What Do You Always Order from Room Service?

November 16, 2009 at 1:34 PM | by juliana | Comments (16)

Last week while staying at the W Boston, we did a little informal test of the hotel's room service by ordering our standard go-to room service food--a cheeseburger.

The W Boston's Market restaurant Market passed our burger test, sort of. The burger was excellent and cooked to perfection. However, we ordered mushrooms as our side and were served fries. Fortunately, those fries ended up being pretty tasty so no loss there.

However, we could have easily gone with a standard turkey club sandwich or a pasta dish. Or we could have really gone wild and tried a fancy entree like wild salmon or steak frites. We could have even tested the "service" part of room service by ordering something off-menu. But we stuck with our cheeseburger dish. That's just how we roll. (Unlike the rapper Pitbull, who's more into ordering the spicy stuff.)

Still, we bet a lot of hotel guests out there have a go-to room service order.

Aside from being hungry and knowing what they like, guests also want to know that they are getting their money's worth. That's because whatever you order from room service, chances are the bill is going to be upwards of $30. Menu items are often marked up (hello, $6 for bagel with cream cheese) and the hotel often charges a delivery fee plus tax. Remember, the awkward decision to add more gratuity for your server depends on you.

Second, you've been traveling or working all day and you're hungry and you probably have been stewing for 20 to 45 minutes in your room wondering when room service was going to get there. How that dish is prepared will probably influence your opinion of the hotel in general.

So if you have a standard item that you like to order from room service--because you know it will make you feel good after a long day of travel or work--let us know in comments what it is you like to eat in the privacy of your hotel room. And feel free to list the names of hotels that got your order right...or very wrong.

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Comments (16)

Return to » What Do You Always Order from Room Service?

Because breakfast in bed in a hotel robe is SO great. Usually go for coffee and orange juice, try to get a scone or muffin, and definitely an omelet with a some fruit or greens. Something so luxurious about it.

usually, egg white omelette and some hashbrowns and a giant, GIANT, pot of coffee.

I'm also a big fan of lazing out in the morning and ordering in breakfast, like an omelette or some pancakes and tea. Otherwise, I stick to comfort food that's hard to mess up, and usually cheaper, like grilled cheese.

Jennifer and I are on the same page. Grilled cheese is a staple, as is coffee. Breakfast pastries are usually a safe bet, too, though I've had a couple bad scones in my day.

Burgers are usually hard to mess up, so usually a safe option on a room service menu I find. French fries, however, are another story.

Coffee is also another good indicator of quality. I love those breakfast tabs you can hang up on your door at night to have breakfast delivered at the time of your choosing...like little magic elves are doing the work.

hard to go wrong with a burger..hotels just seem to get them right. love the continental bkfast in the am with strong coffee and assort baked goodies. one of my favs is at The Regency in NY. They have a great tomato soup with mini grilled cheese sandwiches..then I go downstairs to their library bar where they have bowls of free peanut mnm's and grab a few (not a handful!)

cheeseburgers all the way for me too. but with mash not chips, if i don't think that will earn me some spit in the mash

Occasionally I'll try the burger too, but a club sandwich is a good staple to compare from place to place. Ditto the fries. If I'm in New England, I like to get all fancy and order the lobster roll.

caesar salad, chardonnay and cookies - my usual room service order - eaten in bed in my robe.

Depends on the time of day. It seems that the classic club sandwich is the usual item I order upon arrival, unless it's first thing in the morning. I agree that coffee is a good indicator (not only temperature, but is it burned? served with real cream and not those ultra-stabilized pre-portioned plastic pots). Also, soup is something I find gets messed up often, which can be baffling: I once had an extraordinarily horrible experience at a 5-star hotel where the soup literally congealed to a hardened mass upon cooling. I only took a few bites before realizing something was terribly wrong. By the time "management" got involved, I was able to completely invert the bowl without a single item spilling out. Spoon included.
Burger is almost always the backup.

The first thing I order is breakfast. Anytime,day or night. Always get it just the way I wish I could make it at home.

I always order a couple of croissants and some butter for breakfast, plus a mug of hot chocolate and eggs, sunny side up! This full breakfast keeps my morning invigorating! April

Club sandwich and a beer at the Carlton Tower London

I always go for sandwitches or burgers sometimes I will order curry and rice or congee.
Most hotels ususlly get the room service wrong as they do not pay attention to it- being a chef and having worked in plenty of hotels i Know it is like the ugly step child no one wants

I always order a club sandwich and as of late edamame. Yum..hotel comfort food.

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