With a train to catch for Switzerland, there wasn't time for breakfast at Merlin, so we ate at the hotel. The choices were €15 euro per person for a continental breakfast of coffee, juice and rolls; €17 to add fruit, yogurt, and cereal, and €22 for the “full monty,” waffles, bacon, sausage, eggs cooked to order, and so on. We chose the €17 option and ate in the pleasant dining/breakfast room overlooking the Neckar.

I figure being picky is in my job description, so here goes; the OJ wasn't fresh nor were any of the hard rolls. The fruit included no berries, just the usual pineapple and rock-hard melon chunks. The selection of items was extensive but yesterday's baked goods is inexcusable. The previous two mornings at Merlin, at about half the price, the coffee was better, the OJ freshly squeezed, and the bread and rolls fresh from the oven. Half an hour later, at checkout, the final bill contained a breakfast charge of €44, not the €34 I had ordered in the breakfast room. While six people in a hurry waited behind me in the checkout line, the desk clerk left her post to go to the breakfast room to see for herself what I had actually signed for. She returned all apologetic adjusted the final bill (another five long minutes for those behind me) but my suggestion to Marriott is this: It was €10, take the customer's word for it, apologize and move on. And donate your day-old baked goods to a worthy charity.