30 Hotels Where You Can Start the Day with a Free Meal
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Whether you’re rolling out of bed in New Orleans or New York City, there’s probably plenty you’d like to explore during your stay. Getting breakfast at a restaurant cuts into your time and can cost you upwards of $40, depending on where you eat. It’s more convenient to just grab breakfast at the hotel.
Most people wouldn’t turn down free breakfast, even if it’s cold cereal instead of an elaborate buffet. In fact, we asked 600 people what their favorite hotel perk was, and free breakfast was the top response. We also found that it’s quite valuable, saving travelers an average of $26.50 per day. Depending on the length of your stay, that could add up to some serious cash. To help you identify hotels that offer the perk and make sure you’re eligible to receive it, we’ve compiled a complete guide to scoring free breakfast at 30 popular hotels, including some other ways to score that free meal such as having the best travel credit card on hand. Let’s dive in.
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Complimentary Breakfast at the Best Western Hotels and Resorts Chain
Brands: All (at most locations)
Varies by hotel, but can include:
Complimentary Breakfast at the Choice Hotels International Chain
Comfort Inn / Comfort Suites: Eggs and meat, fresh fruit, yogurt, and waffles
Quality Inn: Hot breakfast with items such as eggs, waffles, and pancakes
Sleep Inn: Hot breakfast
Econo Lodge: Continental breakfast
MainStay Suites: Continental breakfast with hot oatmeal station
Complimentary Breakfast at the Hilton Hotel Chain
Canopy: Artisanal breakfast with fresh produce with room delivery
Embassy Suites: Made-to-order eggs, breakfast potatoes, bacon, oatmeal, fruit, and pastries
Hampton Inn: Hot breakfast with fresh-baked waffles and oatmeal with toppings
Homewood Suites: Hot breakfast
Home2Suites: More than 400 breakfast combos
Tru: Scrambled eggs, chicken sausage, waffles, oatmeal, yogurt, fruit, granola, toppings, and more
Complimentary Breakfast at the Hyatt Hotel Chain
Hyatt House: Breakfast with made-to-order omelet bar (at most locations)
Hyatt Zilara / Hyatt Ziva: All-inclusive dining
Complimentary Breakfast at the IHG Hotel Chain
Holiday Inn Express: Hot breakfast with a range of options (including pancakes)
Staybridge Suites: Hot breakfast buffet
Complimentary Breakfast at the Marriott Hotel Chain
Element (except Asia Pacific region): Whole fruit, granola, and hot breakfast
Fairfield Inn & Suites (except Asia Pacific region): Hot breakfast options
Residence Inn: Hot breakfast options
SpringHill Suites: Hot breakfast options
TownePlace Suites: Hot breakfast options
Complimentary Breakfast at the Radisson Hotel Chain
Country Inns & Suites: Gourmet coffee, hot oatmeal, pastries, bacon and eggs, breakfast burritos, French toast, waffles, yogurt parfaits, cereal, and more
Complimentary Breakfast at the Wyndham Hotel Chain
Baymont Inn & Suites: Waffles, cereal, coffee, juice, and more
Days Inn: Fresh fruit, yogurt, cereal, oatmeal, juice, and coffee
Howard Johnson: Breakfast options with coffee, tea, or juice
Hawthorn Suites: Hot breakfast options
La Quinta: Homemade waffles, eggs, breakfast meats, and more
Microtel: Not specified
Super 8: Hot waffles, fruit, coffee, and more
Wingate: Hot breakfast buffet with eggs, bacon, waffles, yogurt, fruit, and oatmeal
You can also get free breakfast at Hyatt Place if you are a World of Hyatt Member. Although you don’t need elite status for this perk, you will need to book your stay using your membership account.
Hotels with free breakfast for elite members
Some major hotel chains have loyalty programs that allow you to achieve elite status by staying a minimum number of nights each year or meeting other requirements. Elite status sometimes means free breakfast, along with other perks.
Hilton elite status
If you have Gold or Diamond status in the Hilton Honors program, you and up to one additional guest will get a complimentary daily food and beverage credit. The credit will range in amount from $10 to $25 depending on the hotel you’re staying at. The credit is available at the following hotels:
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Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts
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LXR Hotels & Resorts
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Conrad Hotels & Resorts
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Canopy by Hilton
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Curio Collection by Hilton
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Hilton Hotels & Resorts
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DoubleTree by Hilton
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Tapestry Collection by Hilton
Hyatt elite status
All World of Hyatt members receive free breakfast at participating Hyatt Place hotels. However, you need to reach travel milestones or achieve elite status to get complimentary breakfast at other Hyatt properties.
Marriott Bonvoy elite status
For Marriott Bonvoy members, the benefits depend on the particular Marriott property you’re staying at. To get free breakfast, you need to achieve at least Platinum elite status, which requires that you stay for a minimum amount of nights at a Marriott property in a calendar year.
If you have Platinum or Titanium status, you’ll get your choice of a welcome amenity when staying at select hotels. The following brands offer free breakfast as an option for Platinum and Titanium members:
Some hotels also offer a $10 food and beverage credit for you and a guest. These include:
In addition, several Marriott properties offer some sort of food and beverage amenity, but the options vary by location and features of the hotel. These include:
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Marriott Hotels
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JW Marriott
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Delta Hotels
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Autograph Collection
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Renaissance Hotels
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Courtyard by Marriott
Get free breakfast with your credit card
If you don’t travel often enough to earn elite status, some credit cards provide access to free breakfast at a variety of hotels. For example, if you have the Platinum Card from American Express, and you book a stay through Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts, which includes more than 1,000 properties worldwide, you’ll get a free daily breakfast for two, along with other perks.
Or, if you’re a Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholder, you can book a hotel through the Chase Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection, which also includes more than 1,000 properties. Booking one of these hotels gets you access to daily complimentary breakfast for two guests.
Visa Signature cardholders can also access more than 900 properties through the Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection. Bookings include free breakfast for two in addition to a $25 food or beverage credit.
If you book through these programs, you may also be eligible for other perks, such as room upgrades, free Wi-Fi, and late checkout when available.
FAQs about complimentary hotel breakfast
What is included in a continental buffet breakfast?
Although this varies by hotel, a continental breakfast typically consists of items such as pastries, fresh fruit, cereals, and beverages. It does not usually include hot items such as eggs and breakfast meat.
Can you eat at a hotel without staying there?
Although options vary by brand, we were particularly impressed by the selection of breakfast items at Best Western, Hilton, Hyatt, and Radisson. Best Western takes the cake for the most allergy- and diet-friendly options; Hilton and Hyatt made our list for the made-to-order omelets available at select hotels; and Radisson features unique choices such as breakfast burritos.
Can you bring continental breakfast to your room?
Different hotels have different policies. Typically, if the hotel has a restaurant, you can eat there even if you’re not a guest. But if the hotel only has a breakfast buffet that is included in the room rate, you may not be able to eat there.
The last word on free breakfast
Getting your eggs and bacon free of charge might be the most valuable benefit you can get with your hotel stay, so it’s a good idea to consider the cost of breakfast when comparing hotel rates. That said, scoring free breakfast isn’t the only way to save money on your hotel stay. From choosing the best hotel credit cards to using coupon codes, there are plenty of strategies for getting a rate so low that free breakfast might not matter to you. Just be sure to look at all of the amenities and costs before making your decision.
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