New Hampton Inn breakfasts
 

Haven't seen any noise about this but it appears Hampton Inn is rolling out a new breakfast lineup. At the Bend, OR location they had a whole display of smoothies made with Chobani yogurt (I tried the mango), as well as "cold-pressed" juices. I didn't notice anything else really different, but the front desk did confirm this was a new offering rolling out to all Hampton Inns, not just theirs.

Have seen it a few times. Looks like updated branding with the juice and smoothie offerings new. Have seen some flavored waffles (Cinnamon Roll and Blueberry) offered as well. Hampton breakfasts vary largely by the individual hotel. I have seen some with really nice spreads and others with very bare minimum...

Hampton Inn Lakeland (FL) has been serving the two smoothies (pomegranate and mango) for 6+ months. They also have 3-4 pressed juices. Earlier this month, along with eggs, they had a prime-rib/potato/peppers hash that was excellent. I commented to the kitchen staff and front desk that after 500+ nights across 40+ different Hamptons, their breakfast was the best. Hopefully it rolls out nation-wide!

I want real fresh-baked bagels!

I noticed this new item as well at a stay last week; also noticed that the serving dishes were different (clear lids on the hot servers; egg holders with indentations for individual eggs). Didn't think much about it because this was a property that has always done a little extra (they're one of the properties that does an evening reception, for example). But good to hear that it's apparently part of a broader improvement program*.


*That being said: I have never had any complaints about Hampton breakfasts, given that they are better than what you get at about 50% of US Hiltons, DTs, Conrads (since they usually just give a voucher that can't buy much), and WAs...the only Hilton brands that have more consistency are HGI and ES.

Agree...saw the smoothies at Downtown St Peterburg Fl Hampton. Didn't try them, but they also had one (only one, unfortunately) Key Lime Chobani yogurt....excellent!

Hampton Brickell didn't have the smoothies, nor did Hampton Atlanta Cumberland this last 10 days.

Would that this were a portent of Hampton breakfast brand standards being improved AND local Hamptons being allowed/incentived to some something, preferably local, "extra."

Thinking of one Hampton Inn in Iowa where the manager's spouse made truly excellent homemade gravy for the biscuits and there was a crockpot of it at breakfast (which the manager told me he had to hide when "corporate" came for inspections or he'd get penalized), or the now-no-longer Hampton in Florissant MO where there was an actual woman doing actual cooking of actual biscuits and amazing gravy (no Sysco cans here!).

Holiday Inn Express breakfasts are much better on the whole, but I'm hoping that maybe these new additions are signs that the Hampton breakfasts of ten or twelve years ago might be coming back. Or, at the very least, have some sort of initiative to make sure the pastries are actually fresh and there is always a standalone breakfast meat.

Holiday Inn Express breakfast improved a lot in the past year or so because they figure out how to use non-powdered hot eggs at the same (or lower?) cost as their previous (and everybody else's in this space) powdered hot eggs. I wish Hampton (and Fairfield and others) could copy HIX on this. Thanks goodness Hampton (and Fairfield and some others) have hardboiled eggs, because I hate powdered eggs with a passion.

U.S. full-service properties no doubt can be stingy with elite breakfast, following Hilton Honors guidelines to the letter in offering only "continental breakfast" (whatever that means). So in that regard, the free-for-everyone breakfast at Hampton might be more extensive. But I wouldn't go so far as to say "better." The quality is generally superior at full-service properties, which prepare fresh food in real kitchens in proper restaurants, as opposed to the frozen and shelf-stable fare at Hampton. There's really no comparison.

Dream on!

Eh, for the ones that get it right, absolutely no comparison (aside from full-service properties, most HGIs fall into this category, hence my previous comment).

But I've had more dry piles of burnt eggs and hockey-puck sausage patties at "upmarket" properties than I'd care to recall, and would gladly trade any of them for a properly-microwaved (or maybe they use a combi oven, dunno) Sysco frozen omelet, or the elusive Bagel Topper.

Just give me real scrambled eggs, and I will be happy.