loEasy Meals to Cook in a Hotel Room on a Road Trip

Is this vacation? Does not sound like it. Don't think hotels would look too kindly at crock pots , grills, etc. sometimes just not worth it. Want to save some money, do it on breakfast and/or lunch.

I personally would not pack a grill or crockpot for a vacation.

Most hotels now offer a free breakfast. We have never paid ( other than tip) for a breakfast, however, we travel a lot and have many perks so I don't know if it's norm or not to give free breakfast... Many places have hot breakfast for free, some are just cereal, fruit, milk, juice

Whatever you do, get a room with a mini fridge and microwave. We've had many trips where we just stop at a grocery nearby for milk, cereal, and basics.

I've never done more than that in a hotel. Other meals are at hotel or local venues for the fun of the trip.

Bottom line... If you can't afford to go without going I to debt then don't go. Save the $$ .

We are regular members for Hilton and Marriott family hotels.

Pick a hotel with free breakfast. Stock the mini fridge with fresh fruit, veggies, and dairy. Sandwiches and salads are great for lunches. Then go out to dinner. :)

I stay in a lot of hotels. Please reconsider and don't do this; there are plenty of chains with free breakfasts and you can get food to cook in your hotel room microwave, and can keep stuff in a hotel room fridge. Others below have good ideas. On vacations we get bananas and apples, sandwich fixings, etc.

Please be aware that cooking smells will carry through the building. Think of other guests. Frankly I would not want to stay in your hotel room after you'd been in it cooking. I also would not want to be the person in the rooms next to, above or under you while you're there -- I don't want to come back from a day out and smell food that's been cooking for hours.

A cleaner's going to see (and smell) your crock pot and probably will be obliged to report it; many hotels don't permit a small appliance like that. You may also be charged after the fact if the hotel has to do extra cleaning to get out smells lingering in the mattress, carpet, curtains. (Just read a travel article about how readily hotels now will add extra charges to your bill, even after you have left the hotel, if they have to do extra cleaning or find any damage.) A grill is going to generate lots of smell as well. And a waffle maker? No need, since breakfast is the meal that is most often provided free. And I can picture a hot device like a grill or waffle maker setting off the smoke alarm or sprinklers. Even heat, not just smoke, can set off some systems.

You also will have to clean up, and do you really want to be doing that in the bathtub? Because the sink isn't going to be big enough to clean your crockpot or grill. And if you don't want to be caught, or don't want to leave traces of your food in the sink or bathtub, you are going to be doing more cleaning than you want.

Hotels know that people want to save some money on food. That's why they now commonly have fridges and microwaves in most rooms. Just ask, and ask about free breakfasts. Some hotels also have relationships with local restaurants and if you ask at the front desk you might get coupons that save money at restaurants near your hotel!

I must say this all sounds a bit complicated to me. I agree that you should 1. find a place with free breakfast, and 2. find a place with a fridge and/or microwave option.

Lots of hotels now have microwaves in the lobby to warm things up too. They usually sell Easy Mac, etc., right along side it, but there's no reason you couldn't stop at the grocery store for that stuff first. I would do a little digging before I would haul my crock pot and George Foreman anywhere, and as someone else mentioned, the hotel staff probably wouldn't want you making crock pot meals in the room and it'd be hard to hide it from the cleaning staff!

Sometimes you have to call the hotel front desk but I believe all hotels have to (or at least usually do) have mini fridges that you can rent. Some people have medications that need to be refrigerated and I know it's fairly common for people to rent fridges. Depending upon how long your stay is, it might be worth it to pay a bit extra for that and save money on restaurant costs.

We always just took a cooler with sandwich stuff, fruit, cheese, milk, yogurt, juice, etc. Add a bag of snacks, bread, bagels and cereal and you're good to go. I can't imagine bringing a pot or grill, first of all the hotel might not allow it and secondly you'd have to drag along spatulas, spoons and cleaning supplies. Are you going to wash your stuff in the bathtub after meals? I'm all for saving money but the idea of mixing up batter (you'd have to bring a big bowl too) and trying to cook waffles on top of a hotel room dresser just seems crazy to me!
Or get a room with a mini fridge and microwave.

Why don't you get a room with a kitchenette, or an extended stay. That is what I did when my daughter had surgery and I needed to get her to the room and some soup. Everything we needed was there in the room and we didn't pack a thing. Just wash everything yourself before you use it.

You also might make the best of sandwiches and a bowl of hot soup from a pizza kitchen. We have a pizza kitchen that serves a 32 oz styrofoam cup of chicken noodle soup for like $2.50. That worked well when my mother was in the hospital.

It's vacation, try to keep it simple so you can enjoy yourself too.

My nephew is a bellman and was commenting that when the body builders were in town that he picked up an ice chest it was packed with protein that they would cook in their room.

We did almost the same thing several years back. Took an electric stove eye, skillet, and had a microwave and frig in the room. Went grocery shopping and picked up dish washing supplies. I made breakfast, packed lunch and ate some dinners in the room with DH and three yo DS.

