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Looking to save money on hotel food? Explore these 25 hotel food ideas for budget-conscious travellers and make your stay more cost-effective.
Purchasing hotel food outside of a continental breakfast adds to the cost of your stay.
Today, I’m sharing savings ideas I’ve used to save you money on hotel food.
Not Everyone At A Hotel Is On Vacation
Why would you want to grocery shop when you stay in a hotel?
Many reasons, actually so I thought it would be a great idea to come up with a list of hotel food ideas to help cut costs.
You will learn quickly that food and drink cost megabucks when staying at a hotel.
On the other hand, the hotel you stay at might have no amenities to offer you apart from a complimentary cup of coffee.
Whether you stay in a 5-star hotel or a budget hotel, they both come with pros and cons, one being the quality and price.
You might think that making meals in your hotel room wastes time, especially if you are on holiday, but what if you’re not?
Some stay temporarily in a hotel for weeks and months for various reasons.
Maybe you have one week left of University, and your room rental has expired.
Instead of driving back and forth every day, as it would take hours, you rent a hotel room for the week.
Hotels are for people looking for a place to lay their heads at night
It’s not always about fun when staying in a hotel, but either way, you have to eat or at least should eat.
Coming up with food ideas you can make in the hotel room rather than ordering room service or visiting the hotel restaurant takes some intelligent planning.
If you have kids in tow, finding foods you can prepare and eat cheaply in your hotel room might be easier than slipping out to eat, especially if you have no vehicle.
Just because I said cheap doesn’t mean you have to skimp on healthy foods.
I’m comparing grocery food vs. hotel food, so anything is cheaper.
Even if you go to the local grocery store wherever you are staying and load up on fresh gourmet meals, you will still save more money than if you had eaten out—plus…no tip.
Every Hotel You Visit Will Be Different
Depending on your hotel, you may be offered breakfast, lunch, or dinner as a courtesy.
You may even get paid hotel food at a discounted rate if you stay with the hotel.
Other hotels have nothing but a small kitchenette, possibly with a toaster, kettle, and mini-fridge.
Perhaps you may find nothing but a coffee pot on a table with instant coffee and tea bags.
It’s the worst coffee and tea in the world, but when you’re desperate, it tastes like the best you’ve ever had. Ha!
If the room doesn’t offer a glistening toaster, ask if one is available for guests in the hotel food area.
You get what you pay for when you stay at a hotel, so don’t rent a room with high expectations, especially if it’s a dodgy hotel.
In a luxurious hotel, you may plan to dine on the club floor, which is included with your gold package stay, or use your credit card rewards points.
Related: 10 Smart Ways To Save Money On Travel Food
Their continental breakfast might consist of horrible black coffee and packaged muffins.
Even in a cheap hotel, you might have to pay for room service, if it is available.
A cheap hotel costs under $100 a night without last-minute deals, discounts, etc.
Last-Minute Hotel Deals
If you’re a frugal hotel shopper and find a last-minute hotel deal, you may get lucky and score the 5-star perks with two-star pricing.
That’s my kind of deal, but you must be ready for them as they go fast from sites such as Travelocity.ca.
When searching for a hotel, always read hotel reviews to help decide whether you want to book.
You’ll better understand how you will be treated as a customer and what their stay was like.
How To Prepare For Your Hotel Stay
If you have any hotels nearby where you live, don’t be shy about popping in and asking the hotel manager if you could have a small tour around.
This is a great time to ask questions and for tips on renting a hotel room and hotel food ideas.
Every hotel is different, so the answers aren’t going to be standard across the board, but you’ll get a sense of how a hotel works just by visiting and doing your research.
Make your way into three types of hotels to get a good idea of what you are looking for.
Hotel Virtual Tours
Depending on where you are travelling, you can also see if the hotel offers an online virtual tour that you can check out beforehand.
In the meantime, I’d pass by a;
- 5-Star Hotel
- Quality Hotel
- Budget Hotel
- Motel
Each of these accommodations comes with different price tags, hotel design and layout, and options.
Don’t forget to ask about the high season, the best rooms in-house, and what’s included.
