I have been fortunate to have the ability and willingness to travel. When I am abroad or at home, breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. In my old age, a big breakfast is about the only excess I can indulge in that will not ruin my day or night. When planning a trip, the hotel breakfast plays a big part in where I will choose to stay. Knowing ahead of time spares me the need to make an early-morning decision about where to eat, a time when I am usually starving and in desperate need of coffee.
If I am lucky enough to enjoy a great breakfast away, it lingers as one of my favorite memories of a place. A meal isn’t just about the food, though it has to be good. It is just as much about the place, the setting, and the people. I will take some time and space here to recall a few of my favorites.
1. Långholmen Hotel – Stockholm, Sweden
The Långholmen Hotel is a quirky place. It is also my favorite hotel in the world. The Långholmen sits on an island in a beautiful residential section of Stockholm, a short T-Bana ride to anywhere in the city. It was formerly a prison, and the current hotel embraces the building’s history in a sometimes kitschy way, with rooms referred to as cells with heavy wooden-looking doors. I don’t mind the tiny cell of a room or the twin bunk beds (Ok, I actually love a tiny bunk bed), though. I could write a whole story about all the things I love about the Långholmen, but the breakfast is what puts this hotel at the top of the list.
This isn’t just the best hotel breakfast I have ever had; it’s the best breakfast I have ever had. And I have had some good ones, which you will read about. It’s worth pointing out that I have also had some terrible ones. It’s pretty shocking how bad all-you-can-eat hotel breakfast is in America compared to almost every place I have stayed in Europe. I am primarily talking about you, Holiday Inn Express, though you get points for the new Costa coffee machines; those are great.
The first time I walked into the restaurant and looked at the food on offer, everything seemed normal. It is not a display of ridiculous overwhelming choice or size; on the surface, it appears modest and not much different than any other (European) hotel breakfast. It is when you look closer that you start to see the difference, which only gets more pronounced once you actually start eating. It feels more like eating at your grandmother’s house than at a restaurant, assuming your grandmother was exceedingly busy making breakfast. This feeling of “home” was reinforced by the families that were arriving and gathering together. It seemed like a place you go to for breakfast on a big occasion, regardless of whether you were staying there.
Most of the bread had little signs on it indicating it was baked there. There were homemade jams and sausages, and there was even homemade Nutella. I have travelled through Italy, and I am even lucky enough to have an Italian wife. I had to go all the way to Sweden for in-house Nutella. It’s amazing. The whole breakfast, the eggs, sausages, pancakes, everything was clearly made with care. There were not hundreds of things to choose from, just the right amount; mostly made in-house and delivered with care and quality rather than volume. Small signs reminded diners to take only what they would eat. It would be a tremendous act of disrespect to take a plateful of food a family member made for you, then leave it in the trash.
The coffee is great as well. Strong and dark and served in small cups, as is the way in Europe. It is one of the things I miss most when I am home.
The dining room itself is deceptively large, and I sit in a section that looks like a sunroom, with a view of the outside island. Though busy, it is always quiet. There are no loud, obnoxious tourists, just people speaking in hushed, reverent tones worthy of the space. I took a seat by myself and looked down the row of candlelit tables, the whole experience was so beautiful.
I sat for a long time, misty-eyed, holding a warm cup of coffee under my nose so I would remember the light of the candles, the smell of the coffee. I didn’t want to leave. This is my home away from home.
2. Petit Palace Puerta de Triana – Seville, Spain
My wife and I visited Seville towards the end of a long trip through Europe. We went in October, hoping to avoid the worst of the summer heat and crowds. We were a little disappointed to find the weather unusually warm and the crowds still thronging, though I am sure it is worse in summer. In this setting, breakfast at the Petit Palace Puerta de Triana was more than a meal; it was a peaceful refuge.
On our first morning, we were up early. I am always up early and hungry, suffering from the early stages of caffeine withdrawal. I suspect I dragged my wife down to breakfast earlier than she would have preferred. Breakfast is served at a small set of tables in the back of the hotel lobby. The sun had not fully risen, and the lighting was dim. The room was nearly silent as we were the first people there.
There was a great variety to choose from, freshly made Spanish tortilla, little bowls of chia seed pudding, breads and jams, meats and cheeses. In addition to the freshly squeezed orange juice, little glasses of different fruit smoothies were constantly brought out, in greens, reds, and yellows. It felt more like a gourmet tasting menu than a breakfast buffet. It was all well-made and thoughtfully displayed.
We lingered there for a few hours every morning, appreciating the food, the quiet, and the time together, before our busy days of sightseeing.
3. Glendine Country House – Arthurstown, Ireland
Sometimes the places least anticipated, the stops on a journey that exist as go-betweens to break up travel, end up being the greatest surprises. Sometimes they are better than the places you were seeking as destinations. Arthurstown, Ireland, was one of those places. Narbonne, France, and Kyle of Lochalsh in Scotland were as well, but more on those later.
