Any hotel employees give me advice?

bundly

This is a question for any hotel manager or worker "in the know."

I am booked into a 4 star hotel for five days over Xmas, non refundable room-only rate.I am following a ketogenic diet (almost no carbs) and don't eat very much, just about 4oz of meat or fish three times a day, and a bit of salad, and thought I could just buy a buffet breakfast every other day and sneak something like a couple of sausages, a boiled egg and a slice of cheese into a Tupperware box to have later that day, and then for dinner just get something small and cheap off the menu, supplementing these bits and bobs with the odd can of tuna (I'll take a can opener!) or a couple of Peperami, or a few BabyBel.

However, after booking (stupid me!) I discover that breakfast is a whopping £17 and even just ONE course in the restaurant costs upwards of £25. I even phoned the bar and asked the cost of the cheapest bar snack and it was £12.50 for a burger and chips. Ouch - that is a LOT when you are going to discard the bun and the chips and eat only 4oz of meat!

While other guests have the choice to drive to town and use a restaurant or cafe, I don't drive and the hotel isn't near any food shops.

My question to hotel employees is, would it be acceptable for me to ask them to clear the alcoholic drinks out of my minibar and let me use it as a fridge to keep perishable food that I have brought with me? Is it allowed at all to bring and eat your own food? And to use the minibar to store it? I've never seen a list of rules for guests in all the places I have ever stayed, but I assume there are rules, but we guests never get to hear them. Also, is it acceptable to take a Tupperware box to breakfast and put some food aside for later? (I am not planning on taking MORE food than the average hotel guest, just a normal portion but take half in my Tupperware box instead of in my stomach.)

Should I phone the hotel and ask them straight what they find acceptable? Or is that a bad idea as I am alerting them to my plans and they will be on the look out and tell me off?

Valli

Answering as a non-employee.

re the fridge. You can remove the drink etc and put your own stuff in.
EDIT - not advisable according to Voyager!

re the breakfast - taking food from the restaurant out of the restaurant WILL be frowned on, at least. It's possible, that if you do this and you are seen, you could be asked to leave the restaurant or even the hotel.

re the burger - you could ask if you could order the burger only and what the cost would be.

Voyager2002

Valli wrote: »

Answering as a non-employee.

re the fridge. You can remove the drink etc and put your own stuff in.

re the breakfast - taking food from the restaurant out of the restaurant WILL be frowned on, at least. It's possible, that if you do this and you are seen, you could be asked to leave the restaurant or even the hotel.

re the burger - you could ask if you could order the burger only and what the cost would be.

Many hotel mini-bars have motion detectors, so that if a bottle is moved the price of it is added to your bill. So I suggest that you contact the hotel in advance, say that you need to use the 'fridge (you might mention your medical condition and say that you need to use it to store things needed for your health) and ask them to clear out the mini-bar for you.

I agree that removing food from a buffet service is absolutely unacceptable.

Voyager2002

bundly wrote: »

This is a question for any hotel manager or worker "in the know."

I am booked into a 4 star hotel for five days over Xmas, non refundable room-only rate.I am following a ketogenic diet (almost no carbs) and don't eat very much, just about 4oz of meat or fish three times a day, and a bit of salad, and thought I could just buy a buffet breakfast every other day and sneak something like a couple of sausages, a boiled egg and a slice of cheese into a Tupperware box to have later that day, and then for dinner just get something small and cheap off the menu, supplementing these bits and bobs with the odd can of tuna (I'll take a can opener!) or a couple of Peperami, or a few BabyBel.

However, after booking (stupid me!) I discover that breakfast is a whopping £17 and even just ONE course in the restaurant costs upwards of £25. I even phoned the bar and asked the cost of the cheapest bar snack and it was £12.50 for a burger and chips. Ouch - that is a LOT when you are going to discard the bun and the chips and eat only 4oz of meat!

While other guests have the choice to drive to town and use a restaurant or cafe, I don't drive and the hotel isn't near any food shops.

My question to hotel employees is, would it be acceptable for me to ask them to clear the alcoholic drinks out of my minibar and let me use it as a fridge to keep perishable food that I have brought with me? Is it allowed at all to bring and eat your own food? And to use the minibar to store it? I've never seen a list of rules for guests in all the places I have ever stayed, but I assume there are rules, but we guests never get to hear them. Also, is it acceptable to take a Tupperware box to breakfast and put some food aside for later? (I am not planning on taking MORE food than the average hotel guest, just a normal portion but take half in my Tupperware box instead of in my stomach.)

Should I phone the hotel and ask them straight what they find acceptable? Or is that a bad idea as I am alerting them to my plans and they will be on the look out and tell me off?

It doesn't sound as if your stay will be very enjoyable, so if you had the option then cancellation might be a good idea. Also: the hotel probably expects to earn a fair amount on sales of food and drink over Christmas and will not be happy with the tiny amount that you are likely to spend. You might consider sending them a revised version of your post and ask whether they would consider allowing you to cancel so that a "better" guest could be found. It would be sensible for them to agree.

