Hotel breakfast is the most under-rated meal in luxury travel. The good ones tell you everything about the hotel.
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What makes a great hotel breakfast
Pastry programme
Croissants, pain au chocolat, kouign-amann. Real laminated dough, baked on-property. Most luxury hotels have a dedicated pastry chef just for breakfast.
Egg programme
Eggs to order, anything from omelets to soft-boiled to shakshuka. Should not arrive on a buffet.
Juice and fruit
Fresh-pressed juices (not bottled). Whole fruit available. Berries in season.
Bread programme
Multiple house-baked breads. Sourdough, rye, brioche. Extensive butter and jam selection.
Service style
À la carte preferred over buffet. The buffet should be supplementary, not the meal.
The hotels
Hotel de Russie Rome
Italian breakfast at its best. Garden setting.
Aman Tokyo
Japanese-Western breakfast, à la carte, exceptional.
The Connaught London
The Connaught breakfast, full English at its peak.
Brenner's Park Baden-Baden
German-Austrian breakfast tradition. Two-hour breakfast experience.
Royal Mansour Marrakech
Moroccan breakfast in your riad, pastries, fresh juices, mint tea.
Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc
Riviera breakfast on the terrace.
Belmond Hotel Caruso Ravello
Breakfast on the Belvedere terrace, Amalfi below.
Aman Venice
Venetian breakfast in a 16th-century palazzo.
Booking notes
Breakfast inclusion varies. Many luxury rates include breakfast at suite level only. Always confirm. The breakfast charge à la carte is usually €40-€80 per person, significant if not included.
Five rules
- Confirm breakfast inclusion at booking
- À la carte over buffet, always
- Order eggs to order even at buffet hotels
- Pastry programme is the tell, sample widely
- Two-hour breakfast, make it the meal
For more, see the hotel dining pillar.
