We often stay in Mercure hotels in France and in England they have a distinctive style and standard which is quite acceptable to us. The breakfasts normally run quite smoothly even when I have traveled with a large party (on more than one occasion) that all descended to breakfast at the same time.

“a brief stop at the motorway services to … drink a refreshing cup of tea.” love that phrase, how things have improved over the years.
I’ve always got stories about Hotels that I didn’t personally book being with others in a party. I once stayed in a Holiday Inn in Yorkshire for a conference that filled the hotel. The breakfast consisted of only three hot items (think it’s a holiday Inn thing) and everybody only got a combination of only two items as the hotel couldn’t cope with the demand. I remember another function I attended in a hotel in Scarborough living on past glories … it also couldn’t cope with a large booking in the 21st century.