Warm Hampton Cookies
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2010
Programs: HHonors Diamond; My Mom's Favorite Kid
Posts: 3,929
Warm Hampton Cookies
I'm headed to a Hampton tonight and that got me thinking about the cookies. The cookies are always served warm, which made me think that they are freshly baked. Although, I could never imagine why they'd have freshly baked cookies but serve such a lackluster breakfast. My fresh baked thoughts have been furthered by the apparent "undoneness" of random batches of cookies throughout the year.
But a few months ago I checked into a Hampton at about 3:30 and there weren't any cookies out. The particular manager who checked me in is an employee with whom I'm fairly friendly (he's my weekday friend). I made a joking comment to him about the absence of the warm cookies accompanied by a pitiable pout. He indicated that he had totally forgotten them and ran to the kitchenette(?) to get them. When he returned I noticed that the cookie tray had a plug attached to it (of course! that's how they stay warm, duh). So I took a cookie and headed to my suite. After unpacking I took a bite of the cookie and it was cold, bland, and flavorless.
I've never had the misapprehension that someone made the cookies from scratch. That is quite apparent from the holiday/time-of-year themed cookies some places have. But it never occurred to me that came pre-baked.
So my question is two-fold. Am I the only one who has noticed this? What is it about the warming process that makes the worst cookie ever fairly tolerable (for a non-homemade cookie)?
But a few months ago I checked into a Hampton at about 3:30 and there weren't any cookies out. The particular manager who checked me in is an employee with whom I'm fairly friendly (he's my weekday friend). I made a joking comment to him about the absence of the warm cookies accompanied by a pitiable pout. He indicated that he had totally forgotten them and ran to the kitchenette(?) to get them. When he returned I noticed that the cookie tray had a plug attached to it (of course! that's how they stay warm, duh). So I took a cookie and headed to my suite. After unpacking I took a bite of the cookie and it was cold, bland, and flavorless.
I've never had the misapprehension that someone made the cookies from scratch. That is quite apparent from the holiday/time-of-year themed cookies some places have. But it never occurred to me that came pre-baked.
So my question is two-fold. Am I the only one who has noticed this? What is it about the warming process that makes the worst cookie ever fairly tolerable (for a non-homemade cookie)?
#2
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Boston, MA
Programs: DL Diamond, HHonors Diamond, National Executive Elite
Posts: 2,360
Seriously, though, I've never actually tried a cookie at a Hampton Inn. Only at DoubleTree, where they practically force them on you.
#3
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: AUS
Programs: HH Gold, GP Diamond, ICH Plat, SPG Gold, WN A List, National Exec
Posts: 225
I've seen them bake the cookies at a hampton before. I guess it depends on the location. I've never seen a plug in tray.
#5
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 3,944
I have always assumed they were prebaked. However, the fact that they were brought out cold, and placed on an electric re-heating tray, would not necessarily make me assume that the cookies had been made off premises. They could have been made on-site earlier that day or even the preceding day (made from scratch, or, as my husband often wonders, "What the #%^* is this mysterious cooking ingredient called "scratch"?) and reheated.
Logic. Or close enough.
Logic. Or close enough.
#9
Moderator: American AAdvantage
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Maître-plongeur des Muccis
Posts: 62,948
Yet another mystery solved! (I can't say I've ever had the HI cookies, but now I know their provenance.)
I can't speak for all Hampton hotels, but we order our cookies from Sysco. They're Otis Spunkmeyer's "sweet discovery" line and they arrive as frozen cookie dough in individual serving sizes. We throw 'em in the oven and watch the parade of grown men and women reduced to toddlers at the mere hint of cookies!
#10
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: West Michigan
Programs: DL, UA, AA, B6, BA (airline status-free leisure traveler), Hilton Diamond
Posts: 1,963
There are no cookie guidelines from which to follow
Hilton does not mandate that Hampton Inns serve cookies. That fact brings up a couple of points: 1) don't be surprised if you stay at one that does not serve them, and 2) if they do then you may see some inconsistencies between the types of cookies served.
#11
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: ORD/MDW
Programs: BA/AA/AS/B6/WN/ UA/HH/MR and more like 'em but most felicitously & importantly MUCCI
Posts: 19,718
I can't speak for all Hampton hotels, but we order our cookies from Sysco. They're Otis Spunkmeyer's "sweet discovery" line and they arrive as frozen cookie dough in individual serving sizes. We throw 'em in the oven and watch the parade of grown men and women reduced to toddlers at the mere hint of cookies!
#12
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 33
warm, gooey and cholcolatey
I must confess I just ate two that were just baked and not on a warming tray.. When I checked in the desk clerk said they were just baking. by the time I went to the 4th floor with luggage and came back to print out a boarding pass they were there. Yum. Not as good as Doubletree--no nuts, but better than oreos!
#13
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: CA
Posts: 135
I stayed at a HI back in March for a week and I wish they would have served chocolate chip cookies, heck I would have been content with half baked cookies lol Every day I went down to the lobby and every day there were those disgusting oatmeal raisin cookies on the tray. I despise raisins & each day I was hoping they would give another option, but no luck-I suffered with 7 days of raisins!
#14
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Nashville, TN
Programs: WN Nothing and spending the half million points from too many flights, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 8,043
The cookies are nice, I actually prefer the raisin ones, but I really wish they would apply some consistency to the fruit bowl.
Bananas are sporadic and the usual offering is the almost fake apples that are all pretty and no taste and a possible orange or two. I take potassium depleting medication and the bananas are really appreciated. (The totally pulpless orange juice is a fair substitute but it is so pulpless as to remind me of Tang.)
Sorry, did not meant to come off with a mini rant. A cookie would be nice, especially after the kids have hit the bowl taking stacks of them back to the room.
Bananas are sporadic and the usual offering is the almost fake apples that are all pretty and no taste and a possible orange or two. I take potassium depleting medication and the bananas are really appreciated. (The totally pulpless orange juice is a fair substitute but it is so pulpless as to remind me of Tang.)
Sorry, did not meant to come off with a mini rant. A cookie would be nice, especially after the kids have hit the bowl taking stacks of them back to the room.
#15
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2001
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