Travel breakfast blog

This page has nothing whatsoever to do with economics or forecasting. Instead, it is dedicated to discussing breakfasts when you travel.

Why on Earth is that?

Well, for one thing, I like breakfast.

But there are other reasons too. As no doubt your mother told you, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. This was brought home to me when I was doing my army service (Royal Gotland Anti-Aircraft Battalion, 1978-79) and breakfast was the only meal you could be sure was decent every day. I still can’t believe the amounts I would eat then.

The importance of breakfast is also obvious to anyone who has to travel and do a series of daily meetings. It is the only meal you are likely to have without rushing to catch up with the next meeting.

I should have started this blog years ago when I did more business travel. But I didn’t. However, for the record, the three best hotel breakfasts I have ever had are:

The Epic restaurant in the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto. Easily the best hotel breakfast in the world in terms of choice and quality.

The Auberge Ostapé outside St Jean Pied-de-Port in France. Beautiful view of the Pyrenées combined with the best of French breakfast.

The Island Shangri-La in Hong Kong. A sumptuous mix of European/American and Asian.

On a more general point, I find that the three countries that do the best hotel breakfasts are Sweden (waffles, herring, lots of different bread and cheese); Israel (olives, pita, various cheeses and vegetables); and the USA (waffles, eggs, bacon, bagels). British hotel breakfasts are usually disappointing, though this is a subjective point because I don’t really like the cooked stuff they provide and the bread tends to be restricted to toast. French hotel breakfasts are also frequently uninspiring in spite of the food culture, mainly consisting of some very nice croissants and baguettes, but little other variety in terms of, say cheese or cold cuts.

By the way, contributions from others always welcome, whether anonymous (although I need to know who you are) or signed.

And finally: Ratings on the travel breakfast blog are from 0 to 10. 0 means all but inedible (and I certainly hope I never encounter that!); 10 is stupendous; and 5 means a decent average breakfast, nothing special but a perfectly nice meal. Ratings are based on variety and choice, presentation, taste, service, whether it is a buffet or table service (buffet preferable) and whether there is loose-leaf tea (preferable) or only teabags. Ultimately, the ratings are wholly subjective.

Hotell Arkad, Västerås, Sweden, 24 February 2024

I have said it before, and I will no doubt repeat it again. Even a small Nordic hotel will provide you with an excellent breakfast. This is an unpretentious, fairly small (40 rooms) hotel, yet the breakfast is very good indeed. Excellent choice of fresh bread, vegetables and cheeses, cold…

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Hotel Planeta Sano Eco Lodge, Quepos, Costa Rica, 28 December 2023

Simply put, this is not a good breakfast. The set-up is what I would call a semi-buffet. You take fruit and bread, granola and nuts from the buffet, then you order anything else from a very limited menu (three choices). The tea is bags only, of course. There is no…

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La Mansion Inn, Arenal, Costa Rica, 25 December 2023

As usual, I find it more difficult to rate a breakfast when it is not a buffet. That being said, this was quite nice. A decent choice on the menu, including Continental breakfast, English breakfast and typical Costa Rican breakfast. You can also order individual dishes. There is a plate…

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Park Inn by Radisson Copenhagen Airport, Copenhagen, Denmark, 23 December 2023

Let it be said in the beginning: this is an excellent breakfast buffet. Furnitures and the general setting  is stylish and functional Scandinavian. No disturbing background music and very attentive staff making sure that everything is always in order. Each category of food — bread, hot food, cold cuts and cereals —…

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BA First Class Lounge, Gatwick, United Kingdom, 21 December 2023

Basically, a stripped-down version of the offering in the equivalent lounge at Heathrow terminal 5. And when I say stripped-down, I mean, definitely not as good. Not much choice, the croissants were soggy, the scrambled eggs too dry and the bread was unimaginative. 4/10

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Hotel Vindeus First, Södertälje, Sweden, December 21, 2023

A small hotel in the outskirts of Södertälje, situated between the Syrian Orthodox Church and an enormous wedding hall. The breakfast includes most of what you’d ask for. The bread is fresh and comes in several varieties. There are youghurt products with or with sugar, lactose or milk. The meat…

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Boutique Hotel Krone, München, Germany, 9 December 2023

A small and rather disappointing buffet. On the positive side, the bread is freshly baked and varied (although some kinds ran out), and there is plenty of fruit and vegetables. But the coffee maker was repeatedly malfunctioning; there were no warm dishes apart from boiled eggs; and the cold cuts…

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Haga Slott, Enköping, Sweden 3 December 2023

I am in somewhat of a quandary. On the one hand, this is a nice medium-sized buffet. There is a tiny egg bar, there is an ample choice of cold cuts and vegetables and cheese and there are waffles with cloudberry jam! On the other hand, the tea is bags…

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Villa Dagmar, Stockholm, Sweden, 26 November 2023

This is the first time I am doing a repeat rating. In the past, I have simply not bothered. However, the breakfast at this hotel, which was anlready extremely good should now probably be rated excellent. Once again, a small buffet, which I would almost call a “pocket buffet”. That…

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Sunrise Garden House, Luang Prabang, Laos, 19 November 2023

This is a small and fairly unassuming buffet. A mixture of western and local food. Tea is of course bags only, but the croissants, while slightly doughy, surprisingly good. Nice selection of fruit and salad. The local dishes are tasty. I would not say that this is a breakfast I…

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