For those who follow luxury resorts or travel influencers on Instagram, odds are good that they’ve come across at least one floating breakfast.
For those unfamiliar with them, they’re your normal premium hotel room service breakfast. Such dishes involve thin toast, fruit, coffee, and the like. Floating breakfasts however don`t get served in bed, they’re served in a pool or hot tub. They’re usually served on huge platters or colorful baskets. Chefs also add bright tropical flowers to them to make them even more beautiful.
Breakfasts like these remain very popular in Asia and the Pacific. Notably, individuals enjoy them at warm-weather private villa resorts in Thailand, Fiji, and the Maldives. Almost everyone agrees that the trend started in Bali. However, no one resort has taken credit for being the first to think of it.
Floating breakfasts become more popular
While these breakfasts have become increasingly regular on resort menus in recent years, the coronavirus pandemic has made them even more popular, as hotel guests avoid buffets and communal dining rooms. The pandemic caused in-suite dining to become extremely popular. Guests found solace in the safety and comfort of their suites. With most rooms providing a private plunge pool much better than a shared pool with splashing kids, the floating breakfast became a popular choice.
The floating breakfast, like afternoon tea or a turn-down treat, has swiftly become another premium hotel feature. Domestic travelers taking advantage of low-cost staycations have also adopted floating breakfasts in the midst of the pandemic. The gorgeous colors and dramatic plating of floating breakfasts make them perfect for social media.
The photographs are not only lovely, but they also act as a free marketing tool: people see the breakfasts online, check out the location tag, and then want to partake in the experience when they visit Cape Fahn later.
And, as a result of its expanding popularity, resorts must continue to increase the ante in order to differentiate their offerings.
Do guests really enjoy the experience?
According to Timo Kuenzli, general manager of Koh Samui’s all-pool-villa Cape Fahn Hotel, nearly all of their guests in the last year have ordered one.
“We can definitely see that the Asian market is far more interested in capturing Instagrammable moments than other markets,” he says.
In Bali, the Six Senses Uluwatu serves it in a red heart-shaped basket. A floating “sunset sushi” spectacular remains available at the Anantara in Koh Phangan, Thailand. A floating afternoon tea experience is being developed by Cape Fahn.
Many individuals however question whether chefs make these breakfasts just for sharing online. Some say they discard them as people genuinely don`t enjoy eating them. Some others speculate that waking people to stand in the pool in the morning could cause accidents.
It also seems a bit violent to jump in the water first thing when you wake up just to eat breakfast. Then again, the food is left out in the humid environment, which does not provide the best experience. An attempt to move the tray would also cause spills of everything everywhere. Food would probably end up floating off in different directions. Any splashes and the coffee will definitely have a bit of pool water added in it and the bread would become soggy.
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