The "joys" of business travel. Lackluster hotel breakfast buffets.
I tend to try #allTheThings, but, the Residence Inn lineup looked so lackluster that even I avoided most of it. They do have one signature item however ...
I've only stayed at one other Residence Inn property before, but I think the lineup is essentially the same at all their properties. Which for me, means one thing: waffles and *all* the toppings.
I get sick of this lineup very quickly, as it doesn't change, and literally nothing else is good, but, the waffles really do it for me the first day or two.
Breakfast is a buffet, self serve.
The breakfast seating is fairly large, with small tables, high tables, and a long communal bar. Seat yourself, bus your own table, casual. This is not a fancy place.
I've had Residence Inn coffee before, and been rather appalled by it. It was better here, although the regular was still not very good, in particular, the "Bold" was sour, fairly harsh. I didn't care for it at all, but one day "Medium" showed up, and it was slightly better.
I tend to try #allTheThings, but, the Residence Inn lineup looked so lackluster that even I avoided most of it. They do have one signature item however ...
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| Standard Residence Inn Lineup. |
I get sick of this lineup very quickly, as it doesn't change, and literally nothing else is good, but, the waffles really do it for me the first day or two.
Setting
Breakfast is served in a back room adjacent to the bar area, utilizing space they open up just for breakfast, plus the normal bar area.
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| Breakfast Room. |
Regular plates are available for dining in, or paper to take back to your room. No takeaway boxes, and no takeaway cutlery.
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| Seating. |
Drinks
The drink lineup is basic: water, juice, coffee, tea.
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| Juice. |
I never tried the juice fountain, with apple, cranberry, orange, and lemonade.
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| Coffee / Tea. |
For hot beverages, most days featured two dispensers of "Bold", one hot water, and one decaf.
Shockingly, the decaf was decent. Fairly smooth, not acidic, not harsh. No depth, not amazing or anything, but better than expected.
All types of sweetener, milk (including soy), creamers (including flavored), caramel syrup, and cinnamon toppings were available on the side, along with takeaway cups or mugs for dining in.
The bread lineup was interesting. As in, no sliced bread the first day. No toast. Bagels, plain or cinnamon raisin only, and english muffins. They were clearly "grocery store" caliber bagels, very bready, no crust.
A sign said gluten-free items were available on request, I'm not sure what was offered.
I was amused at the choice of toasters, conveyor style or regular traditional toaster. Your pick.
But no toast, and no baked goods or pastries (!) that day.
The next day, the bread station had a few new additions, just generic looking wheat bread, and a plate of something unlabeled on the bottom.
The unlabeled offering turned out to be coffee cake.
I was amused by the presentation of the coffee cake, just on a paper plate. It honestly looked homemade.
It was decent though, moist enough, slight streusel top, cinnamon filling.
On the third day, the "bonus" item on the bottom was cinnamon rolls.
Again, fairly homemade looking, with tons of icing all over the plate. They didn't look awful ...
I eagerly took one, and tried it at room temperature. It ... was fairly dry, hard, stale. Eh.
So I put it into the conveyor toaster, after checking the clearance (I know better than to put tall items into the conveyor!) But ... I clearly didn't judge it right, because as it reached the back, it jammed. Smoke started pouring out. Ooph. Staff sprung into action, got out a fan, shut it off, removed it, etc, but I was horrified that I did this offense. Sigh.
I took another, brought it to my room, and microwaved it for 15 seconds, which helped a lot - softer, icing oozing all over, but it still wasn't great. Not really worth any of the effort.
The next day, a new item.
These ones get points for being warm, clearly fresh from the oven when I arrived around 8:30am. I wonder if the first morning I was just too early, and the special item hadn't been set out?
As always, the special was unlabeled, but I will assume they were aiming for chocolate croissants, or, were trying to be really on trend and do a hybrid, uh, croissant-turnover?
The filling was quite generous, lots of chocolate, decent quality, slightly melty. Not bad.
The pastry though ... I just don't know what they were going for. It kinda looked like a croissant, but it wasn't laminated nor flaky. It kinda looked like a turnover, but that wasn't right either. The pastry seemed undercooked as well, kinda dense and doughy. It tasted a bit like pie crust, even though it didn't look like it. I really don't know what to think here.
My final morning featured croissants, but I skipped them, heading straight out for breakfast instead.
One hot item was mixed in here, a vat of hot oatmeal. No toppings in this area, but those come soon, trust me.
Two types of milk were provided, one labelled as 2%, the other ... whole? Skim? Soy? Who knows.
The cold cereals were all Kellogg's brand, in annoying dispensers that dumped way too much product (or, none at all).
There was some ... questionable signage here. Every item had two signs. Was the first one Frosted Flakes or Raisin Bran? Answer: Frosted Flakes. Cheerios or granola? Granola. Fruit Loops? Nope, Cocoa Krispies. Unlabeled bonus item on the end, Raisin Brand.
On the third day, everything made sense. Well, as much sense as it was going to.
