had clearly been prepared hours in advance rather than being cooked and topped up
under heat lamps. Dreadful. If we stay at PI now we’ll check the breakfast situation before booking.

Or they could split up - DH and DS have the PI breakfast, OP and her DD go off wandering for something else.

The toast and pastries are definitely not the same as you get at all hotels - the pastries are generally either under or overcooked and the toast is bog standard sliced bread - no nice freshly baked bread or rolls.

Not included in the rate, either - you have to pay separately and I’ve seen it at as much as £12.99 per person (price depends on hotel location I think)

To be fair, if I was him I'd be gutted too! But then he agreed with you to find something else so that's on him and he shouldn't be in a strop, but I do understand his annoyance!

I do love a PI breakfast to be fair. But he’s acting like a spoilt child.

It's the cleaning teeth after breakfast id miss the most. I wouldn't feel ready for the day

Yeah, cos it’s completely unreasonable to expect a man and son to have a slightly smaller breakfast in order to spend the time with their family.

Even if that was a reasonable solution, the DH could have used his words to suggest it rather than behaving like a pathetic man-child.

It isn't included in your rate unless you pay extra at time of booking. Obviously we didn't do that - I wouldn't have wasted £50 odd quid!

Premier Inn breakfasts are usually pretty good quality for their price, hot food cooked to order (never had a crap poached egg) 2 children eat free for each adult. I have had worse in far more salubrious hotels. PI know what they do and they do it well.

I used to take DC and a a friend just for breakfast to one near me on the way for a day out and it was of equal quality to most breakfast places at a very reasonable price. There is a lot of snobbery (as usual) on this thread. Perfectly fine for OP to want to eat elsewhere, but if we use a PI, my DC want and enjoy the breakfast. When we stay in London we stay at the County Hall PI and never had any issue.

You're supposed to clean them before breakfast. Unless you do both - which is OTT!

Why pay twice if breakfast is included in your rate

It’s not included at Premier Inn.

Last time we tried to go to our local PI, we were told there was an hour wait (for 2 of us, not a large group). For a buffet style breakfast. No thanks. We found a local independent, probably paid a little more but it was made to order, table service etc. We did conclude that we are not the target demographic as a middle aged couple without young kids to entertain on a Sunday morning.

Why isn't it a reasonable solution?

And yes, I agree he should have spoken up.

It’s difficult to tell.

It sounds like DH wanted a cooked breakfast, like eggs etc. Did the place you go to have cooked options?

Also I can often tell my family will agree to stuff to please me- but I know they’d probably not enjoy it. So I tend to do it but make it v low demand “I am going to do X, if you’d like to join me you’re very welcome but I’m happy to meet you back here in an hour.” I think in your case I might have suggested DH stay at the hotel with DS and you and DD go out.

I do think DH was wrong to agree to it without thinking it through- and again I think I’d probably have expected places to be busy and not necessarily do good cooked breakfasts in Shoreditch- but I know the area quite well. I think he was perhaps just hungry and disappointed but I’d still be annoyed he let his grumpiness spoil things.

OP, does your DH have tantrums over other issues or is it a one off? If it's a one off, well it's, at best, very annoying when an adult behaves like a toddler but I would say put it behind you. If tantrums are becoming a pattern, i would start wondering if they are autistic meltdowns or if he is a narcissist or has some other problem (autistic meltdowns can start at any age - I'm late 50s and have recently started having autistic shutdowns, which I suppose are the quiet version of meltdowns).

We recently stayed at a Travelodge and we never usually stay in hotels, I wasnt going to book the breakfast because I like a nice chichi independent cafe and I admit to being a snob about that sort of breafkast, but I realised that the cost of the breakfast would be cheaper in the hotel compared to cafe and I know what Im like as I said above, I would be tramping about, dithering, cant decide if this or that is better, I drive myself round the bend. And given the weather I wouldnt want to waste time and be cold looking for somewhere.

Im so glad I did in the end, it was ok, hot, freshly done, nice bread and ok pastries, nice spreads which I wasnt expecting. OH loved it of course as he likes all the fry up

And the thing is, we dont cook a fry up at home, so its different for us, whereas we stop off for pastries and cakes quite a lot all the time so a fry up breakfast is better.

Greedy people? Not rude at all!

I quite like a Premier Inn breakfast and I eat until I’m satisfied not stuffed. Not greedy at all.

I think this isn’t really about breakfast tbh

So it's "lazy" to choose to eat the breakfast provided at a hotel you're staying at? I've heard it all now. 😅

The oh so predictable snobby crap on this thread is cracking me up too. 😅

I agree that the OP's DH should quit moaning and get the fuck over it, though. There's people starving in the world ffs, and he's whinging, not about not getting breakfast at all, but about not getting a particular breakfast? He should grow the fuck up.

It baffles me, genuinely, how so many of you put up with such arsehole husbands,