As an early riser and big morning coffee drinker, one of the challenges that I often face on the road is getting access to a decent cup of coffee at an early hour. For that matter, often I’ll find myself staying at an airport hotel where breakfast only starts at 7AM, which sure seems late to me, especially with many people catching early flights.
Well, I think I’ve found the hotel that might just do early morning coffee and breakfast better than any other property in the world.
Breakfast starts at WHAT TIME?!?!
I just spent a night at the Le Meridien Cairo Airport, which I’ve stayed at several times over the years, though during my most recent visit I made a new discovery (I’m not sure if this is a new policy, or I just didn’t notice in the past). At check-in, part of the conversation went something like this:
Front desk agent: “You can enjoy breakfast in the club lounge on level five from 7AM until 10:30AM, or in EVOO on level B1 from 4AM until 10:30AM.”
Me: “I’m sorry, I think I misunderstood you. Did you say 4AM… like four… in the morning?”
Front desk agent: “Yes, there’s a buffet from 4AM until 10:30AM.”
Me: *speechless*
I mean, I’ve heard of hotels offering 24/7 breakfast via room service, or Vegas hotels having 24/7 buffets for drunk people who need food in the middle of the night, but in the hundreds of hotels I’ve stayed at in my lifetime, I’ve never, ever heard of a 4AM breakfast buffet. And the Le Meridien Cairo Airport isn’t even winning this by a small margin — I can’t think of any hotel I’ve ever stayed at with a breakfast buffet starting before 6AM.
I wondered if maybe this was a situation where if you show up at the restaurant in the first couple of hours, there’s a small menu you can order off of, or something, and they progressively set up the buffet. I figured I had to investigate, so I did what any normal person would do — showed up at 4AM on the dot.
I wondered if this was all a miscommunication, and if I’d show up at a locked door. To my surprise, I found cheery staff ready to serve, and a fully set up buffet. And I’ve gotta say, it was an excellent buffet no less, with barista made coffee and freshly squeezed juice to boot.
Not only did I show up at 4AM, but I figured I had to sit there for some time and see when other people would show up. Is there actually demand for breakfast at that hour? Well, after about an hour, a second person showed up…
While 4AM might be a bit extreme, this was such a nice contrast to all the airport hotels that don’t even have any sort of half decent coffee option before 7AM.
There’s also 24/7 barista coffee!
Here’s the other thing I love about the Le Meridien Cairo Airport, which I remember from previous stays. The hotel also has Latitude Coffee Bar in the lobby, which is open 24/7, and serves all kinds of coffee creations and sweets.
I’m happy when a hotel offers good coffee at all, but it’s especially nice when you can get a delicious coffee any hour of the day or night. This is useful in a place like Cairo, where a lot of flights operate in the middle of the night.
As if it isn’t good enough already, it’s also common for the hotel to put vouchers in the room for a free espresso or cappuccino, which you can redeem at the coffee bar. So I didn’t even have to pay extra for the above coffee.
Bottom line
While the Le Meridien Cairo Airport might not be the flashiest or most cutting edge airport hotel, it gets the basics right, including a convenient location, friendly service, and generally good elite recognition. As an early riser and coffee lover, I almost feel like this hotel is designed around me, between the 4AM breakfast and the 24/7 coffee bar. Those are two features I haven’t found at any other properties.
To fellow morning people, what’s the earliest hotel breakfast you’ve ever encountered?
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