Low energy and mood swings

It also answers one of life’s central questions – how to gently but firmly revive the spirits in the morning. The best method is with the delicious scent of a freshly brewed café crème, rich in antioxidants, which are thought to have a number of health benefits. Greeting the new day at the hotel with sufficient time – at least an hour – and in appropriate attire, is an expression of serenity, style and maturity, correct in the assumption that the cultivated individual should never be caught wolfing down a croissant in a jogging suit as they hurry along the corridor to the lift.

Everything gets off to a smooth start. Daily newspapers of varying provenance and quality await in the entrance area, you are shown to a suitable table and after a few minutes, freshly pressed juice arrives together with your hot drink in the very finest porcelain. A lovingly put-together bossa nova compilation plays quietly in the background. Just as an étagère adorned with prosciutto crudo, Appenzeller cheese, pickled gherkins and crab salad is being offered, disaster strikes. Dragging his rattling suitcase behind him, the intruder slings his coat over the back of a chair, pulls out his mobile phone, and proceeds to loudly coordinate train connections and appointments while indiscriminately piling scrambled egg, bacon and slices of melon on his plate at the buffet.

On the way back to his table, he shouts his drinks order to the service staff. In three minutes he has devoured his breakfast, downed his coffee, ordered a taxi, answered an e-mail and stuffed a chocolate bar into his coat pocket for later. Why do people do this to themselves? One can safely presume that this isn’t part of the host’s offering or concept. Turning up in the breakfast room with your luggage, then opening your laptop and quickly adding the finishing touches to your PowerPoint presentation betrays a regrettable lack of style and consideration for others. Even people with fast-paced working lives should never give the impression that they aren’t in control of their time or that they are somehow on the run.

Poor time management is a sign of a crude disposition. It's a joy to get up earlier in order to leave sufficient time for breakfast. After all, good hotels generally offer a wealth of lovingly prepared dishes that enable guests to switch effortlessly between different forms of enjoyment or ways of living. Be it home made sour cherry jam, walnut bread, eggs Benedict, champagne, mango, papaya, granola, smoked eel, miso soup or vanilla quark, every culture is catered to and every wish met, however unusual it may be – from kombucha tea, to a shot of ginger and turmeric, to freshly prepared peanut butter through to whole selections of lactose and gluten-free products. Which doesn’t mean that you have to eat everything, of course. But you should allow yourself to be spoiled. The life experience of the connoisseur shows that there will still be plenty of time to tackle the day’s projects and obligations.

Holding phone calls, negotiations or job interviews with a mouthful of egg and a spoon in your hand – heaven forbid! A real lady or gentleman does not do that. Good manners, worldly wisdom and cultivated taste in material things are what distinguish the true connoisseur. It’s better to wander around surveying the buffet, order a glass of curative water or round off your breakfast with a double espresso than to spend your time hastily scrolling through your social media accounts. Refinement, style and serenity are the order of the day at luxury hotels. Taking breakfast in your scruffiest clothes is disrespectful towards both the ambience and the kitchen staff. The breakfast room is a place for proper footwear (not bathing shoes), smart attire and freshly brushed teeth. And what is most important is to take the necessary time for meals so as to properly offset the burden of everyday life. Until then, the guest is well within their rights to stubbornly refuse any demands the world may place on them.

Words Thomas Garms