Luxury Hotel Breakfast for Less Than $3? Here’s How!

There are certain pleasures that instantly signal a vacation. Enjoying breakfast at a fancy hotel certainly fits the bill. Imagine a well-stocked buffet, freshly baked pastries, fruit juices, fresh fruits, jams, scrambled eggs, and steaming hot coffee… It’s hard to resist. Yet, this experience comes with a price tag. At some places, it can cost over $30 to indulge, which might make your coffee go down the wrong way.

Interestingly, you don’t always need to book a room to walk away with goods from these buffets. In recent years, more and more hotels have started opening their restaurants to non-guests. Some even offer brunches that are open to the public. The issue remains that the prices are still steep. With the vacation budget melting faster than ice cream in the sun, many are on the lookout for more affordable alternatives.

At the same time, hotels encounter another challenge. Each morning, they prepare large amounts to keep the buffet stocked until the end of service. Consequently, at the end of the day, there are leftovers like bread and pastries that are still perfectly edible. They can’t be reused in the buffet the next day, but throwing them out isn’t an option either. It’s here that several establishments have found a middle ground. Rather than letting these items go to waste, they offer them at a reduced price. It’s a win-win situation.

The secret is using Too Good To Go, the app known for fighting food waste. Partner hotels list their “surprise baskets” on the app, filled with leftover items from breakfast. The contents vary daily depending on what didn’t sell, but typically include pastries, bread, and other buffet products. According to Too Good To Go, these baskets usually contain between $9 and $15 worth of goods, while they are sold for about $2.50.

Several hotels from groups like Accor, Hilton, Best Western, and Mercure are already participating in this initiative. For instance, in Paris, the Madeleine Plaza located on rue Cambon regularly offers baskets for just $2.49. The Château des Fleurs on avenue Galilée also sells assortments of pastries and bread for $2.99. The same goes for the hotel Le 12, where baskets are priced at $2.49. However, it’s wise to be quick: these baskets often sell out in minutes.

Therefore, some users monitor the posting times almost as closely as they track discounts during sales. Others even use Magic Bag Tracker, a service that helps pinpoint new baskets more quickly. It’s not a guarantee that you’ll snag one, but it does increase the chances, especially for the most sought-after hotels.