If the Breakfast Sucks, So Does the Hotel
THE UPGRADE LIST #14
As you all know well, the 24HR club sandwich is the number one litmus test for a luxury hotel. But a damn good hotel breakfast is easily #2.
And unlike the club, breakfast is where there’s nowhere to hide.
We recently published a video on the importance of hotels delivering a consistent, memorable breakfast spread. It’s something that luxury hotels simply need to get right. And many of you chimed in with your favorites across the globe. (Some very good intel.)
Every good hotelier knows that its breakfast needs to be memorable. It needs to be worth returning to. And it’s the one meal on-property that there’s absolutely no excuse for getting wrong. Zero.
For us, there’s one hotel breakfast that immediately comes to mind…
Ashford Castle’s Honey-Baked Ham
At Ashford Castle, the entire breakfast spread is something to write home about. But it really becomes special when the ham trolley rolls out. That’s the moment that sticks.
The famous baked ham is carved right in front of you in the historic George V dining room….slow-cooked for 10+ hours, glazed with honey and cloves. It’s not something we would’ve ever thought to crave at breakfast—but one bite with a side of English and French mustard, and we were converted. This ham is a religion.
The story behind it is really something:
In 1939, when Ashford Castle opened as a hotel, the dinner trolley was purchased in London from Simpson’s in the Strand. It was originally meant to be for presenting the main course: beef, lamb, or salmon.
But 1939 was a bad time to open a hotel…right at the start of World War II. It was decided that all the bacon that was typically prepared for guests would be sent to the troops. So they thought to boil a ham as an apology.
They had a big, coal-fired Aga. Ant the tradition started of boiling a ham during the day, and baking it overnight, ready to be carved fresh for guests of the hotel. And they’re still doing the same thing today, almost 90 years later.
A good breakfast is one thing. A breakfast with a story like this is another. And across all of our travels, this remains the breakfast that stands out because of it.
If you can’t make it to Ashford for breakfast, the next best thing is checking out our whole video on the Ashford Castle experience. (Or just jump to 11:12 for the ham!)
Now, onto this week’s Upgrade List: Diet Coke is back on the menu, Belmond crusing by river, hotel hot dog carts, and more.
The seatbelt sign is on. You know the drill.
UPGRADE LIST #14
Starting off with the important things: you can now enjoy a Diet Coke w/ your club sandwich at Marriott properties. Coca-Cola is officialy set to replace Pepsi as Marriott’s exclusive beverage partner across more than 9,800 properties worldwide. That means being the exclusive beverage partner for nearly 1.8 million rooms in 145 countries. This move ends a partnership that’s been in place since 1992. (DC lovers rejoice!)
Capella Kyoto is now open and Japan is still calling us. We’re fans of just about everything that Capella has going on…and this inspired, 89-key hotel is no exception. More on this later. Happy booking folks!
Kempinski Hotels just made its first acquisition in 50 years. The legendary hotel group is picking up the Augustine Hotel in Prague. It’s set in a historic monastery complex, and was previously managed by Marriott International under its Luxury Collection brand.
