Say goodbye to bland, lacklustre breakfasts – these hotels are serving up dazzling spreads that showcase the rich flavours of their destinations
Gone are the days when hotel breakfasts were all dreary, beige buffets, destined to slip from memory by mid-morning. Now, a slew of hotels is turning the first meal of the day into a gourmet spectacle, showcasing the flavours that define their destinations, from delicate congee in Hong Kong to fragrant Moroccan tagines.
Discover seven of the world’s finest hotel breakfasts, each serving fare that captures the soul of its locale.
1. Babylonstoren, Franschhoek
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At the South African Babylonstoren, breakfast is the ultimate farm-to-fork experience, where every ingredient is sourced from the hotel’s 12 acres of cultivated gardens. Backdropped by three majestic mountain ranges, these veg beds – the oldest cultivated plots in Cape Dutch – are a sun-kissed Eden of over 300 edible plants.
Your morning unfolds in Babel, a beautifully restored cow shed, where yes, there’s a buffet, but boring it is not. Picture crunchy, just-picked crudités, house-made charcuterie, and warm loaves straight from the oven. Slather a traditional South African mosbolletjie – a sweet brioche – with farm butter, blue gum honey fresh from on-site hives and house-made preserves. And then there’s the hangop: thick, old-school Dutch yoghurt, perfect when paired with Cape gooseberries. Wash it all down with a glass of freshly squeezed juice and you’ve got a breakfast that stays true to the land that surrounds it.
2. The Upper House, Hong Kong
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Sick of the same-old European breakfast? Step into The Upper House, where the day opener is an event in itself. Perched on the 49th floor in the hotel’s Salisterra restaurant, you're treated to floor-to-ceiling views of the city coming to life below, and a Chinese breakfast of champions.
Proceedings kick off with a velvety abalone congee, before diving into dim sum delights of shrimp har gow and pillowy barbecued pork buns. For more sustenance still, there are stir-fried noodles and golden, deep-fried youtiao dough sticks, ideal for dipping into a smorgasbord of sauces, from soy to fiery chilli.
3. Royal Mansour, Marrakech
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Just like its cedarwood-scented riads and blossoming gardens, dining at the Royal Mansour is a sensory celebration, and an ode to Morocco’s rich culinary traditions. At La Grande Brasserie’s sun-soaked patio, staff deliver towering platters of French pastries as you flip through the à la carte menu.
For a true taste of Marrakech, head for the ‘Moroccan’s Tradition’ section, where the magic begins with a comforting bowl of marrakchia harira (a spiced soup) then a khlii tagine. Mop up it all up with harcha semolina flatbreads served with house-made butter and thyme-scented honey, and there are not one, but two types of traditional pancakes: the flaky, multi-layered msemen and spongy, golden baghrir. And of course, no Moroccan breakfast is complete without a creamy ‘nos-nos’ espresso with milk or a floral rose geranium tea to sip as the morning sun warms your face.
When you think American breakfast, you think pancakes, right? But at Utah’s breathtakingly remote Amangiri, the stateside classic is given a red rocks revamp. At Pavilion, the hotel’s all-day-dining haven, locally foraged ingredients meet classic US comfort food: yoghurt parfait here is studded with native seed granola, while the ‘American’ breakfast pairs applewood-smoked bacon with elk sausages from the nearby Rocky Mountains. Even the shakshuka gets a local twist, brightened by a hit of desert ginger gel.
For full-throttle Americana though, turn to the wood-fired oven selection: cast iron skillet pancakes arrive drenched in macerated desert berries and maple syrup, while French toast is crowned with prickly pear berry compote and whipped cream.
5. Auberge eauFeu, Ishikawa
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In keeping with its rich maritime heritage, seafood takes centre stage in Japanese breakfasts, and at this rural Ishikawa hotel – housed in a decommissioned elementary school – it’s no different. Much like the restaurant’s evening tasting menu, which starts with pure mountain water to emphasise its role in local cuisine, the eauFeu breakfast reflects a hyper-local larder.
Chef Itoi Shota, the youngest ever winner of Japan’s prestigious Red U-35 competition, presents a medley of braised squid, house-pickled vegetables, a tamagoyaki omelette, miso soup, grilled fish and rice harvested from down the road. The highlight? A smooth and sweet amazake, a low-alcohol sake made by the celebrated Noguchi Naohiko Sake Institute, just a five-minute walk away.
6. D’Angleterre, Copenhagen
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Weekend brunch at this gorgeous grande dame is steeped in the ‘good living’ traditions of the sea-kissed capital. Much like its lavish surroundings, the D’Angleterre plates up a regal spread at its award-winning Marchal restaurant, with views of Kongens Nytorv, Copenhagen’s grandest public square.
Brunch here is no casual affair – it's a seven-course spectacle so coveted that reservations are snapped up months in advance. Indulge in fresh oysters, hay-smoked Danish salmon, while house-pickled herring brings a nostalgic nod to tradition. Delicate trout roe blinis, Vesterthavs cheese omelettes and marzipan-filled Terbirkes pastries follow, and, just when you thought it couldn’t get any more decadent, mocca-infused Sarah Bernhardt cakes: a chocolate-covered confection created to honour the French actress’ visit in 1911.
7. Chablé Yucatán, Yucatán
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At Chablé Yucatán, breakfast brims with the region’s tongue-tingling local flavours. Forget any notions of a bland brekkie, at Ki’Ol restaurant – Mayan for ‘healthy’ – even the drinks menu is a kaleidoscope with freshly squeezed juices made from guava, kiwi and cactus or indulgent coconut milk shakes. Food is a riot of Yucatán’s finest: start light with hibiscus flower enchiladas, a bowl of guava-chai oatmeal or freshly baked bread sweetened with house-made peach, papaya and prickly pear jams.
For something heartier, opt for the Motuleño-style eggs, a Yucatán classic paired with plantain and beans or cochinita pibil, suckling pig baked underground wrapped in banana leaves, served with tacos.
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