If you’re visiting the area to go to a hospital or it’s a family emergency, ask about a hospital rate.
Every intelligent traveller won’t leave home without travel insurance for unexpected emergencies.
CBB Emergency Binder For Travelling
Also, don’t be shy about asking if the room has a refrigerator and freezer, along with the size.
This will help you determine how much food you can bring from home.
Finding out what will cost you extra, mainly food and drink, is what I’d be worried about.
You don’t bring your kitchen appliances unless you are permitted to.
That means no rice cooker, crock-pot, or other appliances the hotel didn’t furnish for cooking purposes.
A fire code will be in place, and you don’t want to find out the hard way that you shouldn’t have done that.
If the hotel manager allows small appliances, pack an instant pot and toaster, which would bring you huge savings for your hotel food budget.
You can also prepare hotel food by cooking in a rice cooker from boiling to heating food.
A rice cooker is comparable to a small pot with an element where you can steam, boil, or fry food. Ah ha, innovative thinking.
Generally, when we use our slow cooker, we make rice and toss other bits on top, and it all cooks together.
The Budget Motel Stay
I remember our trip to Tobermory, where we stayed in a budget motel with an empty mini-fridge, a 2-cup coffee pot, and access to a rusty barbeque if needed.
Oh, if we needed a microwave outside on a table by the front office.
Ya, it was a cheap motel, but the room was clean, and no food was included, not even breakfast.
Again, you get what you pay for.
First, we didn’t plan the motel stay, so that was our first mistake, and we brought no hotel food or snacks with us.
Second, we should have paid the extra money to stay in a hotel up the road if we wanted at least a three or 4-Star stay with hotel breakfast.
When Mrs. CBB and I made a trip to Niagara Falls, we enjoyed our upgraded suite for free, which had a jacuzzi and kitchenette we didn’t use as I was ill.
While I was in bed, Mrs. CBB went ahead and looked around the hotel restaurants and decided to have a drink at the bar.
Not only did her drink cost her well over $10, but she also left a tip because the place was pretty dead, and the bartender was super friendly.
She ordered food from the restaurant since I was sick and told me I didn’t want to see the bill.
That only meant we could have purchased a week’s worth of groceries but enjoyed our one-day stay.
Could we have avoided going to Subway for lunch at $25 or buying snacks and appetizers at Casino Niagara?
If you want to cut your hotel food costs and stick to a travel budget, you must plan for it.
When you’re out to eat, opt for the cheaper menu items if you plan to return to your room to eat the hotel food you brought.
Hotel Drinks In The Mini-Bar
Two words: Stay Away.
If you want to pay premium prices for the minibar, you are better off going to the liquor store to stock your hotel room.
One bottle of sparkling Perrier water was $6, and there were three bottles on the counter. NOPE.
While buying alcoholic beverages, don’t forget to buy pop, juice, and other necessities such as spices, cups, and utensils.
Hotel Snack Machine
Whether at the front desk or on your hotel floor, there probably is an ice machine and a snack vending machine.
A vending machine is a gold mine for the hotel, especially when guests don’t bring snacks.
You will pay a higher price for your snacks from the machine, likely 2 to 3 times higher than what you’d pay at the grocery store or convenience store.
Bring chips, crackers and cheese, peanut butter, jelly, fruits, nuts and dried fruit, popcorn, etc.
Huge snack savings will go a long way for your hotel food budget.
Bed and Breakfast or Airbnb
Even if you splurge on a bed and breakfast stay, only get the bed and a homemade breakfast in the morning.
If you get lucky, you’ll find a bed, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, which might be all-inclusive.
However, when traveling, the last thing needed is to be trekking back to a hotel or bed and having breakfast for mealtime.
It’s different if you’re on a resort but not when planning a holiday with accommodations.
Airbnb accommodations are also a great alternative where you have to purchase groceries to cook, saving you money.
Typically, your Airbnb will come fully stocked with a kitchen and all appliances.
Related: Airbnb is a homeowner gold mine or potential disaster zone
Hotel Food Ideas
If the hotel you stay at doesn’t offer you food past breakfast, there are foods you can bring and eat in your room.