Valli

Voyager2002 wrote: »

Many hotel mini-bars have motion detectors, so that if a bottle is moved the price of it is added to your bill.

Wow! Never knew that! TY

LEJC

does your stay inclide christmas day night?

If so I would certainlyphone and check with the hotel what their food policy is that day as it is likely to be different from their usual, and if you are intending eating in the hotel you may find that they do not operate usual menus.

A few years ago we were away over christmas and booked a dinner bed and breakfast deal which the hotel accepted at time of booking,only for us to discover that there was no general meal provision that day.
Initially they wanted us to upgrade to their special christmas lunch but after some persuasion it was was re included in our booking as we were not advised that normal meal services would not be available

I acknowledge that you are booked on a room only basis but you may find that the hotel will operate slightly differently on christmas Day to the rest of the year with regard to what meal options it offers..especially if its also offering a christmas lunch to non resident guests

bundly

Voyager2002 wrote: »

the hotel probably expects to earn a fair amount on sales of food and drink over Christmas and will not be happy with the tiny amount that you are likely to spend. You might consider sending them a revised version of your post and ask whether they would consider allowing you to cancel so that a "better" guest could be found.

I can't believe you wrote that. Is it a joke?

You are saying that WE exist to serve multinational, multimillion-dollar hotel chains, rather than the other way round?

Perhaps I should also stop going to Sainsbury's because, as a single person who eats very little, I am taking up floor space, adding to the length of the check out queues, and wearing out their flooring, when this same space and amenity is better deserved by someone who is spending more.

If they are ONLY interested in making money from food they should not offer room-only bookings, but ONLY take bookings that include breakfast or DBB.

bundly

LEJC wrote: »

does your stay inclide christmas day night?

If so I would certainlyphone and check with the hotel what their food policy is that day as it is likely to be different from their usual, and if you are intending eating in the hotel you may find that they do not operate usual menus.

A few years ago we were away over christmas and booked a dinner bed and breakfast deal which the hotel accepted at time of booking,only for us to discover that there was no general meal provision that day.
Initially they wanted us to upgrade to their special christmas lunch but after some persuasion it was was re included in our booking as we were not advised that normal meal services would not be available

I acknowledge that you are booked on a room only basis but you may find that the hotel will operate slightly differently on christmas Day to the rest of the year with regard to what meal options it offers..especially if its also offering a christmas lunch to non resident guests

Yes I phoned them and they said they treat Xmas as a normal day food wise, in both restaurant and bar, except there is also Xmas lunch available.

I know what you mean though. I was toying with walking a few miles to a Toby Carvery for xmas dinner, reckoning that I could manage to eat say 6 to 8oz of meat and a few veggies and that would justify the cost of about £8. I rang them to check and the usual menu is not available. All diners in Tobies on Xmas day can choose only the set three course meal, which costs £48. That is why I ditched the idea. (I don't know how people can eat enough food at one sitting for it to be worth £48 a head.)

So I wonder if they would respond positively if I just asked them to clear the minibar and let me use it as a fridge? I don't have to tell them it's for food brought in from Sainsbury's. I could say that I am on a strict diet of protein shakes only and need it to keep milk or water. What would they say to that?

LEJC

Re the fridge you might want to consider purcahsing a small mini fridge from somewhere like ebay with the the option to relist it after youve had your holiday.

Poentially most hotels wouldnt let you automatically remove the mini bar and use it as a fridge but there wont be any questions asked if you take your own and plug it in.

Another option you could consider is a cool box...most hotels have ice machines located in the corrdors and you could probably put the coolbox filled with ice in the bathroom to store a few bits...

You might also want to take your own cutlery and plate ... I have been in a few high end hotels that dont lend you these as a further way of trying to discourage you from importing food...
However although you say you dont drive and your hotel is not near shops you could reseach local takeaways in the area with a free delivery service...again at a push we have done this in the past and had a take away delivered to the hotel...probably still a reasonable expense to you but certainly cheaper than eating in the hotel facilities.

mcja

I don't know how doable this is if you are going to have to carry it to get there, but when we went to DLP we bought a plug in cool box to use as a fridge. This meant we had cold milk and drinks as well as lunchy bits for the kids. Saved us a small fortune.
Might be worth considering if they are reluctant to clear the fridge.

LEJC

When my kids were small we used to use something like this for overnight milk
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/POLYSTYRENE-BOXES-COOL-BOX-FISH-BOX-VARIOUS-SIZES-QUANTITIES-/321179187081?pt=UK_Packaging_Materials&var=&hash=item4ac7c57789

filled with ice and put in the bath so it didnt leak on the floor...you do need to replace the ice daily but it might be something you could consider for the things you want to keep cold