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.

We love a PI breakfast

It's rare that we have a full English so we always have one if we are staying somewhere.

Beyond that - this seems to be a bit of both BU. If DH had wanted to stay at PI he should have said so (but as a PP says it might be a bit to do with how it was presented). And long sulking is not on. But the bit that might have got to me (especially if tired and not well) was the OP vetoing Pret. Not a big Pret fan but not the point. As far as I can see there was no discussion about it - just "I didn't want to go there"

If the trip out was all agreed by everyone then surely they should have had a conversation about whether or not to stop there too?

I can see the not wanting to queue if there was no idea of how long the wait was

Spitalfields maybe?

I thought your husband sounded really unreasonable and grumpy until the end part - honestly, do you make all the decisions, OP? It does sound like you might have dragged everyone around on a bit of a wild good chase, although with good intentions.

Your husband is acting like a complete baby though for still harping on about it.

You didn't ruin the weekend, OP; your DH did, by behaving like a hangry toddler. You all agreed to the plan. If he was that desperate for a Premier Inn breakfast (which i find boggling, given all your options in central London), he could have said, "actually, I'm really hungry and I'd rather eat here and get a coffee somewhere else later." Alternatively, if your DH hadn't stormed off in a strop, he might have found that the wait for a table at the place you originally wanted to eat in wasn't that long. Or he could have made an effort to find somewhere else to eat.

PI breakfast is poor quality stuff...making a holiday extra special and finding somewhere nice or a pastry from a nice bakery is ALWAYS what I'd choose OP.

IF your DH wanted the breakfast surely he could have got up earlier to have that and tagged along with your choice?

There is NO excuse for being a sulky childlike man ..inflicting himself and his mood on everyone else

100% this.
If he and DS really wanted the PI breakfast, they could have had it and then met OP and DD at the market after.
Hate grown adults who sulk rather than take responsibility for THEIR decisions!

Almost as annoying as ones who seem to think a short walk and 20 mins for their "brekkie" amounts to starvation.

I don't find Premier Inn breakfasts good value for money so might well have done similar re finding a cafe but only after having eaten a flapjack / slice of cheese / croissant that I'd have brought with me.

I'd be pretty cross at being expected to walk for 20 mins before potentially being able to have breakfast. And getting very cross indeed if that turned into walking around an unknown area searching for somewhere to eat.

So, I think your partner may have been getting grumpy in part because he was hungry and needed to eat now and breakfast kept getting further away.

Of course he's a grown up and should have the self awareness to know if hangryness is a thing for him so he can communicate 'no, I need to eat before we go out' and/or bring his own snacks with him or even 'no, let's stick with the Premier Inn breakfast, I don't feel great'.

But I think a pre breakfast walk was a bad move when you were planning a quiet day / early trip home unless you had cereal bars / flapjacks etc so everybody could eat something first before having a second breakfast at a cafe.

(This is a different situation to people who choose to get up and exercise before breakfast or who just don't eat till later in the day - their access to food isn't dependent on someone else's plans / they're at home and could get food if they wanted).

Also, on a trip away if everybody's had a bit of a lie in, you could be starting this exercise a couple of hours after your standard breakfast time.

Those wandering times finding a great place are part of the magic of a holiday though...surely noone is arguing Premier Inn is special..you could stay local and get that

Ignore your Dh, don't let his childish strop ruin what sounds like a lovely visit to London.

Saw Stranger Things in the summer and I'd say it was even better now the Netflix show has finished up.

I'd imagine you'll have to wait a while for your husband to organise the next event or trip, that he won't let you get to decide everything.

Nothing worse than someone being ungrateful when you've gone to a lot of trouble planning for everyone.

I've had PI breakfasts a couple of times and not been very impressed. The hot food is not that good

The walking around looking for somewhere for simple breakfast would piss me off too. Premier Inn is perfectly fine, unless there is something particular you want.

Did you book the show and hotel OP? If so then your husband should just be grateful and stop being so moody!

