I am looking at the details of several hotels online, and one I especially like the look of offers a breakfast buffet for 499 INR. Is this a good deal? It also mentions that a hot breakfast is available instead, for the same price. Annoyingly enough there is not specific information on either, so I am wondering if anyone here knows what kind of food you could expect. Thanks in advance.
If you do the math 499 INR equals $7.30 US dollars, so depending on what the breakfast contains it's not a bad deal. If it's a cold breakfast it may just be fruit or cereal.
If it says buffet, then you usually get a choice of different foods to choose from. Since, it is a buffet, you can expect a little more food. There are hotels who offer free breakfasts as well, but of course you need to consider location, travel and other factors before you know if a free breakfast is really worth it. I guess you could call it a good deal, as long as you get more than just fruit and cereal. You might also have breads, hummus, sauces and even some meat options.
A buffet would consist of several items I would presume and a hot breakfast would be a la carte, I think. If it is a reputed hotel then the breakfast is bound to be good unlike smaller ones which may not be serving good food.
I wouldn't expect much for $7.99, especially if it's a nice hotel. I've paid that much for a piece of toast at some resorts. It's highway robbery, but they get away with it.
Rs 500 for breakfast sounds a little excessive for one person unless its a five star property in which case it would be worth it as they would have plenty of choices.
In my month long stay in India I never paid for breakfast. I kept a packet of oats with me and bought eggs from shops where ever I went. I bought an electric kettle and used it to heat water in the room to make oats and boil eggs in the same kettle. Works pretty well and saves a lot of money besides being very healthy.
Thanks for all the replies. They are quite mixed, so it looks like I need to check out the hotels offering these deals again and see where they fit into what has been said. Thanks again.
Don't forget, you should be able to contact the hotel directly to ask questions about their breakfast. I am sure they could provide pictures.
Call ahead and ask what their breakfast actually includes. Some consider a piece of fruit a breakfast, while others offer a whole buffet.
No harm in actually calling the hotel, if you are considering a specific one, you can also look that hotel up on some booking websites and read the customer comments, with some luck someone will mention something about whether the breakfast is worth it or not. I usually always book with breakfast, you always have to eat anyway so you might as well not worry about where to go and take advantage of the hotel breakfast.
Honestly, few hotel breakfasts are ever worth the price they cost. It is a way to inflate the value of your stay. If a $15 breakfast is comped to a room for every person, that seems like a great deal, even if it is only worth four dollars. You will be able to find richer, neater foods for sale out on the streets, or local shops.
In all of my travels the one thing that has never really bothered me is what kind of food I am getting for breakfast, as long as there is something. If there is nothing, I will be upset and frustrated and mad and hungry of course. In that situation though, out of town and at a hotel, I am willing to eat anything so I am just glad if they have something for me to eat.
Thats a fairly good price for a breakfast. I would think the actual range of options available would depend on the size of the hotel. The more guests that are present, then the more variety there should be avialable. I've received similar deals in the past in smaller hotels, in India as well as throughout Europe and Asia and generally I would expect simple food, probably not hot for that price. If its at a large hotel it will probably be a bargain deal.
I'd get the hot breakfast if I were you. If they had to separate "regular" breakfasts and "hot" breakfasts, then I think it's safe to assume that regular ones are not hot, which could either be cereals, bread, or even fruits. Make sure to ask questions, I'm sure they will be more than welcome to answer them for you, just to make sure you are getting the best deal for your money's worth, and you are getting what you really wanted, and not misunderstanding their labels and getting the wrong kind when you get there.
I usually content myself with congee for breakfast here but the variety that India has for breakfast looks really tasty. Misal Pav and Poha looked like dishes I would like to sample since they do have a lot of vegetables and spices. I'm not sure if breakfast in India includes coffee but I'd very much appreciate if I can have a cup every morning to satisfy the pick-me-up routine I usually have every morning.