6 Mornings of Hampton Inn Breakfasts
I stayed at the Hampton Inn Times Square South for 6 nights, since it was walking distance of the Javits Center and it's one of those chains where I can count on certain things, e.g. wi-fi, power outlets in accessible places, nice bed. Hampton Inns also include breakfast in the rate, and I got to experience 6 mornings of Hampton breakfasts.
I was impressed that each day had different things. In general, there were always cold cereals, hot oatmeal with toppings, bananas and apples, yogurt, waffle makers, muffins, English muffins, toast, and two steamer trays with a rotating cast of hot menu items.
The first day I tried a little bit of a lot of things, so I could better strategize the rest of the days! The oatmeal became a standard for me, and the red delicious apples were nice and crisp. I was particularly impressed by the muffin, like a carrot cake muffin, because it wasn't too sweet. (Is this a standard across the brand?) The waffle wasn't that great, as I pulled it out of the iron too late. The ham was okay, a bit sweet, and the scrambled eggs were fine. I keep in mind that there isn't a full kitchen exactly, so a lot of the items are pre-made and then heated up on site. The eggs were surprisingly moist as they were cooked in this fashion, but it didn't make me indulge too much because they did seem a bit processed.
The chocolate chocolate-chip muffin was pretty good (the ones with the muffin paper liner like this, vs. the crenulated paper kind, are really good). I also loved the seasoned potato cubes - got seconds of those! The scrambled eggs on this morning were a bit different - with cheese and ham bits in it. The cheese didn't taste too natural.
I really liked the sausage patties, with which I could make my own breakfast muffin. It worked better with the hardboiled eggs, which they have some mornings, rather than this crumbly scrambled eggs. The cranberry almond muffin was tasty, and I took one for the plane ride home. Hampton Inn thoughtfully provides lids to the oatmeal containers, which became a to-go container for the muffin (I learned this from some French tourists).
This was probably my least favorite hot menu item - the sausage gravy and biscuits. The biscuits were fine, but the sausage gravy was awful in how it looked. The way it was so evenly opaque and gummy when it cooled down, told me it was a highly processed item.
Not pictured is one morning when I had the "cheese omelette," also pre-made and then heated up on the spot. It didn't taste too fresh with its processed cheese inside. On this day there were also "french toast sticks." There was also a morning when there was maple sausage slices in one of the warm trays.
Overall, I loved having breakfast just an elevator ride away. I also applaud Hampton Inn for having a variety of items from which to choose. The hot oatmeal became a mainstay (I always had it with the maple flavored sugar and nuts), as did fresh whole fruit which I usually took up to my room to eat later.