They clearly needed to refill the cocoa crispies/fruit loops dispenser, so, uh, added Fruit Loops on top. *NOW* the signage at least made sense, but, it was just a tease. "Eat all the cocoa crispies and you can have some fruit loops!", it seemed to taunt.
Or maybe they want people to rip the tops off and use their grubby hands to fetch the fruit loops out directly? :)
Next, yogurt.
Basic Danon Light n Fit original flavor only, a couple flavors of Chobani, and their own branded lowfat Greek.
I tried the Greek, it was sour, not very creamy, not great. Sad, since Colorado is home to my favorite brand of US based yogurt (Noosa).
The hot buffet was ... interesting. Don't believe the signs. Also interesting was the entire lack of potato dish (hash browns, home fries, etc), complete lack of vegetable, and no pancakes/french toast/etc (although, stay tuned for waffles!).
Both the regular scrambled eggs and scrambled whites were labelled "scrambled eggs", complete with visuals of yellow eggs. They looked dried out, yet dripping in water. I stayed far away.
Next, "pork sausage".
Um. "Sausage"? It may have been pork, but, uh, "sliced deli ham" is what I'd go with. Also wet and slimy looking.
I quickly moved on.
After those lackluster eggs and "pork sausage", you'd think I'd keep moving on. But ... I do sometimes love sausage patties, particularly when slathered in syrup.
So ... I took one.
It. Was. Horrible.
Soggy. Limp. Questionable texture. No flavor. Questionable ingredients.
Do NOT get this. Just don't.
Another day, the "pork sausage" at least looked more correct. So, I gave it a try. Why? Because I don't learn from my mistakes.
Just as awful as the turkey patty. The texture was just sooo strange. Limp. Mushy. So, so very bad.
Do NOT get this either. Please, don't. Trust me.
The waffle station though ... this I knew to look forward to. And not just because it was waffles. Yes, I love waffles, but, what breakfast buffet really has waffles that are worth it?
When I stayed at my first Residence Inn I was blown away by the waffles. I loved the flavor to the batter, the DIY setup, and, wowzer, the toppings. The Boulder Canyon setup is slightly less extensive in the toppings department, but, the waffle base is clearly the same.
You have your choice of waffle style, full size classic Belgian waffle, or, minis! I love doing the minis, as they seem to cook better, more surface area, more crispy bits. The best part about the DIY setup, besides that you get them hot and fresh and not sitting in chafing pans, is that you can control the cook level. Do you want them crispy? Doughy? Your choice!
I again appreciated the decent base, some tang and flavor to it, and the waffle irons do cook the waffles pretty perfectly for this style of waffle. Sure, these aren't ever going to be liege waffles, but for what they are, they are good.
Of course, adding chocolate chips is key (they melt in so nicely!), or perhaps Nutella, if that is your thing. And, copious amounts of whipped cream. And a sidecar of syrup, for dunking.
Food
The food offerings were essentially the same every day, basic, but did include continental and hot items. Plus the signature DIY waffle station, of course.
Continental
The continental lineup is as simple as it gets: breads, spreads, cereal, yogurt, fruit.
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| Bread Station (Day One): Bagels, English Muffins. |
A sign said gluten-free items were available on request, I'm not sure what was offered.
I was amused at the choice of toasters, conveyor style or regular traditional toaster. Your pick.
But no toast, and no baked goods or pastries (!) that day.
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| Bread Station (Day Two): Bagels, English Muffins, Wheat Bread, Coffee Cake. |
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| Breakfast Special (Tuesday): Coffee Cake. |
I was amused by the presentation of the coffee cake, just on a paper plate. It honestly looked homemade.
It was decent though, moist enough, slight streusel top, cinnamon filling.
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| Breakfast Special (Wednesday): Cinnamon Rolls. |
Again, fairly homemade looking, with tons of icing all over the plate. They didn't look awful ...
I eagerly took one, and tried it at room temperature. It ... was fairly dry, hard, stale. Eh.
So I put it into the conveyor toaster, after checking the clearance (I know better than to put tall items into the conveyor!) But ... I clearly didn't judge it right, because as it reached the back, it jammed. Smoke started pouring out. Ooph. Staff sprung into action, got out a fan, shut it off, removed it, etc, but I was horrified that I did this offense. Sigh.
I took another, brought it to my room, and microwaved it for 15 seconds, which helped a lot - softer, icing oozing all over, but it still wasn't great. Not really worth any of the effort.
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| Breakfast Special (Thursday): Chocolate Croissants/Turnovers. |
These ones get points for being warm, clearly fresh from the oven when I arrived around 8:30am. I wonder if the first morning I was just too early, and the special item hadn't been set out?
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| Chocolate ... Croissaovers. |
The filling was quite generous, lots of chocolate, decent quality, slightly melty. Not bad.
The pastry though ... I just don't know what they were going for. It kinda looked like a croissant, but it wasn't laminated nor flaky. It kinda looked like a turnover, but that wasn't right either. The pastry seemed undercooked as well, kinda dense and doughy. It tasted a bit like pie crust, even though it didn't look like it. I really don't know what to think here.
