June 28, 2018

Room service option not chosen.

I did order room service breakfast from a menu that had this...



... but I got a huge meal for a mere one-tenth of that.

(Click the image for an enlarged, clearly readable view.)

67 comments:

Anne in Rockwall, TX said...

Hmm. The three things mystery deepens.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

500. holy cow that's spendy.

Wince said...

Get “awoke”, go broke.

rehajm said...

That must be a very large bed.

Michael K said...

I prefer "Awakened" as the other sounds like turning communist.

rhhardin said...

My Doberman gets breakfast in bed sometimes. Usually the sound of the cheese drawer opening will draw her into the kitchen, but if she's sleepling late, I carry a slice over to her. She eats it with minimal movement.

Psota said...

So...they come into your room (sorry, suite)...cook a bunch of food...and then wake you up???

Big Mike said...

Looks like MadMan got it at least partially right. He thought you drove to Chicago to see “Hamilton” and you stayed in s Trump hotel. That’s the room service menu from a Trump hotel if ever one was! But driving to Chicago is not disgusting, is it, so what was the third disgusting thing you did?

Darrell said...

One-tenth that? Still way too much. For $50 for breakfast, you should be able to eat yourself into a stupor.

tim maguire said...

$500 plus an 18% gratuity! Even if I wanted breakfast in bed, I would be ashamed to admit that I ordered this service.

Karen of Texas said...

They lost you at "aroma", didn't they?

500?! Sheesh. If someone has it and wants to splurge, though...

Not sure how Meade would feel about the chef and server joining you for breakfast in bed. Did anyone else notice the poor wording? I think a "serve you breakfast in bed" would provide much needed clarity, otherwise... You do pick interesting places to stay, ma'am.

Wilbur said...

You eat that much, you're gonna stay in bed.

gilbar said...

500 a couple? next time you and Meade are back in Madison; let me know, and i'll deliver pancakes and coffee for half that! Heck, it's only a hundred miles, let me know and i'll do it for free

Curious George said...

Big Mike said...
Looks like MadMan got it at least partially right. He thought you drove to Chicago to see “Hamilton” and you stayed in s Trump hotel.

Yep

https://www.trumphotelcollection.com/pdf/Chicago-Trump-In-Room-Dining-Menu-Guests.pdf

David Begley said...

Althouse is not in Fargo. Or even Detroit Lakes. Has to be Chicagoland.

Levi Starks said...

Breakfast is disgusting

Rick.T. said...

Is there a time limit on that. Because the wife and I can drink a LOT of mimosas.

PS - Not sure if it's true for all locations but the Maggiano's in Nashville has $2 mimosas on Sunday. A bit of a challenge to pair with the non-brunch menu, but how can you not drink $2 mimosas made with Tropicana Pure Premium?

Caligula said...

The general rule: if a menu omits currency symbols ($) before the price, what it's offering is likely to be pretentious and over-priced.

Nancy said...

I thought maybe Ann went for a face lift and was staying at one of those recovery resorts.

William said...

You spent $50 plus for breakfast and considered it a bargain. That's some shrewd marketing. We charge the yokels and marks $500 for breakfast, but not you. Only $50 for you because you're the kind of stylish opinion maker and important person that we need to cater to.....When you have a $500 breakfast, is it customary to tip the server $100?

Xmas said...

I had a $70 omelet once. It had truffle shavings on it. The coffee was $10. Mind you, this was in the hotel restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton Tokyo, so some of this suffering was from the location and the exchange rate.

And I got kicked out of the pool there because I had tattoos, which was nice.

tcrosse said...

For 500 bucks you'd expect a couple of Russian hookers to come up and pee on the mattress.

Big Mike said...

$500 seems perfectly reasonable to me, however there’s the 18% gratuity ($90), Chicago’s 10.75% downtown restaurant tax ($53.75), and the $4 service charge. It’s the damned four dollars; that breaks the piggy bank.

Ken B said...

So maybe my three guess was good? I guessed
Chicago
Chicago deep dish pizza
Sex with Meade

DanTheMan said...

You can feed an entire Waffle House for $500 + 18%. Probably better chow, too. :)

Wait, if it's $500 it's not "chow"... It's "cuisine".

Ken B said...

I just read Big Mike. BINGO. Trump hotel is one of them for sure. Hamilton is a good shot too. Big Mike might deserve a prize. How about “Insightful Commenter Big Mike”?

Big Mike said...

@Xmas, in Tokyo tattoos are the mark of the Yakuza, which are the Japanese version of gangsters. Sort of like our Mafia, but better organized and nastier.

Big Mike said...

@Ken B, please reread my comment at 9:00. Credit is due to MadisonMan.

daskol said...

check the washbasin, the toilet and tub. if they look good, hotel has good cleaning staff. and I hope for your sake they've got wood or even vinyl floors rather than disgusting old carpet. God knows what's in those carpets.

Ann Althouse said...

