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 October 2017 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 action and, if I’m honest, I really 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 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.)
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.
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.
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 like he was genuinely considering a divorce when I asked if he could pose for ‘just 1 more photo’ so I could frame up the exact shot I wanted him to take with me in it afterwards.
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.
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.
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
omg! now i dont know if i would want something like it! ans we are heading to bali soon!
Hahaha just eat your breakfast fast if you order one!
Oh my word – that is too funny! I like how you were trying to be frugal and almost paid that much for half a breakfast 😉 That could have happened to me…
I know right! I thought I was being so clever but Justin says that is the bit that still stings for him as we saw photos from other guests and we definitely paid $53 for less than the usual serving. Total communication fail!
Hahahaha this blog post made me laugh! Oh man, story of our lives huh?
Good on you for following through tho! I tend to give up far too quickly because, as my husband says, I have the temper of Tony Soprano and also, as I tell him, he is quite literally the worst photographer in the world. #bloggerproblems
At least you had a proper breakfast before/after.
The funny thing is the first 3 photos were the ones I used so we could have skipped the whole failed photoshoot and eaten our brekkie before it melted. I like to say I’ve lived and learned but we all know that’s not true lol
Well, it does look delicious and you made me laugh a lot … so it’s not a complete fail at all! 😀 😀
Haha well at least there is a bright side to all that faffing 😀
While i like to think I wouldn’t do stuff for Instagram, I did give my kids ice cream in the bath and therefore also learn that hard way that food and water aren’t actually a great combination!
Hahaha sometimes we have to learn these things the hard way!
The laugh you brought made the experience worth documenting, lol! The things we do sometimes really just for the gram
Lol! I love the honesty and hilarity of this!
Ahaha I was just writing about this too. I’m guilty of going places/ordering food for the Gram. 🙂 But whatever, I’m still going to order a floating breakfast when I get the chance.
Just try not to order half a floating breakfast like we did haha
I can totally relate to this as I find myself doing a lot of things for the gram in Bali and driving my husband bonkers in the process. Making him take hundreds of pictures of my swinging, check. Taking weird awkward photos of my in the bathtub, check. Spent a few hours posing with a floatie, check… Well you get the idea
Poor Instagram husbands! At least they get some perks from being with a travel blogger
I LOVE this, it’s exactly what I would end up doing, and my insta shots always go wrong haha!! My boyfriend is a lot less patient than your husband though!!
Mine might be close to snapping hahaha
hahaha this is so refreshing, we actually did a collab with an hotel and decided to make the F&B insta post at the pool. It’s the weirdest – most unnatural thing to sit in the pool with breakfast on the floor haha but the pic turned out pretty nice and luckily we could eat it at our table haha
It totally makes for a pretty pic, just not the most practical way to eat.! I think in our case we needed a shallower pool. And maybe not a fountain!
Oh Jayne, love your honesty and wit coming through here. These things we do for pretty photos! I honestly think something like this would have pushed my bloke over the edge (and out the door!) so props to both you and Justin for navigating the modeling and photo shot! I hope you got stuck in to the food eventually (or made up for it at lunch ;-).
I had to treat Justin to several beers and a decent meal to make up for it as there was not much eating at our breakfast!
Hahaha loved reading this! I totally feel you! But your pictures look irresistibly delicious though and maybe I will give this a shot when in Bali 😀
I have never ordered a floating breakfast but I did order one by a pool in the scorching heat of Abu Dhabi. The end result, the cold cuts on the plate had changed colour and the juices tasted like soup by the end of our photo-op! 😛
Ewww that is pretty much what happened to our food. The things we do for photos hey!
Oh, this is too funny! I hadn’t heard of a floating breakfast until now, but I don’t think I’ll be ordering one. Sounds like they’re more trouble than they’re worth! 🙂
I think it depends on the pool and how stupid you are being when you order it :p
I relate to this post so much hahaha. Reading it and showing my husband and he says “that’s you!” We owe instagram husbands big time. So funny, looked lovely though – hope you enjoyed your trip!
We did have an awesome trip once I put the camera down. If your husband ever feels hard done by you can remind him of this post hahaha
Ohoho 🙂 Good read but I could hear and feel your frustration. I could only imagine to eat such a breakfast while sitting at the pool but then I imagine it’s hard because the breakfast tray will slide more towards the middle of the pool so I think sitting in the pool and drinking a coffee it’s not something I want to do. But you are right Instagram tells us we need to do that. Or a blogger worlds got a bit crazy I think. And at one point it’s good to tell yourself stop and just enjoy the rest with your husband or boyfriend. I am happy to read you took him out for dinner and meet up with him.
omg dying!!! I can totally see myself doing stuff like this (actually the old me before I’ve had one too many “do it for the gram” fuck ups myself). Thanks for the laugh. The breakfast does look great and that pool!!! Best save those floating breakfast shots for those model girls who don’t actually eat it. LOL
Hahaha exactly! And don’t rope poor partners in who just want a bit of Eggs Benedict
Hahahaha! Sounds like the type of thing I would do! I don’t really get why it would be floating though, that sounds like a disaster waiting to happen, it’s not like you can swim and have a munch at the same time! But it looks cool none the less, very unique!!
It is very cool, especially in a warm climate, but maybe stick to just pastries and champers lol
Haha that’s hilarious 😉 I was always thinking how hard it must be to actually eat that breakfast in water!
I can confirm it is! You’re constantly chasing your meal around the pool!
Haha this is brilliant. I love that someone actually thought, I know what would be a great idea, a floating tray that we’ll serve breakfast on – totally practical, lol.
Maybe I just wasn’t cool enough to pull it off haha
Love this, thanks for keeping it real, atta girl. 🙂
It was cathartic to confess!
Haha, I love this! We do so much for the gram don’t we?! xo
Sometimes I have to have a word with myself hahahah
Haha absolutely LOVE this! We recently went to Bali and were in a constant state of full from all the food we ate. Food there is made to be photographed.
That’s so true, we had so many yummy colourful meals. I’m hungry just remembering the breakfast bowls.
Well, it does look delicious and i wish i coud try it out! Nice post!
Haha I love this so much! This pretty much describes how I’ve always thought these breakfasts go behind the scenes, but damn they do look pretty!
Thanks for saying it like it is! I’ve done a short feature on floating breakfasts, how awful they are, and how they need to die a very quick death on my Instagram, check it out: https://www.instagram.com/p/BunTpM2AVWz/
I’ve found your blogpost by googleing floating breakfast tray as I want to buy one from Ubud market and made our own breakfast at our accomodation.
You made my day with this post! Laughed so hard! Thank you! Very funny story! I can relate.
Hahahahaha LOL!
Thanks for posting this. Why do we always do these things for the GRAM?!?!?!?! I’m also thinking about if I want to spend the $$ to do this or just pass on it. Your insight gave me a good laugh …. Thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome! It is a cool experience (and fun photo op!) but not necessarily the best way to eat breakfast in my experience haha.
HAHAH LOVE THIS POST! the photos turned outt amazing though !!
The idea of indulging in a floating breakfast is undoubtedly attractive. But, I don’t think I would ever want to do that. I mean I love food and would like to sit and have it and cherish it. Floating breakfast is certainly not my cup of tea. Hahaha.