Hyatt Hotel Says Only Jews Get Elite Breakfast Choices—Chaos (and Jokes) Ensue

At one Hyatt hotel, guests are told that the full range of elite breakfast options are only for Jews. Wait, what?

Grand Hyatt Baha Mar has a significant customer base that keeps kosher. And they have multiple options for breakfast, including a kosher option. One guest reports,

I’ve been going to the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar for close to a decade (since they first opened). As a globalist, we absolutely loved utilizing the club lounge, but that went away with COVID. Globalist breakfast was then shifted to the Regatta buffet (which is absolutely chaotic), Cafe Madeline (long lines and small menu but solid option), or Knosh (kosher food truck by the beach with a relaxing atmosphere, good fruit, and an excellent breakfast pizza). We enjoyed the ability to change it up, especially on a week long stay.

We just returned from another trip …at check-in we were told that only Jewish/Kosher customers could utilize globalist breakfast at Knosh. As in, they wouldn’t waive the Knosh breakfast charges if I wasn’t Jewish?

The hotel appears to be saying that they have a standard complimentary breakfast option for top tier elites, but they would make an accommodation with a more limited food truck choice instead of the full buffet for those who needed it due to their religious dietary restrictions. But the comments here are spot on!

• “Feels like there’s a really easy and clear path to get your free breakfast at Knosh….” “L’chaim!”

• “Have you considered converting to Judaism for the free breakfast?” “This sounds like a good Curb your Enthusiasm episode.” “I converted just for the jokes. For free breakfast, I’d convert my whole family.”

The hotel has apparently removed the Cafe Madeline option for breakfast as well. Globalist breakfast is the main buffet, and guests report very long waits (up to an hour) at peak times and that the whole Regatta buffet experience can be chaotic. They also don’t want guests taking both the buffet and the food truck breakfast.

While I suppose the property could look at what meals you’ve charged to your room during your stay to determine whether or not you actually keep kosher, it seems unlikely they’d do this under most circumstances. Most guests are going to want the buffet. The hotel wants to push people there. But because of the significant customer base for whom that won’t work, they offer an alternative. It’s one or the other (since if you’re kosher you’re probably not going to switch back and forth between the buffet and the food truck – most don’t keep kosher only on certain days of the week).

It’s also likely that the front desk agent at check-in was using ‘Jewish’ and ‘kosher’ interchangeably even though they are very much not (I am Jewish but do not keep kosher – and although standard kosher meals on planes are often quite bad I’ve found special ordering them during Passover has been quite good – so I guess I am, in fact, selectively kosher!).