Self catering from your hotel room?

hollydays

Nothing too extreme,you understand,and I think maybe this question has been asked before,but,
I am going to Italy in a few weeks and the prices there are EYE WATERING!!
OH doesn't like to slum it,but needs must.
What basic catering ideas do others have?
Types of foods?
Help appreciated (just don't let OH realise we are economising).
I am avoiding paying £5 for a cup of coffee if at all possible-I feel a purchase of a travel kettle coming on..

oh,and we are travelling on the 1p flights with hand luggage so can take some stuff,but not loads .

Olliebeak

Basically you're going to be limited to whateveryou can do with a kettle of boiling water (Pot Noodles, Cup-a-soups, Couscous, dried Mash) and bread rolls/butter/cooked meats/salads/tinned meat&fish. But without a fridge, you'll have to buy fresh each day from a market/supermarket. Good Luck!

tabitha67

We do this sort of thing all the time. Great opportunity to visit all those fab italian food markets and buy salamis and olives, lovely bread and fruit, tasty Italian tomatoes etc, not to mention wine. Just get a box of cereal and milk, and some fruit/rolls and jam for breakfast, then buy fresh bread/cheese and tomatoes for lunch.

Buy a slab of bottled water from a supermarket and take a bottle with you every day, or just buy one bottle and refill.

[Deleted User]

we always self cater in hotel rooms for most of the time. You will be able to buy good foodstuffs locally. Take lightweight mugs, plates, a few lidded plastic boxes, poly bags, a good knife etc or be prepared to buy them out there. Pasta will cook in just boiled water in a container

mumoftwo

don't pack a knife in your hand luggage! You won't even make it on the flight.

coffee/tea, biscuits, crackers. And find a local supermarket. If I was going to Italy I would want to taste the local food, no matter how simple, not eat cup-a-soups. bread with something on it bought from a supermarket, maybe you could ask a local person or hotel staff.

hollydays

Sometimes hotel rooms have a minibar fridge-this may not as it is a cheaper one,i must go and check.

I just looked and the hotel has tea and coffee making facilities-which is not that common in Italian hotels-so at least I don't have to take the kettle.

I think i will go for the cous cous, Italian tomatoes,mozzarella?and we are very near San Lorenzo market,so i will have to look up some recipes .

Kittie-I must experiment with the pasta before I go.
Also I wish there was a recipe I could think of using Lemons because Italian lemons are nothing like the ones I buy at home.

dutchy

A small 'Camping Gaz' screw-in camping stove might be an idea, but don't buy the gas bottle til you get there; you won't be allowed to take it on the plane. Also 2 lightweight camping saucepans. You can boil pasta in one, heat up a jar of sauce in the other, mix them up and eat straight out of the pans. Grated cheese to sprinkle on top is readily available, and lovely crusty bed for wiping up with afterwards! Don't take metal cutlery, in fact not even sure plastic is allowable. You might have to buy cheap stuff there and throw it when you leave; a small price to pay compared to eating out every night. We spent a week in Sardinia last September, and eating out was prohibitively expensive. We were camping anyway, and so ate in camp most nights. Try Googling 'camping recipes' as well; there are lots more ideas, this was just the simplest one. Enjoy your holiday!

Dutchy

charliee_3

sounds like fun!! we did this when we went to Cannes. the hotel wanted 14 euros each for breakfast (having a laugh!) so we emptied the minibar fridge (only if its not one of those ones that automaticaly clocks up your bill) and each day one of us would pop out for fresh bread, croissants, salami, cheese, juice, etc and we had bought some jam and butter, then we'd sit on the balcony in the sun and stuff our faces!
to make it an extra treat each day we ordered a nice coffee each on room service.. mmm

have a great time!!

charlie
xx

MrsBartolozzi

dutchy wrote: »

A small 'Camping Gaz' screw-in camping stove might be an idea,

Dutchy

Good luck getting your stove on the plane (yes, just the stove, no gas). When we went backpacking to Italy 3 years ago we were not allowed to take it on the plane and it was lucky the my sil had dropped us off so we could give them to her, otherwise we would have had to bin them, like another party on the same plane did.

Most of the fountains in Rome have drinking water taps and this water is really nice - cold and sweet and totally drinkable (except where you see non potable signs), so just buy a bottle and keep filling it up.
We survived on bread and meats and cheese and fruit from the markets, and there's always pizza. Some areas of Rome offer cheaper foods, around the university and in the Jewish ghetto for instance, oh and if you go to the Jewish ghetto don't miss out on the pastry shop not overly expensive, but so moreish.
HTH MrsB.

Ballymackeonan

Look out for the Brek chain - Italian cafeteria with a wide choice of mains, a "make your own" salad bar, desserts etc and wine by the jug - fill your own from the spigot! I used this in Venice - seafood risotto and a big bowl of salad with ¼ litre of wine worked out at about €10.50. And while a cappucino at St. Mark's Square was €15, it was under €2 in Brek..!

Also used the Co-op for stuff for lunchtime picnics, and wine in tetra packs.

Spizzico is a fast-food pizza place, does "meal deals" - pizza, fresh fruit salad and a soft drink for about €6

greenbee

I wouldn't use a camping stove in a hotel room, as it's likely to cause problems. There will be fire regulations, and I don't think the hotel will be too happy!

Whereabouts in Italy are you going? I lived in Florence as a student, and lived very cheaply buying slices of pizza or takeaway pasta, plus bread, cheese, tomatoes etc. from the markets. You don't even really need plates etc (the wine tastes fine straight out of the bottle ), as you can just tear bits of bread off to eat, followed with a chunk of cheese and a whole tomato!