Monday, August 11, 2008

A Simply Dazzling Breakfast

We had a bit of a brain hiccup the other day that is a little embarrassing, so I thought I'd write about it on the Internet. Of course.

We spent a few days at a hotel in the Very Big City to take in some sights and visit friends. I was deeelighted not to have to cook or clean for four! whole! days!

The night before our last day Groom-boy and I thought it would be a nice treat to order room service for breakfast. The kids would get a kick out of it, we thought. So we perused the menu and filled out the form for a continental breakfast - $15. It boasted juice, coffee, fruit and a basket of baked goods with preserves. We chose danishes and muffins. It asked how many of us were in the room. We said four. We hung the order on the door before midnight, as instructed.

We don't get out much, truly, because we thought we would get our $15 continental breakfast with a few baked goods and enough glasses for the four of us. I expected I would be cutting muffins and danishes in half to share amongst us.

Do you see where this is going?

An enormous tray showed up for us promptly the next morning. Four continental breakfasts, ma'am, $77 plus tip.

Aack!

Duh. What could I do? We said on the form there were four people. (Call me a picky communications-type person, but I do think they should reword that part so you can say how many "breakfasts" you want, not how many "people" are in the room. It would be helpful for those of us who are sleep-deprived, math-challenged parents.)

The Most Expensive Breakfast We've Ever Had consisted of a large jug of coffee, four glasses of orange juice, four oranges, four danishes, four muffins and various condiments - $77. Naturally the kids weren't interested in anything except for the orange juice. They opted for the Cheerios we had brought with us.


Groom-boy and I ate as much as we could and drank so much coffee we were floating - and still there was a third of a pot left. We wrapped and packed every food item except the butter.

Danish anyone? I still have some.

7 comments:

Heather said...

hehehehe. We made the mistake of ordering room service once. Now instead of having the free hot buffet a certain 5 year old throws a hairy snit in favour of room service. I gave in once but not next time! :)

Christine said...

Oh, I feel your pain. We once went to dinner in La Jolla, CA at a nice restaurant (before kids) overlooking the sea. We were expecting around $70.00, but the bill came to over $150 (and we don't even drink!). Yikes. The food really was truly delicious. The kind you remember for always. And the bill? We will always remember that as well. They didn't give prices on the menu, but we figured it would be close to other restaurants in the area. Big mistake.

Those were the days! Kids really change things.

You can tell them about that grand breakfast story when they're older, and I'll bet they'll get a big kick out of it. Especially the cheerios part. LOL

Gen said...

This made me laugh out loud.

Hotels can be evil. I had them do some laundry once while travelling for work and it cost well over $100. But work was paying so I didn't care.

Sorry, I'm still laughing.

It was great to see you guys!

Christine said...

Wow, after reading Past Deadline, I guess I won't complain about our summer rain. We still need to water everything, and it doesn't happen often enough, or long enough, to keep us inside very often. A little perspective is good. How are your autumns?

Steph said...

Scary room service bills - eeep! This week we went out to eat at Red Lobster and four of us had supper (without dessert) for $79. Go figure!

Gen - it was great to see you, too! Your kids are beautiful!

Pam - this summer has been unusually yucky. Usually we have really nice summers, although the last several years have been pretty humid. The rain has kept the air clear and the temperatures have been nice - at least. I really really really hope we have a reasonable fall. All of 2008 has just been wacko in the precipitation department!

Betsy said...

Not having to cook or clean is my most favorite part about vacations. Ouch on the breakfast bill.

Heather said...

Last entry, August 11th. That is nearly a month ago!!!!!