It'sHip2B^2

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)?