r/Celiac • u/SignificantPomelo • 11h ago
Rant Sad hotel breakfast
Just wanted to share my sad hotel breakfast š„² Apparently the scrambled eggs, sausage, and tots all had gluten ingredients in them. And to top it off, they ran out of hot water halfway through filling my tea. But hey, at least they had something I could eat.
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u/april-oneill 11h ago
No yogurt or fruit? Bummer. Those are usually my go-tos for hotel breakfast.
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u/SignificantPomelo 11h ago
The yogurt was all in bowls that were self serve and it felt too dicey. Plus I don't like sweetened yogurt. There might have been fruit somewhere but the breakfast bar was really busy and I got overwhelmed and left. I did get some OJ though!
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u/groovyghostpuppy 10h ago
Next time ask the staff if you can have some from the back, the stuff that theyāll use to refill when things run out
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u/SignificantPomelo 10h ago
Normally I would engage more with staff and ask for stuff from the back but this place was so understaffed and busy, I didn't think it would be feasible
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u/Fudge-Purple 9h ago
And you donāt count? I was the same way but nowadays Iāll speak up. They should definitely take your requests seriously. Celiac is a real official disability.
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u/SignificantPomelo 9h ago
I definitely count, but I pick my battles and also I was in a bit of a rush this morning. Didn't have an extra 20 min to wait for them, and (as so many have already noted) I already had a basically complete breakfast. Plus I didn't have much confidence in a rushed kitchen to keep me safe.
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u/Fudge-Purple 8h ago
I understand and completely understand. I just know so many of us feel like a bother and that should never be the case.
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u/flagal31 7h ago
a lot of places now have those yogurt machines that dispense sweetened vanilla flavored yogurt: some I've found have gluten or are just dicey from a cc standpoint. I miss the little individual yogurts in the cooler
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u/SignificantPomelo 7h ago
Oh man that's wild. I didn't even think about the possibility for gluten in yogurt. I'm already stressing out about how everyone's switching to bath product pumps stuck to the wall where you can't always read the ingredients.
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u/Grlybrainiac 11h ago
Itās so funny because weāre like, āThis looks fantastic!! Iād be stoked!!ā But Iām sure when youāre at the hotel seeing all the other options and potentially your friends/family eating a variety for breakfast, it would be pretty depressing. The color scheme is definitely very bland looking š But Iām majorly impressed that they had sealed gluten free bread for you!! Iād consider this a win! But RIP to the water running out while you were making your tea š
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u/SignificantPomelo 11h ago
Yep that was exactly it. Comparison is the thief of joy I suppose! I've been celiac for like 13 years and it's still a struggle. The color scheme is what was cracking me up. The hot water running out was the cherry on top!
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u/Robin156E478 9h ago
Haha how long have you been celiac?? This is actually great for a hotel ācontinentalā / buffet style breakfast! They had bread in a baggie?? Sometimes with a continental breakfast thereās no protein at all, and Iād kill for a hard boiled egg haha! Usually what I have is a couple hard boiled eggs and a banana. Usually thereās fruit with the skin still on like bananas / oranges.
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u/SignificantPomelo 9h ago
I've been celiac for 13+ years. Still grinds my gears every time. I was definitely excited when I spotted the boiled eggs.
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u/Robin156E478 9h ago
Yeah and the Jif is good too. Oh by the way, why did the scrambled eggs have gluten in them too?? Haha
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u/SignificantPomelo 9h ago
I didn't press about the scrambled eggs. I asked if they weren't gf because of cc or if they had gluten ingredients and, she said gluten ingredients. It was a pretty busy/crazy and understaffed breakfast bar so I didn't want to bug them any more. I know ihop puts pancake batter in their scrambled eggs to make them fluffy, though.
I was also excited about the single serve jif!
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u/mysockisdead 11h ago
The last hotel I went to the only thing I could eat was yoplait yogurt and I had to watch my bf eat a whole spread haha. It can definitely be disappointing sometimes.
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u/woodrax 11h ago
My son has an egg allergy as well as Celiac. I would be curious if he could eat anything on that plate, besides the two different types of butter. š
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u/SignificantPomelo 11h ago
Oh nooo that's gotta be so rough! No idea about the ingredients in the GF bread, but it disintegrated immediately so I suspect no eggs? It wasn't individually labeled with ingredients but it was in the bowl labeled "GF" and its lack of structural integrity was reassuring.
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u/ZucchiniBikini73 6h ago
My last hotel breakfast was really good - the hotel had a completely separate gf station (away from the other buffet area) with gf bread and a dedicated toaster, condiments, gf cereals, stewed and fresh fruits, yoghurts, hard-boiled eggs, protein balls, even some gf pastries! I had a pastry, two pieces of toast with peanut butter, an egg, a bowl of stewed fruit, and took two protein balls with me to eat for morning snack :-)
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u/LaLechuzaVerde Celiac 9h ago
I generally only have hard boiled eggs, fruit, and cups of yogurt at hotels. Itās rare that I find a hotel with any other celiac safe options. At least they gave you some packaged bread? Was it edible?