Everyone likes different foods, but this list of 10 hotel foods you can fix in your room is worth noting for those who love to eat everything.
Fill a cooler with ice and stock up on beverages and other foods to keep on ice if there is no freezer or refrigerator in the hotel room.
Even if you plan to eat one meal every day, locate local restaurants offering deals or those that have coupons you can use.
I plan to eat out and have a bigger meal at lunch as it’s cheaper than dinner.
Below are all or many hotel food ideas we’ve used to help us stick to our travel budget.
Hotel Beverage Ideas
Pack a beverage cooler with ice whenever you are on a road trip or staying in a hotel or motel.
The savings alone are huge as sellers will mark up these products by 200% or more.
Some examples of beverages to bring for a hotel stay:
- Protein Powder
- Powdered Organic Bone Broth Beef or Chicken
- Milk
- Cream
- Coffee
- Tea Bags
- Juice
- Pop
- Water
- Tomato Juice etc.
Another hot hotel tip is to bring your mugs and sweetener if you don’t use sugar, typically provided.
- SweetLeaf Sweet Drops SteviaClear, 60ml
- Splenda
- Torani Sugar-Free English Toffee Flavor Syrup, 750ml
- Erythritol
- Monkfruit Sweetener
- Allulose
Most often, they have free small paper cups, but if you have a favourite mug you can bring, that will work better.
Last week, we bought Keto BOMB Coffee Whitener or creamer that you can store in the refrigerator.
We have in the past brought silverware, but if you call down to the front desk, they should bring you some unless you are in a motel.
Hotel Food Condiments Ideas
Whatever you can’t get from the front desk or kitchen. (Ask ahead of time if they have condiments such as jam, salt, pepper, creamers, sweetener, ketchup, mustard, mayo, etc.
Pack your condiments in reusable plastic or Ziploc bags to lay flat in your cooler.
Bring condiments so you don’t have bland food if you plan to pack bread, muffins, burgers, hotdogs, bagels, coffee, etc.
Hotel Food and Snack Ideas To Pack
Hotel Snack Ideas
- Instant Oatmeal/Cereal/Granola Bars or Granola
- Homemade muffins, squares, and cookies
- Deli Meat, Cheese, bread, butter
- Veggie bags with cut vegetables
- Fruits
- Eggs if there is a microwave or pre-make Egg and Ham Breakfast Cups, Egg Pasta Frittata, Crustless Quiche
- Pre-cook bacon and other meats at home and reheat them in a container.
- Snacks- Chips, Pretzels, Healthy Chips (kale chips), Dried seaweed, Chocolate, Dried Fruit, Nuts, Gold Fish, Crackers, Cheese Strings, Peanut Butter, Almond Butter, Pepperettes, Beef Jerky.
Hotel Food Ideas
- Ramen Noodles – use the coffee pot to drip a pot of water for your noodles and instant oatmeal, or use the microwave. (bring bowls or cups)
- Potatoes or Sweet Potatoes for the microwave with butter
- Hotdogs or pre-cooked sausages (you could add a few in the coffee pot, add water, and let them heat in the pot or microwave if available.
- Bring corn on the cob to roast and other vegetables that you can wash and peel in the room if there is a BBQ.
- Angel Hair or Spaghettini pasta to cook in the microwave (if you plan to use a microwave or a BBQ. Opt for disposable cutlery, so you don’t have to wash dishes.
- Potato Salad, Macaroni Salad, and cabbage slaw are great in a cooler with ice.
- Pre-made frozen meals must be microwaved- meatballs, casseroles, lasagna, pizza, etc. One of my favorites is pasta frittata with sausage.
- Kraft Dinner or other Mac n Cheese made in the coffee pot or kitchen (If applicable)
- Cream Cheese and Bagels
- Potato Tortilla, Fried Chicken, Chicken Wings, or other foods you can eat cold or at room temperature.
- Pack tortilla wraps and stuff them with just about anything.
- Rotisserie chicken
- Pre-made Hard-boiled eggs or eggs you can microwave if available. You can also make Scotch Eggs to eat cold or warm up.
