Hilton breakfast: When and where is it offered

You might be wondering, “Does Hilton have complimentary breakfast?” Or perhaps you’re unsure whether your Hilton Honors elite status entitles you to free breakfast on your next stay. Either way, you’ve come to the right place.

In this guide, we’ll discuss which Hilton brands provide breakfast for all guests. We’ll also discuss the breakfast options that are often available to Hilton Honors Gold and Diamond elite members as MyWay benefits.

Hilton Honors brands with Complimentary breakfast

Some Hilton Honors brands offer complimentary breakfast to all guests, regardless of how they booked or their elite status tier. Specifically, you can expect to get free breakfast at the following Hilton brands:

However, it’s worth double-checking Hilton’s website. After all, Hilton’s help page for the question “Does the hotel offer free breakfast?” states, “complimentary breakfast varies by location.” So, although some brands like Embassy Suites and Hampton advertise free breakfast for all guests on their Hilton brand pages, it’s best to confirm before booking a stay.

You can check your hotel’s official website and scroll down to the amenities section to quickly determine whether your property offers free breakfast for all guests. For example, here’s the amenities section for a Hampton by Hilton in New York City:

If complimentary breakfast for all guests is a must, you can filter by properties that offer free breakfast when searching for a hotel on the Hilton website. Here’s a sample of Hilton hotels in New York City that offer complimentary breakfast:

If you’re traveling with a group of friends or family members, staying at a hotel that offers free breakfast for all guests can save you serious money.

Related: Which hotel has the best free breakfast? TPG ate 10 meals to find the winner

Breakfast for Hilton Honors elite members

In July 2021, Hilton eliminated the continental breakfast benefit it previously offered Hilton Gold and Diamond members at many properties in the U.S. Now you and up to one additional guest registered to your room may be eligible for one of the following as part of your MyWay benefits if you have Hilton Honors Gold or Diamond status:

• Daily food and beverage credit: At select brands in the U.S. and at Motto by Hilton globally; not provided if you have executive lounge access and breakfast is provided in the lounge
• Complimentary continental breakfast: At select brands (excluding Motto by Hilton) outside the U.S.

You must book directly with Hilton or through a qualifying global distribution service to get elite benefits, including these MyWay benefits. Unfortunately, this typically excludes most credit card travel portals.

Now, let’s take a closer look at each option.

Complimentary continental breakfast

Hilton Gold and Diamond members can enjoy complimentary continental breakfast as a MyWay benefit for stays at the following brands outside of the U.S.:

• Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts
• LXR Hotels & Resorts
• Conrad Hotels & Resorts
• Canopy by Hilton
• Curio Collection by Hilton
• Hilton Hotels & Resorts
• Hilton Garden Inn (must be selected online in lieu of 750 bonus points)
• DoubleTree by Hilton
• Signia by Hilton
• Tapestry Collection by Hilton

At these brands outside the U.S., Hilton Gold and Diamond members and up to one additional guest staying in the same room can enjoy breakfast in the hotel’s designated restaurant or executive lounge. I’ve typically had excellent breakfasts at international Hilton hotels.

It seems I’m not alone: TPG points and miles reporter Kyle Olsen told me the following about several recent breakfasts he’s enjoyed with Hilton:

I’ve found Hilton properties to generally go above and beyond on international breakfast. During stays last month at the Doubletree London Greenwich and Conrad Algarve, both hotels offered the full breakfast buffet to the three adults staying in my room — which was better than complimentary continental breakfast for two guests that the program typically offers to Gold and Diamond elite members.

Related: Why you should consider redeeming Hilton points abroad

Hilton food and beverage credit

Hilton Gold and Diamond members can enjoy a daily food and beverage credit as a MyWay benefit for stays at Motto by Hilton (typically $15 per person per night) and at the following brands within the U.S.:

• $25 per person per night: Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, LXR Hotels & Resorts and Conrad Hotels & Resorts
• $15 per person per night: Canopy by Hilton, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Curio Collection by Hilton, DoubleTree by Hilton, Signia by Hilton and Tapestry Collection by Hilton (though the price increases to $18 per person per night in Boston; Chicago; Washington, D.C.; New York City; San Francisco; Key Largo and Key West, Florida; Los Angeles and Hawaii)
• $10 per person per night: Hilton Garden Inn, though you must designate this as your MyWay benefit online

These credits apply to Gold and Diamond members and up to one additional guest registered to (and staying in) the same room. You can only use the food and beverage credit in the hotel’s designated restaurant(s) or executive lounge. Although the daily food and beverage credit is applied each night and doesn’t accrue, you can use leftover credit on your checkout day (but only up to the daily credit).