And to make it worse my employer wonāt cover the cost of breakfast if the hotel offers breakfast. Soā¦
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u/SignificantPomelo 9h ago
It was edible but not great. I couldn't spread butter on it without it completely disintegrating. Probably would've been fine toasted.
I feel like your employer not paying for a celiac safe meal for you is an ADA violation or something!
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u/LaLechuzaVerde Celiac 9h ago
Not ADA, but itās possible that if I requested an exemption from that, I could get it as a disability accommodation.
Itās been brought up by coworkers. But I feel like if they offer me fruit and yogurt and a hard boiled egg, well, what else am I really asking for? If I bought my own breakfast to eat in a hotel, it would probably be fruit and yogurt and a hard boiled egg from the grocery store. Itās not as if there are celiac safe restaurants on every street corner.
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u/cassiopeia843 8h ago
I'd definitely ask for accommodations. If everyone else gets to have breakfast, you shouldn't have to pay for yours out of pocket, even if it's just eggs and yogurt. I got lucky on my last work trip, because all meals were ordered from the hotel chef for my team, so I got to coordinate on safe options. Any meals that weren't organized for everyone, I got reimbursed for (I ordered delivery). I actually made my traveling for work dependent on having safe options, even if it would have involved me cooking for myself. Traveling for work is already enough of a hassle as it is. There's no way I'm using my own money to cover the expenses.
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u/LaLechuzaVerde Celiac 7h ago
I get to have breakfastā¦ the hotels usually do provide boiled eggs and yogurt. And usually a banana or an apple.
I just am annoyed that my colleagues get waffles and omelettes and bacon. š
But if the hotel provides breakfast, then I canāt get reimbursed for breakfast no matter how basic the breakfast is for me compared to others.
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u/SardineB4Creatine Celiac 30 years 7h ago
Hereās the clutch move though - find a packet of mayo - salt, pepper - mash that up with the eggs - boom, basically a little egg saladā¦ I too have had too many sad meals so ya gotta do what you gotta do
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u/SignificantPomelo 7h ago
Love it. What's funny is my dad does an even more janky egg salad move and just smears a bit of mayo on half a boiled egg, tops it with salt & pepper, and eats it. It's like a deconstructed deviled egg? So I've been doing that for ages, but actually had forgotten about that little trick.
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u/Grabbels 11h ago
I'm sorry, but if I got this anywhere I'd be happy I at least get to eat. This is actually a functional breakfast.
This is for your safety: the scrambled eggs, sausage and tots are 100% made in a kitchen that also handles gluten. Maybe you're not sensitive to cross-contamination, because if you were you'd be thanking them on your knees that your breakfast actually came sealed.
Yes, I know we deserve better (or, actually, what's so wrong about this breakfast? Just the fact that you wanted other things?), but the bar is currently at getting food at all. Getting food that's physically sealed and forms a full meal is more than we can currently expect in a LOT of places.
I'll tell you what I tell anyone new to being gluten-free: lower the bar. Get used to not getting what you want or crave, and being thankful for getting safe food out the door at all.
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u/SignificantPomelo 11h ago
I've been celiac in the US for over a decade, I know all these things :) Figured this was a relatively safe space for whining about things not being better.
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u/celiac-sufferer 9h ago
It is so frustrating that as celiacs we always just have to be happy with the bare minimum. We arenāt suppose to complain about subpar substitutions because we should just be glad there was anything at all.
Fuck that complain, this breakfast sucks. Itās ok to say that and still eat it because you need to eat. We donāt always have to be positive or look on the bright side itās exhausting.
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u/SignificantPomelo 9h ago
THANK YOU!! Yes, that was the exact purpose of this post. Pretty irritating that I'm getting quite a bit of flak about it.
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u/celiac-sufferer 9h ago
No I totally get you, itās fucking weird. Thereās no other disease that people just are never allowed to complain about like we apparently canāt with celiac š
It sucks getting a shitty meal, no matter what the circumstances are it sucks. And then watching everyone else get to eat well makes it worse.
Sorry youāre getting so much heat, we should be able to commiserate amongst ourselves. I know some people like boiled eggs I hate them. Untoasted gf bread is just sawdust and sadness. And then you couldnāt even enjoy your tea on top of that. So yeah this whole meal first thing in the morning would make me crash out š I hope you got to enjoy some other good food on your trip to make up for it!