We are going on the exact same vacation this summer, just with our now seven yo DS and four Yo DS. There is NO WAY I am doing what we did last time. WAY too much work and it sucked having to clean dishes in our wet bar sink.

But, I just discovered Homewood Suites. If you are there Monday thru Thursday, they serve BOTH breakfast and dinner FREE! They also serve breakfast free on the weekends, but you have to get take out for dinner on weekends. But it is more than worth it!

Have fun!

I would pick one item, like the foreman grill, and then plan around that. Like you could make pancakes or waffles and then toast them on the grill. If you have to go to the store they make frozen waffles and pancakes.

You may want to stay clear of the crock pot unless you call the hotel. They may not take kindly to you using a potentially fire causing item while you are not there.

I would look for a hotel that has a fridge and microwave. We had to ask, but they did give us one that was specified in the listing. We were able to do some meals and reheat leftovers. I'm not sure they'd allow a crock pot or that I would trust it not to be messed with during the day. If your hotel offers breakfast, that's one meal done. If not, get cereal and a small portion of milk that you can keep in the fridge (assuming you have one) or get lunch sized milks that don't need to be kept cold. We also did fruit for breakfast, and found some premade waffles that DD loved and did not need any refrigeration or heating.

Crock pot is for low/slow cooking.
You'd have to leave it in the room cooking - and what if maid service walks in on it?
Stay in places that offer complimentary breakfast - Hampton Inn is one - there are others - besides all the other usual breakfast stuff you can get fresh fruit - apples, bananas - take a few at breakfast to last you during the day.
You can also have rooms that have fridge, microwave and coffee maker that come with/in the room.
You can do a lot with boiled water (microwaved or from coffee machine) - cup of soup, ramen noodles, etc.
Also consider taking a few mugs with you for 'bowls' - they are easy to wash and pack well among your clothes in your suitcase.
You can always keep some paper plates on you.
If you are near a super market, you can pick up some Lean Quisine meals and use the microwave in your room to cook them.
With a little creativity, you have a lot of options without lugging a lot of cookware with you.

I would first check with the hotels you are planning to stay at. They may not allow appliances like indoor grills or open flame grills outside because of fire safety regulations. You might be surprised at what is not allowed. Newer hotels even have heat sensitive fire detectors that can be set off by a heat source. (We got rid of an iron that we thought was faulty because it always set off our fire alarm. When it still happened with our new iron we discovered that if we set up the ironing board close to the detector it was hot enough to activate the heat sensor alarm.)

Any of the things you mentioned will be a pain to wash if you are trying to do it in a bathroom sized sink or bathtub. I know my crockpot is a pain to clean even in my kitchen sink and I got rid of my George Foreman because it was such a pain to clean.

I think you'd be better off trying to find vacation rentals/timeshares that come with kitchens or kitchenettes. You can also get hotel suites that have mini-kitchens. They are usually stocked with most of the kitchen supplies you would need for cooking a meal. Many of them also have outdoor grills.

When we travel we try to get at least a room that has a mini-frig and a microwave. We buy a half-gallon of milk and cereal and fruit for breakfast (or take advantage of free breakfasts in the hotel). We also have sandwich fixings and carrots. When we do eat a meal out, we can bring leftovers back and reheat them for a meal.

the money you will save will be way offset by the work and hassle of trying to cook (even if it IS allowed and it's probably not) in a hotel room.
cereal, sammiches, salads and fruit.
khairete
S.

I would make stuff ahead of time and freeze it, then put it in a cooler on ice. Consider chili, hearty soups and make a sandwich with it, ham that can be microwaved and ready to eat.

Could you take a small portable grillor hibachi to use outside? Then you could barbecue stuff and not worry about cooking in a hotel room.

Breakfast is easy to do with a microwave: frozen pancakes or waffles, sausage, muffins, fruit, yogurt.

Why can't you do sandwiches, fresh fruit, cereal, milk, muffins, and other stuff that comes packaged and ready to eat.

There is NO CLEAN up if you don't cook. Most hotels won't let you use crockpots if you're not in the room the entire time anyway. They are a fire hazard and shouldn't really even be on during the day when no one is home.

I think you're making this way too hard. You WANT to do dishes? WANT to have clean up? That's not vacation. That's added work on you. Don't do that. Eat some meals out and fill the hotel fridge with grapes, tomatoes, sandwich meat, cheeses, and other fresh stuff that is good cold.

You can have oranges, apples, bananas, breads, cereals, and other stuff on top of the fridge and on the top of the dresser.

When we travel we go to the store every day and get what we want then go heat it up in the microwave. Like Lasagna and salad. TV dinners, frozen pizza, and more. It all goes in the trash once it's cooked. NO DISHES>crock pots require large sinks to sit in and soak to get the goo off. who wants to deal with that on vacation.

Stay somewhere with a kitchen.

You can also find outside grills at many locations for BBQ.

