Originally Posted by
Infinite1K
I think you are conflating a few things.
First of all, Germany and Japan (and other countries) have a very different standards and food types. I agree, German bread offerings even in a middle of the road establishment can be quite superior to what you get in the US, simply because Germans value bread quality much more than the average American where Wonder Bread is considered “bread”. Similarly in Japan where overall their emphasis and appreciation for quality far outweighs what you get in America. I mean you goto even the 7-11 and FamilyMarts in Japan and what they offer is much better than what you can get here. Or they actually sell (and customers purchase) $100 melons and the like.
But in the US, the HR SF SOMA does offer a breakfast that is probably the best you can get in the US and you can’t compare it to what is available in other countries. But setting that aside, by definition a Grand Hyatt is supposed to be better than a Hyatt Regency, so saying that the GH Berlin is better than HR SF SOMA would be par for the course?
Of course, I agree with that. US standards for food quality are simply lower than most of Europe and Asia and I've said I agree the SOMA buffet is good for a US buffet. So yes, it's all relative. It's a decent buffet compared to other buffets in similar US hotels.
On the other hand you can get considerably better restaurant breakfasts in the US, up to the point of equalling European or Asian quality, though not as consistently. So for me the best US hotel breakfasts tend to be not buffets. The best US buffet breakfast has never even come close to the best buffets I've had abroad (though there are some that are considerably better than the SOMA - in quality, which is what I care about, not "number of options" which I couldn't care less about.) But usually buffets in the US aren't as good as a good restaurant breakfast.
But overall I agree with your points.