I

booked the bed-and-breakfast special at the Sheraton Suites Market Center Dallas, looking forward to the cookedto-order omelet and a buffet of hot dishes, fruit and pastries.

Instead, what I got was a refrigerated bacon, egg and cheese sandwich that I managed to overcook in the microwave.

Such is life at hotels in the COVID-19 era. If you’ve got a business trip scheduled anytime soon, this is what you have to look forward to.

In retrospect, it was naive to expect, during my mid-June visit, the same dining experience I had when I stayed at this hotel last year.

After all, buffets are a no-no during the pandemic. But the cooked-to-order omelet option was also gone.

Instead, the front desk attendant offered me the breakfast sandwich from a refrigerator behind the front desk. She pointed me to a microwave in the bar area, telling me I could heat it if I wanted to.

I wanted to.

There were no instructions on how long to microwave it. I put it in for two minutes — and ruined it. I took a bite or two and headed to McDonald’s for a tastier version of the sandwich.

Lunch and dinner also sat in the front desk refrigerator. A choice of premade sandwiches and one or two pasta dishes, ready to microwave.

The hotel’s general manager, Jason Lopez told me, in an email the situation was unavoidable.

“Our hotel team is working diligently to provide essential services in this challenging environment. Social distancing guidelines dictate that some typical hotel services are currently adjusted or unavailable,” he said.

Yet I counted dozens of tables in the hotel’s closed Arbor Kitchen that could have been configured for social distancing as part of Gov. Greg Abbott’s order that allows restaurants to operate at 50 percent capacity.

Since my visit to the hotel, the Sheraton Suites instituted a hot breakfast on weekends only, but it’s of little help to business travelers who tend to stay during the week.

My experience was not an aberration. In fact, the Sheraton had one of the best hotel food options in the city, even with its cold breakfast sandwich.

Many hotels continue to keep food service off the menu. I called more than 40 hotels and motels in the metroplex only to find a few offered anything to eat.

It was the same situation in Austin, where I called 20 hotels, and Atlanta, where I called another 20 hotels.