Think toaster or microwave already in many rooms and not crockpot. Will your kids actually eat crockpot meals in the summer heat?

You can go to the grocery store and get already cooked meals that are cheaper than restaurants such as chicken (rotisserie), ribs, and such.

A nice salad with many veggies is a good non cook option.

We recently went on a two week vacation, with a small, but serviceable kitchen. Hub's grandmother was good enough to ready a "starter" set on our arrival- bread, butter, tangerines, bananas, sugar, tea, coffee, milk, juice, salt, pepper, hot sauce, cheese, and some really nice curry bases (jarred). All we had to do was to get some meat and veg from the local market to cook. We ended up eating out for every last meal, because we prefered to spend our time out and about rather than cooking and cleaning.

If you must economize, some bread, PBJ, cold cuts, fruit, veg, granola bars could see you through the in betweens without having to splurge. a case of bottled water might also help you save some money.

on ski trips, we will sometimes pack a casserole, and some jarred sauce or make some cooked breakfast, or frozen waffles, or cook up some cookies and hot cocoa, soup and crackers too.

enjoy your vacation.
F. B.

Google cooking in a hotel room. You'll find several sites with ideas.

A foreman grill is a pain to clean sometimes. If you do a crockpot, be sure to get the plastic liners. I love my crockpot but I don't think of it as too portable.

If it were me, I think I would take a flat griddle. I think you can get them for about $20. You could fry just about anything.
Think grilled ham and cheese, quesadillas, pancakes, sausages, eggs, breakfast tacos.

chicken, 16 oz of salsa...done. And soooo good. Goes great on salads or even by itself...I do prefer it on a salad with lots of yummy vegetables but it would work good on one of those instant bags of salad

We've been to a few different GWL's over the years - they're not all that conducive to cooking. What I'd do instead is go get take out off property. Which one are you going to? Both the Williamsburg, VA and the Poconos, PA GWL's are in areas where there are take out places nearby. Sonic, pizza, etc.

Instead of a crockpot when you'll still have to be preparing food on a countertop, why not prepare food ahead of time and freeze (think meatballs for meatball heros, chili, pasta dishes (they sell microwavable small cassaroles at the grocery stores near the foil bakerware so you can split up a casserole into 3 or 4 dishes to cook faster and feed little ones quickly.) Frozen dishes help keep a cooler cold so you can have snacks for the car-ride there and by the time to get to the GWL you can put the dishes in the fridge. Veggies can be carrots sticks, tomato & cucumber salad, etc. The refridgerators at not big at GWL - they're about 3 feet high - the microwaves are lower power than what you have in your kitchen. I'd bring stuff for sandwiches for lunch PBJ, cold cuts, etc. For breakfast you can either make quiche type casseroles ahead of time, or do more sandwiches, cereal, granola, yougurt, fruit, etc. (bacon in the microwave isn't bad - but it will take a long time to make enough bacon in the small microwave).

While the meals are pricy at GWL - they sell pizzas and chicken finger meals in the water park area that can be shared among little ones that aren't too expensive if shared. Keep in mind all the running up the stairs and sliding down and all the water and fresh air - your kids will be hungry. Think oranges and grapes for snacks (hydrate and a snack), pretzels, crackers and cheese, etc. Let's face it we all get cranky when we're tired and hungry - and GWL makes for both. BUT - you will have a great time. We love the GWL - and now that our kids are teens we hardly go anymore...

have fun!

What hotel are you planning on staying at? I know many will provide a free breakfast for guests. LaQuinta is my favorite, good on price, & they have waffle makers in the lobby. Check with your hotel, if so, then you can eliminate the waffle maker.

A foreman grill would probably be my 1 thing to bring - you can do burgers & chicken patties, even pork chops. Grab a few microwaveable veggies or potatoes, & you have a meal. (make sure your room comes with a microwave)

Have a great trip! T.

Instead of bringing something to cook in (which I am sure is against the rules at any hotel/motel) look into a room at an extended stay motel. There are many chains out there that offer a kitchenette in the room. I have stayed in some myself and its nice to have a full size fridge, stove with oven and a kitchen sink.

http://www.extendedstayamerica.com/

Just do a google search (or expedia, hotels.com, etc.) in the area you are visiting and look for hotels with kitchens.

I would not bring a crock pot, you will not be able to easily clean it. From my experience in camping, most things require extra bowls.

Things you can eat to save money.
Sandwhiches - PB & J , Cheese, lunch meat. All can be kept in a cooler.
Yogurt, can be mixed with fruit in throw away bowls.
Cheese sticks, slices of cheese etc.
Cereal with Milk.

Then eat a nice dinner, all of the above can be eaten for breakfast and lunch.

Get room w microwave if poss and take HotPockets or little frozen Michelina type meals that cost about a dollar each.

Updated

Get room w microwave if poss and take HotPockets or little frozen Michelina type meals that cost about a dollar each.

Check for hotels that have a microwave/fridge.