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8 Things to Never Order from Hotel Room Service

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Go because... your kids will love Green Gables, and you'll love the oyster hour.Prince Edward Island is a magical place, an emerald isle of farms and fields, fringed with red clay and pine forests. It requires just that little bit of extra effort to get there—we flew to Halifax, rented a car, and drove an hour and a half to the car ferry from Nova Scotia—that makes a week discovering its bays and beaches all the sweeter. Our house was on a lovely little bay at the eastern end of the island near the small town of Souris, which has the perfect lobster shack, and also near Basin Head beach, a sandy paradise for us and our six-year-old twins because of the shallow sandbars that extend far out, making paddling around an all-day possibility. We also rented bikes along the Confederation Trail, which runs the length of the island; went bay fishing (one of my daughters caught the single mackerel that was biting that day); and toured Green Gables—a real place even if Anne is not! At first my girls were skeptical (they’re not old enough to read the books or ship Anne and Gilbert—yet), but the verdict after touring the gardens and the charming house with its pantry and dairy and wee bedrooms: “I thought this would be boring, but it was fun.” My husband and I ate our weight in oysters, mussels, and lobster. (Interesting fact: PEI provides 55 percent of the oysters eaten in North America and 70 percent of the mussels.) At The Inn at Bay Fortune, we dined on chef Michael Smith’s open-flame, seven-course FireWorks Feast, preceded by “oyster hour.” For 60 minutes it’s all-you-can-eat Colville Bay oysters, so creamy, plump, and delicious. All I can say is, I did my part. —Sunshine Flint
Slide 1 of 8: Everyone heading out on a luxurious vacation fantasizes about breakfast in bed. But when it comes down to it, breakfast foods just don't hold up too well under room-service lids. Scrambled eggs, for example, begin to lose heat and taste almost as soon as they leave the pan. That means when they get to you, they're 'cold and gluey,' says Jonathan Knudsen, an executive at JK Hospitality in New York. Got a trip coming up? This hotel-booking secret guarantees you'll get the cheapest rate.
Slide 2 of 8: This crispy breakfast pastry is another food you'll want to avoid calling in. Once you put a pile of waffles under a room-service lid, they'll begin to get soggy because of the steam. Instead, order pancakes or French toast, which retain heat better and don't get as noticeably limp.
Slide 3 of 8: Obviously, fried foods don't hold up too well under steamy room-service plates—unless you like your fries soggy, that is. As a rule of thumb, Knudsen says to avoid foods like calamari, fried chicken, and quesadillas. The exception to the rule? Buffalo chicken. 'Although fried, they cannot be overcooked,' says Knudsen. 'Plus, the hot tossed sauce keeps them warmer longer.' Learn the 10 secrets to help you get a hotel room upgrade.
Slide 4 of 8: A side dish of steamed veggies might seem like the perfect way to get your greens in while on vacation. Unfortunately, 'items like broccoli, and even squash and carrots sweat under a hospitality cover and become nothing more than flat colors on a plate by the time they reach a guest room,' Kelly Merritt, author of The Everything Family Guide to Budget Travel, told Southern Living. Instead, try the soup of the day, says Knudsen.
Slide 5 of 8: Our experts had mixed reviews on room-service burgers. On the one hand, they say the classic food is a hard-to-ruin standby that people should feel comfortable ordering. Others, however, say the time it takes the burger to travel from the kitchen to your room could result in it becoming overcooked—and that's before you take into account the wilted lettuce and the soggy fries. Instead, order the chicken or turkey club with a fruit salad or side salad in place of the fries. Before ordering room service, learn the 12 surprising secrets of all-inclusive resorts.
Slide 6 of 8: Pizza is another food you might think you'd be safe ordering. But unless your hotel has an Italian restaurant on site, you might want to avoid it. Otherwise, 'there is a good chance that it will be previously frozen or a bit tired from sitting under a heat lamp,' Gian Nicola Colucci, executive chef at the Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis, told Southern Living.
Slide 7 of 8: A pasta craving is hard to ignore—especially if you're longing for the comforts of home. Still, it might not be the best option. 'By the time it gets from the kitchen to the room it’s either sticky or cold or the sauce has totally fallen apart. Good pasta is meant to be enjoyed immediately and if you order from room service you’re going to be paying a lot for a really subpar product,' Bradford Phillips, executive chef at Troquet River North in the Hotel Felix in Chicago, told BravoTV.
Slide 8 of 8: Now that you've had your dinner (a club sandwich or a soup and salad, we hope), it's time for dessert. Unfortunately, if you have high hopes for that room-service cheesecake, you'll probably be disappointed. Unless your hotel has a bakery or pastry chef on the property, it's likely you'll be served something that's either been sitting out for a while, or is dry, stale and overly sweet. Next up, learn the 21 secrets hotels don't want you to know.

Scrambled eggs

Waffles

Fried foods

Steamed veggies

Burgers

Pizza

Pasta

Pastries

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