I Did It For The Gram: My Floating Breakfast Fail

The butter was melted, the eggs now certainly overcooked, and if I didn’t hook the tray back with my toe in the next 2 seconds the whole thing was going to experience death by drowning. Or I was.

It was April 2018 and I’d seen a few pictures circulating of what looked like one of the most indulgent and exotic ways to enjoy breakfast. Floating Breakfasts were rapidly becoming popular in places like Bali, where, if you’re lucky, you can lounge in your private pool while munching on your Eggs Benedict. I wanted in on the experience and, if I’m honest, I most of all wanted to get the pictures for Instagram.

But is a floating breakfast all that is seems cracked up to be? Can you eat your breakfast comfortably while you’re submerged in water and your meal is floating away from you? What do you think :p

Our breakfast floats towards a watery end

Floating right out the photo

Our Floating Breakfast Experience In Bali

Our Floating Breakfast experience in Bali was a faff from the beginning – we couldn’t even get the order right.

I spied the leaflet advertising the private Floating Breakfast as soon as we entered our swoon-worthy pool villa at the Royal Purnama. (A villa I’d been very lucky to win in an Instagram contest.)

Pool area at the Royal Purnama, which we didn’t visit because hello private pool villa

Noticing that all other listed activities – High Tea etc – were priced per person I assumed the Floating Breakfast, listed as 575,000 IDR (£30/$53AUD), was the same.

As we had a perfectly adequate buffet breakfast included with our room I (wisely, I thought) suggested we order the Floating Breakfast for just 1 person and then we fill up at the restaurant later if we’re still peckish.

(I’m not one to shy from a breakfast double dip.)

High Tea is served, rather sensibly, next to the pool. Not in it.

I did not eat my breakfast here

Justin made the call.

“You want Floating Breakfast for just 1 person?” the staff asked, several times.

“Yes,” he replied, because his wife told him to.

The restaurant team ended the call, Justin later admitted, sounding thoroughly confused. The next day they arrived at our door at the scheduled time with a half full tray of food.

The sweet ladies began the surprisingly lengthy set up in our pool and when done asked me why we ordered for just one person.

“The price includes two,” one of the girls told me.

The penny dropped. We were about to pay $53 AUD for 50% of the service. Red-cheeked, I said that yes, an extra coffee so that we could consume breakfast together would be nice actually.

The second coffee arrives 15 mins later

In the meantime, Justin and I were left in peace to enjoy our unique experience.

Who am I kidding?

In the meantime, I made Justin take a million different photos I immediately hated (standard), the food was almost wiped out by a water feature (3 times), and my husband looked close to leaving me when I asked if he could pose for ‘just 1 more photo’ so I could frame up the exact shot I wanted with me in it.

Read also: The burden of being an Instagram Husband

Hubby becomes an unwilling model

And then I become a wooden one!

I fretted about whether to be in the pool (and thus have flabby arms and cleavage exposed) or sit stiffly on the side in a million-miles-from-natural pose. 

The lighting was terrible, my face looked pained and in my pursuit of getting the perfect shot we were rapidly wasting a tray of good food.

I look like I’m in pain!

Did I let that stop me? ‘Course not!

I jumped in the pool to save the food as it headed once again towards the fountain, climbed out of the pool to wrap up for photos, sent Justin and the camera “back, back, BACK” until he was practically in the bedroom and, no doubt about it, pretty much ruined breakfast for both of us.

When the rest of the breakfast we were paying for arrived, I told myself enough was enough. We hopped in the water to eat the sun-saturated food and tried not to tip the tray with every slice of the Eggs Benedict.

Still together, just…

We ate some of the food in the pool, elbows near our ears, one person holding the tray still while the other sliced pastries. Then, feeling cold, a bit silly and worried about dripping pool water all over the fruit salad, we sat on the side to warm up and finished our breakfast with one foot under the tray so it didn’t escape us.

It was a delicious breakfast and we’ve certainly never had another one like it.

But was it worth it? Well, that depends if you value novelty more than practicality. Oh and and how much time you waste trying to ‘gram it.

Where to find a floating breakfast in Bali

Here are 5 places you can experience your own floating breakfast:

Ayana Resort & Spa, Jimbaran

Kamandalu, Ubud

Aksari Villa, Seminyak

W Bali, Seminyak

Royal Purnama Art Suites & Villas, Sanur (our one!)

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Post written April 2018 and updated April 2020