TPG’s director of content Nick Ewen is a fan of Hilton’s daily food and beverage credit. He told me:

I am actually a fan of the increased flexibility at U.S. properties. While I’d obviously love the credit to be higher at luxury resorts, it’s great to not be forced into a less-than-exciting continental breakfast, especially in a big city with more appealing options for brunch nearby. Since it launched, I’ve used the food and beverage credit for pre-dinner cocktails, lunch by the pool or even snacks from the market before checking out — which is perfect for a long drive (or flight) home with my eight-year-old daughter who always seems to be hungry while traveling.

Hotels can’t opt out of the food and beverage credit for elite members if they want to provide breakfast. For example, a Motto by Hilton property can’t decide to offer a coffee and pastry at its coffee shop each morning instead of the required $15-per-person daily food and beverage credit.

If you don’t like getting a food and beverage credit instead of complimentary breakfast, you’re not alone. TPG managing editor Clint Henderson said:

I am definitely not a fan of the food and beverage credit. I find the hotels are offering really terrible options for these…I’ve also had to fight to get charges taken off my bill a few times which is extra annoying. Front desk agents don’t seem to know about it or what it exactly covers. I have gotten to use it for dinner instead of breakfast once or twice, but it doesn’t cover the full meal (or even a main dish at times).

Kyle echoed Clint’s sentiments and noted that the food and beverage credit “seldom covers the price of a basic breakfast.” This is seemingly Kyle’s biggest issue with the food and beverage credit; he notes he’d be happy with the credit if it were high enough to cover the price of a continental breakfast after taxes and fees.

Related: The best Hilton hotels in the US, from luxury to budget stays

Lounge access

Hilton Honors Diamond members and up to one additional guest staying in the same room get executive lounge access (at properties with executive lounges) at the following property brands (excluding Sakura Club at Conrad Washington, D.C, Citrus Club at Arizona Biltmore and Club Signia at Signia by Hilton hotels):

• Conrad Hotels & Resorts
• Curio Collection by Hilton
• DoubleTree by Hilton
• Hilton Hotels & Resorts
• LXR Hotels & Resorts
• Signia by Hilton
• Tapestry Collection by Hilton

If you have lounge access, you may get breakfast in the lounge. However, you won’t get a food and beverage credit during stays within the U.S. if you have access to an executive lounge that offers breakfast.

Related: What’s the future of hotel lounges? Recent cuts and closures make us wonder

How to earn Hilton Honors elite status

To earn Hilton Gold status, you need 40 nights, 20 stays or 75,000 base points per calendar year. To earn Hilton Diamond status, you need 60 nights, 30 stays or 120,000 base points per calendar year.

But, some credit cards offer automatic Hilton Honors elite status. In particular, here are the cards that provide Hilton Honors Gold or Diamond status as a cardmember perk:

The information for the Hilton Aspire card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Related: Comparing the best hotel elite status tiers and how to earn them

Bottom line

Some Hilton properties include breakfast for all guests; you can easily filter your search results on Hilton’s website to only show properties that offer free breakfast. If you have Hilton Honors Gold or Diamond elite status, you’ll usually get complimentary continental breakfast at hotels abroad and a daily food and beverage credit at hotels within the U.S.

The food and beverage credit at many U.S. properties and Motto by Hilton worldwide often isn’t enough to cover breakfast. But you may like it if you usually don’t eat breakfast and prefer to have drinks or food at the hotel later in the day.

As a Diamond member, I usually avoid staying with Hilton when I know I’ll get a food and beverage credit instead of complimentary breakfast for two. However, I’ve had some excellent Hilton stays and breakfasts outside the U.S., with international Hilton hotels often providing a full buffet instead of just the required continental breakfast.