Choosing the best hotel flatware means buying knives, forks and spoons that not only blend with your establishment's dishware, but also with your establishment. For example, cheap mismatched hotel flatware may work fine for a budget accommodation with a coffee shop rather than a formal dining room. If your hotel is more high-end and offers fine dining, only the most elegant, matched flatware is acceptable.
If you first make a list of the hotel and restaurant suppliers whose flatware fits the style of your hotel, whether budget, luxury or somewhere in between, you can save time. This way, you won't have to examine page after page of online or print catalogs before deciding on the best hotel flatware for your business. You can just consider a short list of products from a few suppliers and compare their prices before making your decision.
Remember to consider the quality you'll be getting for your money. Stainless steel flatware has a nice weight in the hand and lasts much longer than punched out, cheap knife, fork and spoon sets. What you save in money initially may cost you more in the end because you'll likely have to replace the cheap hotel flatware much sooner than you would good quality pieces.
Choose flatware that will stand up to your dish washing system. Commercial dishwashers can be extremely wearing on flatware. Stainless steel can stand up to constant automatic dish washing much better than die cut flatware, which is stamped out of thin metal rather than molded. Die cut, cheap flatware tends to get more easily scratched than stainless steel varieties; cutlery with scratches isn't the best look for hotel dining tables.
Giving some thought to the design of the hotel flatware you choose is important. For example, butter knives alone aren't going to work for a steakhouse hotel restaurant. Good quality steak knives with strong serrated edges are only going to make the hotel's steaks seem more tender if they cut well. Wood handles can add to the rustic charm of a steakhouse atmosphere. If your hotel is a Victorian mansion, on the other hand, ornate, detailed stainless flatware would be more suitable.
When selecting flatware for your establishment, don't forget to consider your menu. You may need additional pieces of hotel flatware that isn't included in a regular place setting. For instance, you may need seafood forks, escargot utensils, chopsticks or Asian soup spoons depending on the food served in your dining room.
