Hotel breakfasts in America are objectively terrible and in Europe they are objectively amazing.
The saddest part is that I think if more Americans realized how screwed they got in this they would actually demand better--and corporations would respond.
I'm in Poland at the moment, but i've been all over eastern europe for many-a-year and it's always the same. You spend $100/$150 a night (in the capital city downtown--elsewhere it's often much less), and you get a very comfortable hotel room with breakfast included.
Euro breakfast:
Buffet features a wide array of
- sliced meats, cheeses, and vegetables.
- Multiple styles of eggs, sausages, and hot-self-server buffet items
- Multiple varieties of coffee to choose from.
- Fresh juices,
- Fresh fruits and vegetables
- Actual butter (not margerine)
- Breads in numerous varieties, croissants, rolls etc.
- Bonus features (i.e. not always standard but often present):
- Many places will have specialty and made-to-order items like omlets in addition to the other hot items.
- The hotel i'm in at the moment (in Warsaw) even has a bottomless mimosa bar!
- This is all included in the free breakfast. No "extra costs" no "pay to play" options where you feel like a second class citizen because you didn't want to pay an extras $50 for $5 of amenities.
American Breakfast:
Compare to that typical American hotel. $300-$400 a night depending on the season. Accommodation is typically comparable, but cleaning is usually worse.
The free breakfast:
- powdered eggs,
- potato cubes from a frozen bag.
- Meat of some kind (sausage patties or bacon),
- maybe a waffle iron with mix also from a bag.
- Maybe apples and bananas. Mini cereal boxes.
- Coffee that is little better than hot water
Point is: it's vastly inferior. And don't ever you dream about a mimosa bar unless you're willing to pay an extra $20.00+.
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American corporations nickel and dime their customers in so many ways: by upcharging on tiny costs and by downgrading the quality and enshittifying everything they possibly can. Cutting corners upon corners so some MBA who would never use their own product can justify their bonus to the board by finnegling some numbers somewhere.
Yes, i understand cost of living is generally higher than in places like Eastern Europe--so okay, you could argue that the $300/$400 a night is justifiable (it's not). But the significantly worse quality of everything is absolutely not justifiably.
I just wish Americans understood how bad they have it. Maybe things would get better for us if we demanded a better standard.