Like a Cinderella attending the dreamy Royal Ball, the butterfly feelings starts not when you arrive at the castle, but begins in the fancy carriage thanks to the points fairy godmother that whisks you into the night.
At a twirl of her miles wand, peasant pumpkin becomes a luxurious First Class transportation. Like all dreams, these experiences don’t last forever…
But the memories do 😉
Today, we’ll look back at our top five’s most memorable “Cinderella” chauffeur experiences for our First Class flights and hotels.
5. St. Regis San Francisco
The tech boom Silicon Valley is notoriously known for its outrageously expensive real estate to the point where a basic dingy Sheraton/Aloft can cost upwards of $300 USD for a night in the Bay Area.
Luckily when it comes to the limited luxury market in this city, St. Regis San Francisco still holds its prestige in delivering a proper living experience. Part of the reason is that it offers complimentary Bentley chauffeurs for all hotel guests.
We stayed here a couple times and never once got tired of being in this $200,000+ USD car cruising around the Golden City. For redemption, this hotel is currently available for 60K Bonvoy points per night.
4. St. Regis New York
A couple notches up in luxury, there’s the John Jacob Astor’s flagship St. Regis hotel at Manhattan’s most prestigious address in New York. Here, your “Uber” for the weekend is the Bentley Mulsanne.
An insane $350,000+ USD carriage ride around the Big Apple.
Not going to lie, we felt like celebrities attending the Met Gala for the first time. On the outside we may look like this…
But on the inside we be feeling like….
3. Etihad First Class Apartment Class
Like all fairy tales, this benefit does not exist anymore 😦 When it’s too good to be true… it probably is – so to be honest, we weren’t surprised that this perk was taken out by Etihad Airways.
Once upon a time, you used to be able to reserve a chauffeur service anywhere in the United Arab of Emirates region with unlimited miles. So yes, you could be in the middle of Sahara desert and the airline can pick you up as long as you have an address and a working international mobile phone.
For us, they drove over an hour away to pick us up in Dubai. And if that wasn’t ridiculous enough, it wasn’t just one car that picked us up… it was TWO black Audi A6.
Why?
- One car for our luggage…
- The other car for us
Maybe a van for our luggage just felt too “basic”?
2. Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills
When you’re choosing between a Mercedes Maybach or a Rolls Royce for your shopping at Rodeo Drive… you know you got a First World problem.
We preferred the Rolls 😉
Turn up the bougie level 9000 notches. Yeah… a $400K+ USD car can do that sometimes.
1. Lufthansa First Class Porsche Experience
Of all our Cinderella’s luxe carriage rides, this one takes the cake. This Porsche experience in Germany comes in two parts.
- Rent a Porsche 911 to cruise around the Autobahn (perk that sadly doesn’t exist anymore 😦 )
- A Porsche driving you to your plane! (see below!)
I still remember parking it nonchalantly at this German estate…
And this random neighborhood.
Hours later, pulling up to the valet at Lufthansa’s First Class Terminal
Only to be driven to our plane in the private tarmac!
Overall, these unknown Cinderella perks are just secondary when it comes to travel luxe experiences. In the end, it’s the flight(s) and hotel(s) itself that’s the most important in delivering a proper First Class product.
That being said, some of the most significant impact in our travel memories are the cherry on top moments. And these top five moments simply highlight some of those “little things” that put the glass slippers in our Cinderella heels.
Fairy points godmother… time for another First Class redemption please.
Chai Bear World 