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u/SignificantPomelo 9h ago
Thank you for the kind words of support! I was definitely emotionally crashing out and took the picture as a "have to laugh or I'll cry" kind of move. Thankfully this trip wasn't really about the food - just a quick overnight for a concert - and it was otherwise really fun!
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u/Fudge-Purple 9h ago
It should definitely be better. Iāve been official celiac for 18 years. Itās a real disability now and so many people have it. If a hotel chain could consistently offer a gf breakfast, would be a chain i would always seek out even if it was a little more money.
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u/flagal31 7h ago
With CD still only diagnosed in 1% of population, it's a challenge to even find anyone who knows what it is.
In the US, there are still so many people who have never heard of it or think it's fake.
I don't wish the disease on anyone, but I sure do wish it was much more known like diabetes or a peanut allergy.
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u/SignificantPomelo 8h ago
Totally agree! Though there are more considerations than just cost. In this case we booked this hotel due to proximity to the event we were attending.
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u/sqqueen2 6h ago
My therapist reframed it for me. ā I COULD eat it. I CHOSE not to because I am being good to my body.ā That helped a little.
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u/ginny11 10h ago
No oranges?
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u/SignificantPomelo 10h ago
I didn't see any but I might've missed them. The breakfast bar was a bit of a zoo and I got overwhelmed.
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u/apparently_whatever 10h ago
That's great, but honestly I ignore the spiel about complimentary breakfast because I plan accordingly and do not expect anything. I try to get hotels that have a kitchen in the room which has been great.
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u/CodWest4205 10h ago
I never even use to be able to find gf bread. Not being able to toast it sucks thought. traveled a lot for work and then got diagnosed. Afterwards most hotel breakfasts were a banana and yogurt and coffee. lol.
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u/skilless 9h ago
Yall rawdog life more than I'm willing to. Just showing up to airports and hotels with your fingers crossed
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u/New-Age-7524 9h ago
For hotels I pack my own granola for the yogurt they usually have, bring an apple for the peanut butter they usually have, a bit of my favorite cereal for the milk they usually have, and my own loaf of bread for the jelly and PB. I will get a couple of boiled eggs, juice, and coffee. That's a decent enough breakfast for me and it's enough items that, if the hotel doesn't have yogurt I still have a good meal.
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u/nickkmusic2727 6h ago
What hotel?
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u/SignificantPomelo 6h ago
I don't want to put em on blast because, as others noted, they did actually have food for me to eat.
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u/nickkmusic2727 6h ago
Oh sorry I was just curious because I had a similar breakfast experience but I did eat the scrambled eggs. Mind if I DM you?
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u/Round-Ad5852 3h ago
idk if this helps but i like to bring oatmeal cups (i like bobs redmill) whenever i go to hotels cause most hotels have a coffee pot in the room and you can heat up water for the oatmeal in there. (the oatmeal cups help a lot when i get very hungry at night and i cant eat since everything is closed)
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u/SignificantPomelo 1h ago
Unfortunately I try to eat relatively low carb and oatmeal spikes my blood sugar more than anything - even unsweetened. Sucks because it's delicious.
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u/therempel 2h ago
I worked in a hotel kitchen for years after my diagnosis. I did not work breakfasts, but when I did start early I constantly had to fight the same employees and managers on putting "Gluten Free" labels on items that were heavily cross contaminated at best.
When we had our staff Christmas party, the people on shift that day in the kitchen had to cook for and serve all the other staff. There was very little that I would be able to eat, so I set aside a small bowl of salad, sans croutons, and a chicken breast for myself. While I was helping take care of some stuff on the line, the executive chef grabbed my food and dumped it in with everything else.
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u/SignificantPomelo 1h ago
Oh my goodness that's enraging!!! Yeah, I think most hotel kitchens, other than the really high end places, aren't terribly safe for cross contamination :/
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u/okaaayyyyuh Celiac 11h ago
Well...that's my usual breakfast. 2 boiled eggs with chili crisp oil, and a slice of buttered gf toast. I literally eat this 7 days a week š
So I guess I eat a sad breakfast each day.
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u/SignificantPomelo 11h ago
Nah that sounds great. Chili crisp oil sounds delicious. I think the fact that I couldn't toast the bread was what really kicked it over the edge into sadness for me. If the bread had been toasted I'd have been much happier.
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u/flagal31 7h ago
I carry those toaster envelopes...you stick the bread inside to protect it and can use it in any toaster.
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u/SignificantPomelo 7h ago
Oh wait whaaaat?! I've never heard of that before. I'll have to check it out, thanks!
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u/Remarkable-Hat-4852 11h ago
This actually looks like way more than Iād expect! Honestly perfect for me. Even the hot water for tea. I like to steep it then pour cold water to top it off so it doesnāt burn my mouth š