Is it possible to NOT eat out every night?

[RebeccaCloud9]

Thinking of a Premier Inn holiday this year (easy and available unlike most decent holiday cottage etc options). Has anyone done this without eating out for every evening meal? Any good tips?

We won't have any cooking facilities beyond a kettle. I know we could eat out (and will most of the time), but looking for ways to a) keep costs down, and b) a plan for if the kids are knackered after days out and won't particularly enjoy being at a restaurant.

Surely fish and chips/takeaway is the other obvious option. Failing that take a knife and you could get bits to make a sandwich.

The breakfast buffets are usually all you can eat so you can fill up there. And IIRC don’t kids eat free (for dinner) as long as adults are paying?

Room picnic - I've often done this when traveling with work - eat out at lunchtime and then get stuff from supermarket for evenings. You can't do hot (unless you're massively into pot noodles or willing to take life in hands boiling rice in the kettle- hint: don't), but you can pick up fruit, precut veg, tomatoes, rolls, ham etc and a jar of mustard (despite what it says on the jar it's fine out of the fridge) etc.

You'll need to travel with a sharp knife, a blunt knife and ask in the premier Inn cafe/bar thingy for glasses (they supply bottle opener but not corkscrew). Go for it!

Yes definitely fish and chips is on the list! Good idea to pack utensils for sandwiches, think we will do that for lunches. Actually if we pack picnic plates etc we could easily use these for takeaways, good idea.

If the weather is favourable I would have a picnic style tea, if there is a park or nice space near your hotel or on the way back from activities. Easy to pick up fresh bread, cheese, ham, tomatoes, pasta salads, fruit, sausage rolls etc from any corner shop or small supermarket on the way back from a day out.
If your hotel room has a fridge, bonus as any leftovers can be tomorrow’s packed lunch.

Good ideas thanks @Badgertadger, I guess there are actually loads of nice cold options from supermarkets we could do!

@BeastOfBODMAS annoyingly they don't usually have a fridge, but looking for an outside space for an evening picnic is a great idea!

Picnic tea? Lidl always has lots of nice bits and pieces. Perhaps take a plug-in cooler if the room doesn't have a fridge, so you can keep food for more than one day.

@BeastOfBODMAS Beat me to it!

Picnic tea.

Nice cold items from shop.
Used to do this a lot when I worked away in the week and stayed in hotels. Sometimes I couldn't face the rich room service food or yet another meal at pizza express.

How old are the children? My experience of premier inn/ Travelodge with young children was not great. The adults never got a chance to relax.

You could thrown the day on its head. Have the cooked breakfast (some even have cubed potatoes etc) and then have cereal in the evening with a banana (heat the weetabix with the hot water and buy a carton of milk or make porridge)

Sainsbury's do hot pizza now from their pizza counter. Get one of those and some multipacks of crisps.

Job done

Throw

Deliveroo?

TBH being stuck inside a hotel room eating on beds doesn't sound like fun to me - have you searched for actual s/c options? An Aparthotel would be better if you don't want to eat out.

Best holiday we had (actually house hunting holiday for relocation) was in the premier Inn opposite a Waitrose. Many yellow sticker bargain puds were had, plus sandwiches and cold deli stuff. You can also get car fridges that have normal leads as well if you want.

Cooked breakfast at the hotel, lunch out in a nice cafe with plenty of choice and good home made cake, then picnic tea in your room or the park,depending on weather. Enjoy!

Perfectly fine to have a picky lunch/ dinner - bread, cheese, ham, cold pies, dips, salsa and nachos, coleslaw/potato salad/pasta salad. Fruit salads, precut fruit. Fresh cakes or desserts and yoghurts. The picnic aisle is your friend here. Scout out where the local supermarkets are before you go.

Definitely take a few reusable plastic plates and cutlery plus beakers, maybe a sponge and small bottle of washing up liquid. They can be washed in the bathroom sink. Or go disposable to keep things really simple!

Oh yes also supermarket hot food counters are great and much cheaper than takeaway. A large sainsbury's takeaway pizza about £4-5.

When I used to travel regularly for work on my own, I bought an electric cool bag and kept bits in that for making a carpet picnic. Works quite well but it won't get as cold as your fridge so probably don't store things for too long. It also means you can keep fresh milk for making a cuppa which is nice! Before covid hit I was thinking of getting getting an electric lunch box as well. I think you could heat ready meals in them - but they tend to be pretty small so I'm not sure you'd feed a family with one!! I have heard of people taking their instant pots to hotels but I think you might risk setting off a smoke alarm with the steam - I guess you could open it in the bathroom?!

While this wasn't at a premier inn, I did once check with a hotel if their rooms had fridges and they said they didn't but could provide one, so might be worth asking?

Pot noodles or the instant maggi noodles that just need to soak in hot water.

Buy crackers, cheese, pickles, salad, fruit, crisps etc during the day to eat in the evening.

Have a cooked lunch during the day & sandwiches etc later.

Supermarket hot counters - genius!

And plug in cooler, what a great idea! Will look for one now.

Kids are 4 and 6. Holiday apartment or cottage would be ideal - but if you can find one in August in a

When we had to spend a few days in one of those type hotels we took a plug in mini fridge! It meant I could have a proper pint of milk for my coffee (I also took small tubs of my favourite brand of regular and decaf) and bits and pieces for sandwiches. We also had room picnics with supermarket meal deals, and the Tesco down the road had a Krispy Creme counter. Lidl was also good for their bakery aisle, especially the pizza breads. Cuppa soups were another good shout.

Went to Legoland in October and weren’t keen on eating out as well due to the pandemic. Stayed in a premier inn and got Uber eats/Deliveroo to the hotel. Kids loved it and we all snuggled up with a movie.

...holiday area for around £700 let me know 😂 sadly, just the impossible find I think!

Room picnic is quite a nice option. I've done it when travelling. Just grab a few deli bits from a supermarket. There's also all the usual lunch place options - Leon, Wagamama, pret, etc.