Vegan food in hotel chains?

[Hiking Fox]

I've started having to travel and stay out overnight through work, and they'll be reserving places like Travelodge and Holiday Inn for me on such occasions.

I've never stayed at places like that before, having only ever camped, crashed on sofas or stayed at bed and breakfasts, so I'm wondering what people's experiences of such places are? Is the food as awful as I imagine? Do they do soya milk and have vegan options?

Any info/experiences to share?

[gauze]

I used to work as a Holiday Inn waiter 6 years ago, and from memory, they can make a vegan meal but with a day or 2 warning, but it'll be awful (eg. plain potato with veg). 90% of the food there was packaged and reheated from a set menu.

[chronyx]

I wouldn't bother, just find a local supermarket!

[JP]

can get some breakfast though - and soya milk if you give them a warning?

[Talyn]

I had a look at the website for travelodge and holiday inn, but found them rather lacking in anything helpful.

I don't have any experience with them, but maybe send them an email or give them a call and see what the say.

The one thing the websites do list, is their impressive bars. So you could forgo the food altogether and get righteously sloshed. Problem solved

[chronyx]

Beer and peanuts, the breakfast of champions

[Clem Snide]

Normally a self-service buffet breakfast, there will be beans, tomatoes, hash browns etc, all dire of course, but does the job. Never seen any soya milk or specifically vegan or veggie stuff.

[Hiking Fox]

Beer and peanuts, the breakfast of champions

I like your spirit, but I only drink in the evenings (except for the odd spot of Sunday afternoon football watching) and building sites have strict rules about sobriety, for good reason!:D

The main thing I'm concerned about is breakfast - cos having to pop out and find a supermarket at 8am in unfamiliar places is pretty tedious!

Reckon I'll just take soya milk, demand fried tomatoes on toast for breakfast and see how I get on...

[chronyx]

When I was camping recently I just took tinned lentils, tinned spinach, tinned asparagus, some rye bread, some hemp protein, and nuts and just ate what I felt like.

Picked up some broccolli to nibble on and a few bits of fruit here and there.

All fairly good nutrient wise, OK it won't win a Michellin star but a couple days treating food as fuel and nothing more did me a lot of good!

All tasted sublime when I was hungry enough to need food

[ninearms]

We had no trouble getting soya milk at breakfast when we stayed in Belfast recently. Just asked one of the staff and she got some from the kitchen. I just filled up on melon, pineapple, grapefruit, orange and bread though. Muesli is for those Swedish hippies. This was at the Hilton though. That said, I'd be surprised if other hotels didn't at least have soya milk.

[LMM]

I had to stay at Premier Inns a few times last year. They always have soya milk - no notice required.

Breakfats choices included cereals, fresh fruit, toast - really, no problem finding vegan stuff.

If you have to eat there in the evening, the companies running their restaurants vary. You'd almost certainly be better off going somewhere else if you could. I had to eat there a couple of times - a bean salad and jacket potato, asked them to hold the blue cheese, and once a sort of flat bread pizza-base thingy with an ok tomato topping covered with basil leaves. Passable but not very interesting (and as I'm diabetic it sent my blood glucose levels through the roof).

[baldy]

I have been off loaded a few times in Heathrow and had to stay overnight at the park inn. They have soya milk as part of the buffet.

Normally I would stay at a B&B and take my own Soya Milk in case they do not have.

Demanding fried tomatoes on toast, sounds perfectly acceptable but I would add mushrooms to that.

[Rubber_Ritchie]

I stay in hotels often. They rarely have soya milk in hotels from my experience. A resort in Germany I was in the other week had some. I normally take my own and have with cereal and beans on dry toast. I hate hotels.

[Hiking Fox]

I stayed at a Holiday Inn just after starting this thread and see what you mean about hating hotels - it was a souless, overheated place with air conditioning that hummed constantly (it just wouldn't turn off!)

They didn't have soya milk, though the toast came dry, so it was easy enough to stick a few tomatoes, hash browns and beans on, then grab some pink grapefruit and apple slices.

[littlepurplegoth]

I take own soya milk, and some cereal bars just incase there is nothing edible wrt breakfast. Or I just stay in a travellodge/inn and expect not to find food and plan to take own supply of instant porridge/maple syrup/fruit for breakfast purposes.

Only place I've ever stayed without 'warning' wrt vegan was the Holiday Inn Express in Warwick.. but it was over the bulldog weekend so I think that they had decided to cover all bases wrt food.