I don't think so. Hot food sitting around is hardly ever that great

When you're not starving, they're great.

I don't recall arguing that PI breakfasts are special, I've never had one so I'd be surprised if I did!

Wandering round for dinner and drinks/bars/bistro i the evening is great

Breakfast not so much, the timings are all wrong in any case, some dont start until a certain time, some are just finishing, some wont serve this or that very early in the morning. I find breakfast a gamble.

I get this. My best friend works every weekend, her kids are at school all week. So going to a cafe can only happen in school holidays when she has AL.

However, I think your husband’s complaint was not about missing the PI breakfast, so you shouldn’t be making the whole thing about this one moment.

If it is totally untrue that you “lead”/railroad your family in general, then he is BU, but you have sort of admitted you do this a bit so maybe just have a talk about how you can both communicate better.

YANBU OP. I love independent cafes, especially the ones that make good coffee. A morning walk around Shoreditch sounds good too, before heading home.

Sulky adults are insufferable, sorry you have one of those for a DH.

You saved yourself a stomach ache trust me!! More than once!! Vile greasy place

The breakfast is just one of those crappy glitches that happen through mismatched moods and poor communication. But unless he's the kind of person who throws out mean "you always/you never" accusations whenever he's piqued (which would be a bigger problem), the more general things he said sound as if they need talking over, so maybe try and have a proper calm conversation about what he meant by them.

Unless we are near relatives we normally take a small bag of meusli each and get some milk from reception or bring it in ourselves.

I think at the time I would be annoyed in his place too. Plans changing and getting delayed several times is infuriating when you’re already hungry. And toast and pastries are lovely but it is a total let down when you’ve been looking forward to a cooked breakfast.

Still carrying the moaning on and being in a huff all day is totally out of order.

Kefalonia in June on a balmy evening after a day at the beach, absolutely!

Shoreditch in January in freezing fog when you’re run down and hungry, no it’s like 28 days later with more pavement puke!

OP I do get that you suggested this with the best of intentions but I think you might have to bear a little bit of responsibility for suggesting a plan which was at best a gamble and at worst just a crap idea in the circumstances. Always book if you can, especially in London. Your DP should have been more understanding though.

Best PI for breakfast is Nottingham South. Old PI but someone on duty to cook what you want, also Aldi or Lidl nearby for continental goods, or next door to the pub. What's not to love?

Is everyone here missing the point?
None of this is really about whether they are at PI or somewhere else? This is about a man who was still sulking hours later about not getting his way. Deeply unattractive behaviour. And I bet this is not the only thing he sulks about.

What an utterly bizarre comment. Your kids aren't OP's kids, are they?

I could as easily say "my kids love going out to a nice independent cafe and wandering around new places and would be gutted to skip that and eat a mass produced stodge fest then go straight home," and it would be as relevant (not at all) to what's actually being asked.

It doesn't even make sense because you can go to a PI for breakfast any weekend if you wanted - they're literally everywhere. Whereas OP's family could only wander round London and eat somewhere different the one weekend they were actually in London!

If he agreed without offering his opinion or suggesting an alternative or having to be persuaded then he is being unreasonable. Having a strop for hours because you ate breakfast at one place over another, and had to wait an extra 15 min than anticipated is childish and pathetic. Not offering an opinion and then banging on and on about something afterwards is also childish and pathetic. If he doesn't make a decision, someone has to, and it's not fair to say that you make all the decisions - how many suggestions did he make about what you did at the weekend.

^ This. My DH and DD are terrible at deciding things to do/places to eat and accuse me of being like my parents and dithering. I don't and actually these days I ask if anyone has any ideas, if they don't I come up with an idea and that's what we do. If they actually criticised it I'd be telling them to come up with their own bloody idea next time.

Your H needs to get a sodding grip and grow up.

God knows how this thread descended into the discussions of the merits or otherwise of a PI breakfast.🙄