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| Breakfast Special (Friday): Croissants. |
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| Cereals. |
Two types of milk were provided, one labelled as 2%, the other ... whole? Skim? Soy? Who knows.
The cold cereals were all Kellogg's brand, in annoying dispensers that dumped way too much product (or, none at all).
There was some ... questionable signage here. Every item had two signs. Was the first one Frosted Flakes or Raisin Bran? Answer: Frosted Flakes. Cheerios or granola? Granola. Fruit Loops? Nope, Cocoa Krispies. Unlabeled bonus item on the end, Raisin Brand.
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| Oh, I see. |
They clearly needed to refill the cocoa crispies/fruit loops dispenser, so, uh, added Fruit Loops on top. *NOW* the signage at least made sense, but, it was just a tease. "Eat all the cocoa crispies and you can have some fruit loops!", it seemed to taunt.
Or maybe they want people to rip the tops off and use their grubby hands to fetch the fruit loops out directly? :)
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| Yogurt. |
Basic Danon Light n Fit original flavor only, a couple flavors of Chobani, and their own branded lowfat Greek.
I tried the Greek, it was sour, not very creamy, not great. Sad, since Colorado is home to my favorite brand of US based yogurt (Noosa).
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| Fruit / Eggs / Cheese. |
The fruit options were meager: sliced melon, grapes, or bananas.
Two types of sliced cheese were offered, very yellow cheddar, or brie.
And hard boiled eggs.
Nothing here looked very appealing.
Hot Foods
Most of the hot food was a standard sad buffet line.
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| Hot Buffet. |
Both the regular scrambled eggs and scrambled whites were labelled "scrambled eggs", complete with visuals of yellow eggs. They looked dried out, yet dripping in water. I stayed far away.
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| "Pork Sausage." |
Um. "Sausage"? It may have been pork, but, uh, "sliced deli ham" is what I'd go with. Also wet and slimy looking.
I quickly moved on.
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| Turkey Sausage. |
So ... I took one.
It. Was. Horrible.
Soggy. Limp. Questionable texture. No flavor. Questionable ingredients.
Do NOT get this. Just don't.
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| Pork Sausage (Day Three). |
Just as awful as the turkey patty. The texture was just sooo strange. Limp. Mushy. So, so very bad.
Do NOT get this either. Please, don't. Trust me.
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| DIY Waffles! |
When I stayed at my first Residence Inn I was blown away by the waffles. I loved the flavor to the batter, the DIY setup, and, wowzer, the toppings. The Boulder Canyon setup is slightly less extensive in the toppings department, but, the waffle base is clearly the same.
You have your choice of waffle style, full size classic Belgian waffle, or, minis! I love doing the minis, as they seem to cook better, more surface area, more crispy bits. The best part about the DIY setup, besides that you get them hot and fresh and not sitting in chafing pans, is that you can control the cook level. Do you want them crispy? Doughy? Your choice!
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| Toppings. |
And finally, the toppings station. This was toppings for everything: bagels, oatmeal, waffles, etc.
Here we had Smucker's brand peanut butter, grape or strawberry jelly (including low sugar), butter, Nutella, Philly cream cheese (plain only), and Smucker's brand breakfast syrup (including low sugar), all in individual packages. There is additional unlabeled syrup in a dispenser (honey? More pancake syrup?), plus sliced almonds, granola, dried cranberries, raisins, coconut flakes, and chocolate chips, all likely intended for the oatmeal. Shakers of cinnamon, cocoa, and even spicy chili are available to dazzle things up.
And ... whipped cream. Yes, just a can, but, <3. One morning however there was no whipped cream, no place for it even, so I had to ask for it, even though it was near the end of service. No one else noticed?
The waffles were my highlight, although after the first day or two, I wished there was something else in the buffet I actually liked.
Here we had Smucker's brand peanut butter, grape or strawberry jelly (including low sugar), butter, Nutella, Philly cream cheese (plain only), and Smucker's brand breakfast syrup (including low sugar), all in individual packages. There is additional unlabeled syrup in a dispenser (honey? More pancake syrup?), plus sliced almonds, granola, dried cranberries, raisins, coconut flakes, and chocolate chips, all likely intended for the oatmeal. Shakers of cinnamon, cocoa, and even spicy chili are available to dazzle things up.
And ... whipped cream. Yes, just a can, but, <3. One morning however there was no whipped cream, no place for it even, so I had to ask for it, even though it was near the end of service. No one else noticed?
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| #breakfastOfChampions. |
I again appreciated the decent base, some tang and flavor to it, and the waffle irons do cook the waffles pretty perfectly for this style of waffle. Sure, these aren't ever going to be liege waffles, but for what they are, they are good.
Of course, adding chocolate chips is key (they melt in so nicely!), or perhaps Nutella, if that is your thing. And, copious amounts of whipped cream. And a sidecar of syrup, for dunking.
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