Hotel Breakfasts We Still Dream About
You often hear the advice that you should never book the hotel breakfast.
“It’s too expensive.”
“You can get breakfast on your own.”
“The coffee is never good.”
All of these things can be true. Hotel buffet breakfasts are often shorthand for rubbery eggs, lukewarm toast, and a suspicious number of individually wrapped cereals. And yet… sometimes, just sometimes, you get something genuinely special. The kind of breakfast that makes you slow down, linger a little longer, and think about it years later.
And to say we like our breakfasts is a bit of an understatement. We’ve written about finding great breakfast options in Melbourne and Marrickville with more locations to follow.
Below are a few hotel breakfasts we’ve experienced over the years that still live rent-free in our travel memories.
Hotel Breakfasts
Hotel Henri – Hamburg, Germany
This one sits right at the top of the list, for so many reasons.
The food itself was everything I want from a breakfast: eggs, muesli, dark breads, cheese, and endless hot tea, all served with a sense of humour and zero pretension. But what really sealed it for us was the service.
We were travelling over Easter weekend, and on our final morning we had an early train departure, well before the kitchen officially opened. Without hesitation, the staff packed us vegetarian-friendly breakfasts to take with us on the train and even tucked in some Easter chocolates for good measure.
It was such a small thing, but it felt incredibly thoughtful. We still talk about that breakfast, and the care behind it, years later.
Hotel Henri, Bugenhagenstraße 21, 20095 Hamburg, Germany
WIDE Hotel – Copenhagen, Denmark
This was one of those breakfasts that made me fall headfirst into loving Nordic breakfasts.
Think rye bread, pickled things, yoghurt with berries, hard-boiled eggs, and homemade jams. It was simple, fresh, and deeply satisfying. They also had what we affectionately dubbed “the omelette lady”, where you could order a freshly cooked egg creation with whatever fillings you fancied.
It felt calm, unfussy, and very Danish in the best possible way.
WIDE Hotel, Studiestræde 61, Copenhagen 1554, Denmark
Nine Tree by Parnas – Seoul, South Korea
This one was a genuine surprise, especially for two people with multiple dietary needs.
Before heading to Seoul, we heard a lot of “But what are you going to eat?” comments, usually followed by something about Korea being all meat. Spoiler alert: we ate extremely well.
This breakfast buffet stood out not just for its incredibly fluffy omelettes (which we’ve been unsuccessfully trying to recreate ever since), but also for the inclusion of local dishes alongside familiar options. Even better, everything was clearly labelled for allergens, including vegetarian choices.
That clarity gave us the confidence to try Korean food in the morning without worry, which made a huge difference to the overall experience.
Nine Tree by Parnas Seoul Insadong, 49 Insadong-gil, Jongno District, Seoul, South Korea
Hotel Mets Shibuya – Tokyo, Japan
Staying in Shibuya and travelling with different dietary needs can make breakfast planning surprisingly tricky. This is one of those times when a hotel breakfast just makes sense.
The spread here balanced Japanese and Western options, meaning everyone could find something they were happy with, no negotiating required before caffeine. It’s also where we tried natto, the famously divisive fermented soybean dish that truly earns its reputation as an acquired taste.
Not every experiment was a success… but that’s half the fun.
Hotel Mets Shibuya, 3 Chome-29-17 Shibuya, Tokyo 150-0002, Japan
Disney Wonder – Palo Brunch
OK, OK. I know. I’m stretching the definition a little here.
But if you think of a cruise ship as your floating hotel, then surely any breakfast served onboard counts as a hotel breakfast, right?
Palo is the adults-only, extra-cost Italian restaurant on most Disney ships. And yes, you’ve technically already paid for food elsewhere onboard. But Palo is one of those places where the experience fully justifies the splurge.
From the moment you step inside, through the beautifully elevated dishes, to signing the guest book on your way out, it feels special. It’s the kind of brunch you’d happily pay for on land or at sea.
How and when do we choose?
So when and why do we sometimes book the hotel breakfast?
Sometimes it’s about timing. We may have an early flight that we just don’t want to fuss about finding something to eat early on. Sometimes its because we don’t speak the language and knowing that we can find things that fit our dietary needs in the morning can make things just that little bit easier. Sometimes it just looks good on the website and gets good reviews online. Sometimes its just included with the room, and you can take advantage of an early meal.
And if you’re really really lucky, you get that personal touch and amazing memory like what happened for us with Hotel Henri.