- Cans of tuna (and a can opener)
- Canned foods you don’t need to heat or can heat if a microwave or BBQ is available on-site.
Keto Snack Ideas and Keto Food For A Hotel Stay
I have so many Keto recipes on the blog that you can sift through for the best keto snacks and food to bring on the road with you to your hotel.
If you can eat it cold, it’s better as it’s quicker and you can take it with you when you leave the hotel room as you venture out for the day.
Packing a simple keto lunch is simple as long as you plan.
You won’t have to worry whether you will find keto food or the high prices that come along with eating out while travelling.
- Baked Pepperoni Chips
- Keto Bagels (loads of flavours)
- Keto Crisp Bread
- Keto Crispy Chicken Tenders Cooked
- Hard-Boiled Eggs
- Cold Keto Meatballs
- Cold Keto Eggplant Meatballs
- Cold Keto Radish Potato Salad
- Cold Keto Fathead Pizza
- Mixed Veggies washed, cleaned and sliced
- Mixed berries such as strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries
- Pepperettes, Salami, Cooked Sausages, Cooked Breakfast Sausages, Kolbassa, Sugar-free Beef Jerky
- Keto Peanut Butter Cookies
- Sugar-Free Keto Chocolate Bars
- Salted Caramel Fat-Bombs
- Keto Macaroons
- Homemade Keto Pretzels
- Whisps Parmesan Crisps (You can find these at Costco Canada)
- Nuts- Walnuts, Brazil Nuts, Almonds, etc.
- Keto Cheddar and Jalapeno Biscuits
- Keto Sugar-Free Strawberry Chia Jam
Almost all hotel or motel rooms will have a microwave and refrigerator, so stock up.
Keto Snacks To Pack For A Hotel Stay
- Eat Smart Sweets Gummy Bears or Red Fish (sugar-free)
- Suzy Good Fats Bars Box of 12 (Different flavours to choose from)
- Better than Noodles Konjac Pasta
- Moon Cheese Pepper Jack Cheese Snack
- Sliced Black Olives or stuffed green olives
- Dill Pickles
- Sauerkraut
- Cheese
- Dips, Sour Cream, Cream Cheese
- Vegetables cut up in Ziploc bags for dipping
- Cheese Whisps from Costco
- Tuna or Salmon
- Keto Crackers or homemade Keto Crisp Bread
Pre-Make Copycat Recipes To Pack As Hotel Food
Over the years, I’ve researched various copycat recipes online to save us money.
Eating out, as you know, is expensive, so we thought it would be a great idea to make our favourite fast food at home.
This costs a fraction of the price, and you get to control the ingredients.
Below are some of the most popular copycat recipes you can make ahead of time to pack for your hotel stay.
You can find all the recipes below and loads more on my Simple Copycat Recipes To Make At Home blog post.
Consider anything portable, easily made, and reheated in a microwave as ideal hotel food.
- KFC Copycat Potato Wedges
- Tim Hortons chocolate chip muffins
- Copycat Krispy Kreme Doughnuts
- Red Lobster Cheese Biscuits
- Auntie Anne’s Cinnamon Sugar Pretzel Bites Copycat Recipe
- Copycat Taco Bell Cinnamon Twists
- Better than Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bread
- Copycat Starbucks Cranberry Orange Scones
- Clone of a Cinnabon Cinnamon Roll Bun Recipe All Recipes
Pack Food According To Your Hotel Agenda
If you are on vacation, consider how much food you bring, as it will take up space in your vehicle and your time and agenda.
There’s no point packing lots of food if you don’t plan to be in your hotel room until the end of the night or into the wee hours of the morning.
Not everyone has a big budget for travel or hotel stays, but when you can save in one area, you can splurge in others.
Alternatively, you can forget everything I’ve said above and just order in, eat out and relax.
Discussion:
What hotel food savings ideas must you add to this popular blog post?
Please share your comments below, and thanks for stopping by.
Mr. CBB
- 10 Smart Ways To Trim Daily Expenses on Travel Food
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