On a road trip around Ireland a few years ago, we planned to stay a few nights in Arthurstown. It seemed to be about equidistant from Dublin and one of our other planned stops, Killarney. We had never heard of the town, but there was a nice-looking bed and breakfast there, the Glendine Country House, and truthfully, not a whole lot else; it is a small town. There was a lively pub, however, the Kings Bay Inn, which I highly recommend visiting. It was close to the water and not too far from Kilkenny; we figured we could spend a few nights there.
Arthurstown was a great find. The “Hook Peninsula” was scenic and relatively free of tourists. We would gladly go back to see it again, but mostly to have breakfast in the dining room again.
At home, we have spent years eating meals and having coffee at a kitchen island. Staying in a bed and breakfast for the first time in a long time made me appreciate the forgotten pleasure of actually sitting at a normal table and facing the person I am eating with. This was a revelation. The dining room was carefully attended to by a small staff of no more than two. We took the table at the window and studied the menu. I had been eating what amounted to a full Irish breakfast every day at the previous stop, so we opted for something lighter, the Irish oatmeal.
This wasn’t like any other oatmeal I had before. It was as white as snow. I am not sure exactly what it was made with, but it was rich and luxurious. It was served with a small pot of Bailey’s Irish Cream to be added on top, which we dutifully did.
Back here at home, we don’t eat meals at the island anymore. I have tried to replicate the oatmeal we had there, including the Bailey’s, but I have not come close yet. I will have to ask how they make it the next time we go back.
4. La Maison Gustave – Narbonne, France
Narbonne was another stopover point and an unexpected gem. We had never heard of it before, but it was conveniently between Avignon and Barcelona, and close to Carcassonne, so we planned for two nights there at La Maison Gustave.
The hotel is a little unusual. It is a small building with a few rooms, conveniently located in town above a cheese shop and across the street from the cathedral. There is no reception; you have an access code to the room and building, a bit like a short-term rental apartment. However, during the afternoons, your room is serviced, the coffee machine restocked, and the next day’s breakfast is left for you in the refrigerator. It is very simple, just some juice, yogurt, meats, and cheeses. There is a small table in the room with two chairs that works perfectly for breakfast in the room.
If that had been all there was to it, it would still have been very nice. But the thing that made this breakfast special was the bread and croissants that were delivered fresh to your room, very early in the morning, from a local bakery. The first morning, I went down the stairs to pick up our delivery. On the second day, it was so eagerly anticipated that my wife was hanging out of our 3rd story window in the dark, waiting eagerly for the morning’s bread delivery.
The setting, the quaint room, breakfast with fresh bread at the foot of the bed, it all added up to a unique experience that we can’t wait to try again.
5. The Kyle Hotel – Kyle of Lochalsh, Scotland
The last of the stopover towns in this story. I had no idea what to expect from Kyle of Lochalsh. I only knew it was the starting point for the train line west to east across the highlands to my final Scottish destination, Inverness.
I was visiting in winter, and the town was pretty deserted. Dinner in the hotel the previous evening was good, fish and chips and a few pints while I watched the rugby and football. It bade well for the next day’s breakfast.
And the full Scottish breakfast did not disappoint. Black pudding, sausage, bacon, tattie scones, the works. It was not an all-you-can-eat affair, it didn’t need to be. There was no way to eat anything else after you finished this plate. I took my time, alone in the small dining room, looked at the winter sun rising over the empty streets of Kyle, and drank way too much coffee. I have had many full breakfasts in the UK over the years, but this one is the most memorable.
6. In case you just want coffee…
Not everyone is as obsessed with breakfast as I am, if all you need in the morning is some coffee, here are a few places that stand out in my memory.
1. Črno Zrno Specialty Coffee – Ljubljana, Slovenia
My wife, daughter and I stumbled across Črno Zrno on a warm summer morning on our first visit to Ljubljana. It was tucked away around a corner. Decorated in white and blue tiles it felt like I was visiting a room in an old Moorish castle in southern Spain. The owner made a suggestion for our order and we took him up on it. It was a concoction that included cold brew coffee, tonic water, probably a few other things. Served in a wine glass, it was uniquely delicious and perfect. I look forward to going back in colder weather for a coffee someday.
2. Skool Beans – Vik, Iceland
The best cup of coffee I ever had was at Skool Beans. It is a coffee and tea shop in a converted school bus, left behind when a US military base closed, sitting unassumingly tucked up next to the mountains in Vik. It happened to be a short walk from the hotel we were staying in so I went for a coffee one morning. You have the option of choosing coffee beans they roast themselves, which I did. My americano was perfect. Dark and strong, as complex as a great red wine. I have had a million cups of coffee in my life, but I remember that one like it was yesterday.
I am looking forward to adding to this list in the future! So let me know where you have had a great breakfast or other meal during your travels!