Remember that I said I was doing 3 things and that everyone other than me would find at least one of them disgusting. They're not objectively disgusting. I wanted to do all 3. But I don't think there is another person who would want that set of 3.

Personally, I find "endless mimosas" disgusting! And how long do these characters stay in your room? Forever? If not, how are the mimosas "endless"

daskol said...

menu is pretty, though. I like the fonts and the capitalization scheme. looks like a nice place.

daskol said...

endless mimosa: too many carbs! and they serve them to you? you can't just ask for the bottles?

Etienne said...

Big Mike said......so what was the third disgusting thing you did?

Last time we were in Chicago, we just had to try Jeppson's Malört. Yep, it's fucking disgusting.

Been there, done that.

daskol said...

oh, I didn't read it. who would want chefs in your room in a nice hotel? that's not the hotel room is for. that's what the dining room or restaurant downstairs is for. sheesh. $500, though. that's a clever gimmick. very high margin item. I bet some people just have to have it.

Peter said...

This is all terribly unhealthy for someone your age, Ms. Althouse. A far smarter choice would have been fruit, low-fat yoghurt and endless mimosas.

daskol said...

I hope meade is with you. wink wink.

Xmas said...

@BigMike, I know about the Yakuza connection. I just thought it was funny.

daskol said...

they would probably use very attractive staff, potentially open to big tips. hotels are a weird, sorta dirty business. even the clean ones.

daskol said...

especially if they serve in-room personal chef dinner

bleh said...

"For your convenience." I love it.

cacimbo said...

Two strangers creeping around your room while you are sleeping - yuk.I find it difficult to sleep in strange surroundings - that would just add to the lack of sleep.

Openidname said...

It's called framing. You put some ungodly expensive item on the menu, because then everything else seems cheap. This is why you occasionally see a cocktail or sundae made with gold flakes for $1,000.

smartsy said...

You think breakfast is expensive at a Chicago hotel, just wait until you see the charge for parking. Hotel parking in downtown Chicago is usually $60-$75+ a day.

Gahrie said...

For 500 bucks you'd expect a couple of Russian hookers to come up and pee on the mattress.

In Chicago you have to pay the $500 bucks so the hookers don't come and pee on your mattress.

walter said...

Better be a happy ending at that price.

I was on a shoot a while back in a Madison campus apartment where one of the standard amenities was a beer tap fed by a concealed keg. Maybe the hotel has hose lines running to the rooms.

walter said...

(it was a generic high rise place, not a 2 flat with a DIY setup)

Big Mike said...

@Xmas, if you were missing a finger ...

daskol said...

Openidname said...
It's called framing. You put some ungodly expensive item on the menu, because then everything else seems cheap. This is why you occasionally see a cocktail or sundae made with gold flakes for $1,000.


also called "anchoring." excellent point.

daskol said...

bet that $50 breakfast seemed like a bargain, huh, openidname?

daskol said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
daskol said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
daskol said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
daskol said...

but at hotels, sending people to spend time in the room is always fishy. Dominique Strauss Kahn was overly accustomed to this custom, although he may also have been set-up.

Deb said...

$500 is my monthly food budget.

Deb said...

Correction: $500 is my monthly grocery budget.

southcentralpa said...

"Isn't it good/Isn't it great ...!"

(That's from "Chicago", isn't it ...?)

Sigivald said...

I like how the $500 charge doesn't even include an 18% gratuity.

Because, you know, the hotel can't be bothered to pay its staff properly.

daskol said...

why should it when rich people with questionable taste and spending habits will do it for them? Trump was a businessman.

Gordon Scott said...

Well, I had steel-cut oats with fresh banana, and strawberries I grew. It didn't cost $50, but my breakfast was not a deductible expense as yours is. I will say that eating food you have grown is richly satisfying.

Michael said...

Sigivald
People working in high end hotels that receive tips earn a lot more than they would if they were paid a reasonable wage for someone with their skills. Doormen can make six figures. Ditto waiters. Ditto bartenders.

Michael K said...

"It didn't cost $50, but my breakfast was not a deductible expense as yours is."

Deductible from what ? I was always amused at people who thought everyone had expense accounts.

Before the tax deduction you have to make the money.

Bad Lieutenant said...

So what did you have, for $50? For one person?

PS don't you feed Meade?

lostingotham said...

The $90 tip was the deal breaker, wasn't it?

cassandra lite said...

"For your convenience..."

Thaaaanks.

daskol said...

Michael said...
Sigivald
People working in high end hotels that receive tips earn a lot more than they would if they were paid a reasonable wage for someone with their skills. Doormen can make six figures. Ditto waiters. Ditto bartenders.


that is true and a much nicer way to put it.

Freeman Hunt said...

I'd be more likely to pay for people to definitely not come into my room while I am there.

Big Mike said...

@Barry Jacobs, the $90 was do-able, but the Chicago restaurant tax is 10.75%