9 major hotel chains with free breakfast

Hotels with free breakfast can make travel more convenient and affordable. Not only is it nice to wake up in your hotel and get a quick bite before you depart, but not paying for breakfast can easily help you save $60 or more for a family of four.

Some hotels with free breakfast offer this benefit as part of their nightly rate, while others provide an add-on option you can choose when booking your stay. However, everyone who travels knows that free hotel breakfasts are not all created equally. While some brands include a free continental breakfast with baked goods and juice, others might go as far as offering a hot breakfast menu or even a breakfast buffet with hot items like waffles, omelets and biscuits and gravy.

Any free breakfast is better than no breakfast, but what you’ll actually receive can vary quite a bit. Here’s a rundown of hotel chains that offer breakfast within the nightly rate, as well as which hotels have the best free breakfast overall.

Which hotels offer free breakfast?

If you are traveling around the U.S. and you want to score free breakfast for your trip, it can help to focus on booking specific brands of hotels. Here are some of the top hotel brands that include a free breakfast benefit at many of their locations:

Best Western

Almost all Best Western properties offer complimentary breakfast to their guests. This includes Best Western, Best Western Plus and Best Western Premier hotel options. As with other hotel brands, however, not all locations participate.

Note that breakfast at Best Western is typically fairly basic and made up of grab-and-go options like yogurt parfaits, premade breakfast sandwiches and individually wrapped breakfast pastries and croissants.

Choice Hotels

Choice Hotels properties tend to include free breakfast in their nightly rate, and you can typically expect this free meal when you stay with the following brands:

• Comfort Inn
• Comfort Suites
• Econo Lodge
• Quality Inn
• Sleep Inn

Again, free breakfast offered through Choice Hotels properties is typically fairly basic and offered in the form of a hot breakfast buffet. At Comfort Suites, for example, travelers can enjoy a hot buffet with options like eggs, sausage or bacon, toast, waffles and pastries.

Drury Hotels

All properties associated with Drury Hotels offer free hotel breakfast in every stay, although the exact offerings will vary. Note that, while not a household name, Drury Hotels boasts more than 150 hotels in 26 different states:

Properties that fall within this hotel category include:

• Drury Inn & Suites
• Drury Plaza Hotel
• Pear Tree Inn

Hilton

While not all locations participate, various Hilton brand properties offer free breakfast. These can include:

• Embassy Suites
• Hampton
• Home2 Suites
• Homewood Suites

Note that free breakfast at Hilton properties can vary widely based on the hotel brand and destination. For example, higher-end properties like Embassy Suites may offer free breakfast cooked to order, as you’d get in a regular restaurant, whereas Hampton Inn and Home2 Suites properties are more likely to offer a self-serve continental breakfast buffet.

Hyatt

If you’re a World of Hyatt member and book your hotel stay directly through the Hyatt website, you can get free breakfast at Hyatt Place hotels. If you have Globalist elite status, you can get Club lounge access or a complimentary daily breakfast (for up to two adults and two children) at participating hotel locations.

Additional select hotel locations may offer free breakfast, so be sure to check your hotel’s website for more information before you count on this free meal.

IHG

Regardless of how you book your room, the following IHG hotel brands typically offer free breakfast with each nightly stay:

• Holiday Inn
• Holiday Inn Express
• Staybridge Suites

Also, be aware that kids ages 11 and under eat free with paid adults at Holiday Inn properties in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and other select locations. This includes breakfast, as well as lunch or dinner.

And if you’re a Diamond Elite member of IHG One Rewards, your welcome amenity at check-in may include a free breakfast at select locations.

Marriott

Marriott boasts more than 2,600 hotels that offer free breakfast in the U.S. alone. Brands that typically offer free breakfast for all guests include:

• Element
• Fairfield Inn & Suites
• Residence Inn
• SpringHill Suites
• TownePlace Suites

As with other hotel brands, free breakfast offerings at Marriott properties can vary widely. Most locations will offer a grab-and-go breakfast bar that can include a dedicated waffle station, yogurt, pastries and fruit.

