The 5 Hotel Chains With The Hands-Down Best Free Breakfasts

Let's face it. Vacations can be tough on your budget, and hotels are one of the pricier items. Room service is expensive, and that's before you add in a tip. Any savings can be a real help, so if your hotel offers free breakfast, you're likely going to take advantage of it. While there are some people who will try to get the free hotel breakfast even if they're not staying there, it can be a real benefit if you are. 

However, while some U.S. hotels have great complimentary breakfast spreads, others can be nothing more than weak coffee and some stale bagels (speaking from personal experience). To that end, we've compiled a list of the best U.S. hotel chains with free breakfasts. Along with personal experience, we looked at Reddit posts and YouTube reviews by people comparing hotel chain offerings. We also checked out rankings from The Points Guy and Nerd Wallet for their expert comparisons. Forks at the ready!

The Embassy Suites by Hilton chain has pretty swanky free breakfast options. The chain's website mentions "cooked-to-order omelets and other regional favorites." The chain is mentioned on Reddit's r/hotels, with someone saying that Embassy has the "best free breakfast and free evening drinks." On r/travel, one person backs up this statement, saying, "The breakfast spread at Embassy Suites is usually pretty solid." The Points Guy ranks it as his No. 1, highlighting the made-to-order omelet station, which has lots of options, including an egg white omelet. 

Other favorites include bacon, sausage, home fries, and oatmeal, as well as a variety of juices, coffee drinks, and prepackaged baked items. In Reddit's r/Hilton, one poster says, "Embassy Suites breakfast is by far the best of all the Hilton brands I stay at regularly." 

NerdWallet awards Embassy Suites by Hilton the prize for the "Best Omelette Bar." It mentions that the food is made to order, pointing out the bacon, sausage, and potatoes. Not to mention, Embassy has a large breakfast room and evening reception with beer, wine, mixed drinks, and snack items. 

Another hotel chain that gets a lot of notice is Hampton by Hilton. The chain has one feature that you won't find in many other places: signature waffles. In fact, NerdWallet gives them the award for "Best Waffles." The finance company notes that the flavors are rotated by season, and you may find "red velvet, lemon, pumpkin spice, and even limited-edition options like sparkling strawberry with edible glitter." Plus, you'll find traditional continental options like scrambled eggs, cereal, bacon, sausage, and fruit, as well as a variety of fruit juices and oat milk. The Points Guy highlights the French toast sticks, trying the malted vanilla and banana nut bread-flavored waffles.

On Reddit's r/hotels, Hampton by Hilton is mentioned a number of times, with one poster saying, "Plus one for Hampton. Way underrated. And it changes daily. Authentic grits down south. Hot cocoa bar in the winter. A-plus service." In a video on YouTube, Sam Reid mentions that Hampton tends to serve breakfast later than some other chains, which is another point in their favor.

The next hotel chain with free breakfasts mentioned quite a bit by online users is Best Western. While the chain's website doesn't offer a sample menu for its guests, it does reference the continental breakfast. I've stayed at these a number of times and really enjoyed the breakfasts myself, which include eggs, pancakes, and yogurt, as well as some really great coffee. 

On YouTube, Sam Reid speaks about the breakfast at a standard Best Western, shouting out the eggs, sausage, and the touchless pancake maker. In a TikTok video from mamaonthegriddle, Best Western Plus has even more offerings, with lots of coffee choices, biscuits and gravy, burritos, waffles with toppings, egg sandwiches, potatoes, and oatmeal. Best Western's breakfast is lauded in r/travel, with a user mentioning, "Always have waffles, eggs, biscuits, sausage gravy as well as juices, yogurt and fresh fruit."

Another hotel chain that has a delicious and free way to start your morning is SpringHill Suites, run by Marriott. The website's amenities page mentions hot breakfast sandwiches, customized bowls, and Rainforest Alliance Certified Coffee, with an image of a little girl excitedly waiting for her waffles. In fact, The Points Guy points out that there are pre-measured cups of waffle batter at the waffle station, as well as bagel sandwiches, spinach quiches in cups, and biscuits. 

YouTuber YaGirlLala posted a video from a SpringHill Suites in Fort Myers, Florida, with more of the breakfast offerings, showcasing varieties of oatmeal, cereal, toppings like blueberry compote and assorted nuts, an option for oat milk, scones, juices, a three-cheese soufflé, and a tray full of condiments. On r/marriott, someone comments that the chain is their "go-to for business travel," praising the value compared to other hotel chains. 

Last, we have the free breakfast at Drury Hotels. On the website, the "Free Hot Breakfast" includes "scrambled eggs, oatmeal, fresh fruit, potatoes, sausage, pastries, the all-important coffee and more." The sample menu lists make-your-own Belgian waffles, buttermilk biscuits and peppered gravy, oatmeal with toppings, cold cereals, fresh scrambled eggs, and a veggie scramble.

However, the chain also has another free food experience, highlighted by Nerd Wallet and a number of people on Reddit. Guests can experience the Free 5:30 Kickback, where Drury offers a changeable menu of dinner snacks and drinks (including adult beverages for those 21 and over). One Reddit commenter says, "Drury hotels are amazing for their food and beverage offerings. It's a family owned chain as well and they seem to truly care about their guests." 

However, Reddit commenters do mention that there aren't many locations. If you can find one in your destination, book it. As a bonus, the chain is also the No. 1 Upscale Hotel Brand for Guest Satisfaction by J.D. Power for 2025.

To find the top five hotel chains with the best free breakfasts, we consulted a number of Reddit threads, including r/hotels, r/truckers, r/frugal, r/awardtravel, and r/travel, among others, to see what people were saying about each place. We also looked at reviews of each hotel, including a video on YouTube from Sam Reid, who has over 500,000 subscribers. We checked out NerdWallet's categorization of the best free hotel breakfasts, as well as The Points Guy's 2024 rankings for the best free hotel options. 

In addition, as someone who has traveled to dozens and dozens of hotels while visiting movie sets and gone on two four-month-long bus and truck theater tours, I've eaten breakfast at all of these places multiple times over the years and can vouch for their quality. While these hotel chains have great free breakfast spreads, you should always check each individual location for cleanliness before you sit down to eat, as there are a few hygiene reasons that may make you want to avoid complimentary hotel breakfasts.