My wife and I had a good laugh over it last night, so I figured I’d share it with you.
We are in the Frankfurt area for a couple days in a little hotel we like north of the city center. It is a budget hotel called Relexa without a loyalty program, but I like for several reasons. First, it is convenient to the friends we are visiting. Two, it is cheap — about 70EUR/night. Three, the internet is fast. Four, the free breakfast is nice (even includes fresh-squeezed orange juice). Five, it has a nice sauna. Six, it offer complimentary cribs.
Last night we arrived late and opted to have a quick dinner downstairs. Prices are not exactly cheap, but 21€ for a 200g ribeye is certainly acceptable. Heidi had a salad for 10€. Water prices were not listed on the menu, but as is customary we ordered a bottle of sparkling water. The waiter brought over a 0.75 liter bottle of San Pellegrino.
If you are not familiar with traveling in Continental Europe, particularly Germany, expect to pay for water wherever you are. Ask for a glass of Leitungswasser (tap water) and you’ll usually be met with an incredulous stare and empathic Nein! Ironically, the tap water in Germany is delicious: pure and rich in minerals.
The meal was nice. I didn’t intend to write about it so I didn’t take any pictures, but the food was beautifully presented and tasted great. Then came the bill.
8€ for a (relatively small) bottle of water?!
I have been to some beautiful restaurants and never paid that much for water. Even at the Park Hyatt Maldives, a bottle of San Pellegrino was not that much!
Just a small rant. We didn’t let it spoil it the evening, but really…talk about markup.
Have much have you paid for a bottle of water?
Water is always something that call my attention when I travel. First, because I love good quality water and please don’t tell me a bottle of Dasani tastes the same as a bottle of Acqua Panna. Second, because hotels, airport stores and restaurants insist in charging a fortune for water. It amazes me that you have to pay over $4 for a bottle of water at airports when you can buy a full case of 48 bottles at Costco for $4. Europe for me is the best place to get high quality water and it should never cost you 8 euros for a San Pellegrino. It is almost 40% of the price of the steak. Ridiculous!!!
if you ask for ice, is it made from tap water
I don’t get how Europeans seem to exist in a chronic state of dehydration. I understand there is a cultural issue with safe water being a bigger problem in Europe than the USA over the past couple hundred years. However, now Western Europe has safe water and they still seem to drink far less water than any other first world area.
The use of bottled water is even more vexing given environmental concerns. I am guessing this glass bottle was recycled but the amount of energy required to produce, transport and recycle the bottle is millions of times more than simply using tap water (since the infrastructure is already there drinking .75 litre requires basically no more energy) or thousands of times worse than carbonating tap water on location. I don’t get their concern about environmental matters while disregarding such a simply way to reduce energy usage.
It is ironic indeed that Germany is so concerned about the environment yet insists upon bottled water.
One exception to this rule is Sweden.
I was at a Raddison Blue and on the Welcoming Letter they stated that the tap water was as good as the bottled one and that I should drink from it 🙂
Finland is also aggressively pro-tap-water — very refreshing (pun intended) attitude!
Good to know. It has been a few years since I have been to HEL.
Wow! I can’t believe how expensive that is. I wonder what the other beverages costed? Pellegrino 0,75L bottles are 0,85€ at Edeka, and are probably 20% less wholesale. Wahnsinn!
Exhorbitant markups on bottled water are one of those universal travel headaches. My favorite bottled water rip-off was on our cruise ship when we stopped for the day in Ecuador. The ship offered to sell you a 1/2 liter bottle for $3 on the way off the ship in the morning. Knowing better, my wife and I walked into town a little ways and stopped in a supermarket to buy one there. We bought a 2-liter bottle for 55 cents.
Paying for water is a big pet peeve of mine in a place with clean tap water. Germany seems particularly bad about it, but at least most there of the time the bottles are reused as opposed to disposable glass and plastic used in the US.
I’m curious about your comment about complimentary cribs for little Augustine. Have you been anywhere that didn’t provide a free crib? Based on an admittedly small sample size, each hotel room I’ve booked for stays with my daughter have not charged for a crib.
I think what I’ve learned now is that cribs are always available and free. But I was at three different Hyatt hotels in December and checked with Augustine in the stroller. None of them offered a crib. Last night at the Hyatt Regency Mainz I also got one, but had to ask.
I’m often struck by how most places in the world at least do offer reasonable bottled water in public venues or at large gatherings like sporting events — one rotten exception being in the US (think football game or golf event, amusement park, general tourist zones, etc), where 3-4, even 5 bucks for an individuals size bottle of water is considered acceptable. I can’t think of anywhere else where a bottle of water can’t be had for 50 cents or the local equivalence in similar circumstances.
It’s the law in the UK that restaurants have to serve tap water free of charge.
You’re right. I did not know it was by law in the UK!
Water can certainly be a hassle in foreign countries. I was just in Buenos Aires, where mid-priced restaurants sometimes charge $3 for a half-liter of water. No real alternative, except to drink your wine without water. We usually ordered one bottle (especially in places where it was only $2), and drunk sparingly. It sucks, but nobody wants to get ripped off on water. Say what you want about American restaurants (and our 15-20% restaurant tipping culture is probably excessive), but at least the water is free!
Agree.
You ever wonder why it is free? Because it does more harm than good.
Good post. Being a Swede living in Germany, I have really been annoyed by the Germans refusing to offer tap water and charging high price for still bottled water. But I adopted and drink beer instead since it is more value for money. You also need to look at the bigger picture food at restaurants are quite cheap and no large tipping is expected. The restaurants need to make money on something and they are counting on you paying for something to drink with your meal.
That is the key point, I think. They don’t make much money from the food and there is no tip, so they get you on water. That’s the most logical explanation. Still, I loved being in Stockholm last summer and being offered (not even having to ask) for tap water.
on principal the cost of bottled water is bothersome, but spend several $k bux to travel, it is not that big of a deal.
True, but still unnecessary.
Hi, Matthew, when I lived in Nurnberg from 1978-1980, Wasser aus dem Hahn (as I learned was the phrase to use) was consistently denied with an incredulous look, as if I was asking for poison. I started carrying a collapsable cup in my purse and filling it with water from the ladies room. (I don’t care for bubbles, so fizzy water did not appeal to me at all. I wasn’t trying to save money, just trying to avoid bubbly water.) In Stuttgart from 2003-2011, I found “still water” to be much more available and was seldom refused in a restaurant. Occasionally, I was served (expensive) still water from a bottle, but mostly I received what I wanted–tap water.
Hi Alison,
I do believe it a unique German problem. I still get the horrified look and so have resigned myself to bottled water, but good for you for improvising!
How about $7 at the top of lift at Beaver Creek for a small bottle of water, LOL!
A few years ago at Ritz-Carlton Berlin’s casual brasserie I paid 11€ for a 0.75 l bottle of Appolinaris water. Actually spoke to the hotel’s GM about it. He acted surprised. For what it’s worth he promised to look into it…