Radisson

Country Inn & Suites offers free breakfast for all of its guests, which is typically made up of breakfast essentials like pastries, toast, fruit and cereal. Free breakfast with other Radisson brands can vary and may depend on the room you book, so make sure to check for this benefit when you compare your options.

Wyndham

Wyndham includes an array of family-friendly hotel brands that offer free breakfast. Properties with free hotel breakfast typically include:

• Baymont by Wyndham
• Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham
• La Quinta by Wyndham
• Days Inn by Wyndham (free breakfast item)
• Howard Johnson by Wyndham (free breakfast item)
• Microtel by Wyndham
• Super 8 by Wyndham (free breakfast item)
• Wingate by Wyndham

While some Wyndham properties offer a breakfast buffet with waffles, cereal, hot coffee, chilled orange juice and eggs, others offer a free breakfast item paired with a coffee or juice.

Other ways to get free hotel breakfast

The easiest way to score free breakfast is to book a stay with a hotel that provides this meal to all of its guests. However, there are other ways to get free hotel breakfast.

Earn elite status with a hotel brand

If you travel often enough to be able to reach elite status with your favorite hotel brand, you may be able to secure free breakfast or access to an executive lounge with breakfast and snacks on every stay. The specific perks you receive will depend on the type of elite status you have, as well as the specific hotel brands you stay with the most.

If you have World of Hyatt Globalist status, for example, you’ll get club access or free breakfast in locations where this benefit is available. Additionally, Hilton Honors offers Gold and Diamond members the choice between a free continental breakfast or a daily food and beverage credit (varies by brand and region).

With the Marriott Bonvoy program, you’ll get lounge access with a complimentary breakfast once you’re a Platinum Elite member or higher. Platinum members and higher may also be able to pick free breakfast as a welcome amenity, although this benefit can vary by hotel brand.

Pick up the right travel credit card

While most travel rewards credit cards do not provide automatic elite status that can come with a free breakfast benefit, there’s one notable exception — the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card*. This card comes with automatic Hilton Diamond status, which qualifies you for executive lounge access and a free breakfast at participating properties.

Book an all-inclusive resort

If you’re planning to travel outside the United States (especially to the Caribbean or Mexico), booking an all-inclusive resort will cover not just your breakfasts, but all your other meals as well. These properties also include activities and entertainment in the nightly rate, and they are often more affordable than people think.

While you can book an all-inclusive hotel directly or through a credit card travel portal like the Chase travel portal or AmexTravel.com, many all-inclusive resorts are entirely bookable with points. If you have a stash of World of Hyatt points, for example, you can use rewards to stay at Hyatt Ziva and Zilara properties, Secrets Resorts and Spas, Zoetry Wellness & Spa Resorts and more.

Utilize a portal that includes free breakfast

Finally, check whether you have the option to book your hotel stay through a portal that offers free breakfast and other benefits. If you have The Platinum Card® from American Express, for example, you could book your hotel stay through the Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts program, which includes daily breakfast for two people, a room upgrade based on availability, free Wi-Fi and more.

If you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, on the other hand, you can check out the Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection from Chase. Properties in this portal offer guests daily breakfast for two, a special benefit (worth up to $100) that’s unique to each property, free Wi-Fi and a room upgrade based on availability, among other perks.

Maybe you have the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card. In this case, check out the Capital One Premier Collection of hotels, which automatically include benefits like a $100 experience credit, free breakfast for two and a room upgrade based on availability with every stay.

Just be sure that you compare pricing in these portals with pricing elsewhere online (including directly with hotel websites) to make sure you’re not overpaying for added benefits, like the potential for an upgrade and free breakfast. Luxury travel portals affiliated with credit cards can offer competitive rates when compared to what you would pay to book direct, but not always. If your goal is getting truly “free” breakfast, take the time to run the numbers and compare.

The bottom line

Getting a free breakfast can make travel much more convenient, and the benefits only increase when you’re traveling with kids. Before you book your next vacation, look for ways to score free breakfast and other perks that make travel both more comfortable and affordable. Some benefits come automatically when you pick up a top hotel credit card, but you may be able to access others just by shopping around.

*All information about the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Credit Card has been collected independently by Bankrate and has not been reviewed or approved by the issuer.