« Four Foods on Friday #43-the dreaming of Food Network edition | Home | Easy Pancakes made with Flaxseed Meal »
Breakfast at Courtyard by Marriott
By Elizabeth | August 24, 2008
A few weekends ago I went to Ypsilanti to meet some other Michigan bloggers, and since I was going to be having cocktails with them and didn’t want to drive home late at night, I looked for a hotel to stay in. Now, at the time, I didn’t realize that the freaking JUNIOR OLYMPICS were taking place at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsi, and wouldn’t it have been nice for any of the half dozen hotels I called to clue me in to that fact? I just kept hearing no, we have no rooms available. I searched Travelocity, Expedia, and Hotels Combined. I don’t know about the other two sites, but I know that Hotels Combined doesn’t add any listing or booking fees to the rates they display, so I took their word for it that I was going to pay $120 for the ‘privilege’ of spending about 8 hours in the room. Ugh.
I couldn’t find a room anywhere in Ypsilanti, but I did find one in Ann Arbor, which is just about a ten minute drive away. One of the reasons I picked it was the free wi-fi in the room, and because it advertised a breakfast buffet.
See, I like breakfast. A lot. I like how hotel breakfast buffets almost always have the big Belgian Waffle maker with the little carafes of batter all ready, you just spray on some cooking spray, pour in the batter, close, flip the waffle maker over, and when it beeps in like two minutes, you flip it back over and voila, you have a fresh, fluffy Belgian Waffle. YUMMMMM. So yeah, it definitely helped tip the scale that the Courtyard by Marriott site said a breakfast buffet was available, with a photo of a large, sunny room full of tables and chairs.
So, that next morning I made my way over to the breakfast area, sat down, and realized that unlike most “continental breakfasts” served in hotels, Courtyard’s had an actual waiter to bring me coffee and take my order for a made-to-order omelette if I wanted one. I knew I was going to have a Belgian Waffle, but I perused the buffet anyway, and found myself unable to resist home fries made with redskin potatoes, crispy strips of bacon, and a muffin from Zingerman’s Deli in Ann Arbor, which is famous for, well, everything they make. Shhh, don’t tell, I wrapped the muffin in napkins and tucked it into my bag and ate it later :)
Other items on the buffet included scrambled eggs, sausage, fresh fruit, cold cereal boxes, a crock of oatmeal, bagels, bread for toasting, and several juices. It wasn’t free though, unlike most hotel “continental” breakfasts, but for the amount of food available and all you could eat, I thought the charge of $9.95 plus tax was quite reasonable. I’m sure I would have paid that much if I had went to Denny’s or IHOP instead.
So if you are planning a hotel stay, check out Hotels Combined for free listings directly from hotel websites, and check out Courtyard by Marriott for a really delicious breakfast!
Topics: Breakfast |
Stumble it!
3 Responses to “Breakfast at Courtyard by Marriott”
Comments
Comments protected by Lucia's Linky Love.
August 24th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Last year I tried booking a hotel in Ypsi and was able to get 3 of 4 days only - who knew EMU would pack the hotels for graduation? Enjoying your food blog.
August 25th, 2008 at 11:06 am
We stayed at a Marriot this summer…I was very disappointed that breakfast was not included with the room…I do love those waffle makers though :)
Chelles last blog post..Save Money on Your Diet By Cooking From Scratch
August 29th, 2008 at 1:50 am
Thanks for posting! I used to live in Ann Arbor and I really miss Zingermans!
SavoryTvs last blog post..A simple latin chicken salad video, prepared by Chef Timothy Hughes