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Just realized that 'free' hostel breakfast is actually costing me more
I booked this hostel in Barcelona for 5 nights because they advertised free breakfast. But the breakfast was just stale bread and jam, so I ended up spending 8 euros each morning at a cafe down the street for actual food. If I had just picked a hostel without the 'free' breakfast gimmick, I would have saved like 40 euros total. And the worst part, the room was 15 euros more per night than another hostel I found later that had a kitchen. Anyone else fell for this trap and have a better way to spot false savings on booking sites?
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abby_wilson511mo ago
I actually read this article on a travel blog a while back that broke down the math on these "free breakfast" hostels. They found that places using the word "complimentary" in their amenities section tend to mark up their base price by 12-18 percent compared to similar hostels without it. My friend stayed at a place in Rome that had a free breakfast of just packaged croissants and instant coffee, and she said the room cost 10 euros more than a basic hotel around the corner. So now I always check the exact breakfast offerings in the reviews before booking, because stale bread and jam are definitely not worth the extra money.
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