For Your Bucket List: 7 Luxe, Once-in-a-Lifetime Travel Experiences from Four Seasons

by  Teresa Bitler | Aug 19, 2014
Four Seasons Whistler
Four Seasons Whistler / Photo courtesy of the property

It’s not uncommon for upscale hotels and resorts to offer guests extraordinary excursions and activities, but Four Seasons takes it to a whole new level. From dining center stage at a historic opera house to designing a custom pair of Lucchese boots, here are a few exclusive Four Seasons that we love dreaming about.

Create your own scent: Buenos Aires, Argentina
When you stay at the Four Seasons Hotel Buenos Aires, you have the opportunity to design your own personal fragrance with the help of Julian Bedel, co-founder of the boutique perfumery Fueguia 1833. The experience begins with a private lunch with the legendary Argentinian perfumer, during which you’ll discuss ingredients that best match your style and personality. From there, the session continues in Fueguia’s laboratory, as Bedel blends an original scent. Select your favorite and, one month later, you’ll receive three bottles of your new scent. Pricing begins at $12,000, depending on your room category.

Go to boot camp: Austin, TX

Four Seasons

What souvenir do you bring home from Austin? Lucchese boots, of course. Through Four Seasons Austin, you can design your own one-of-a-kind cowboy boots during two upcoming Texas Boot Camp sessions scheduled for this September 26-28 and December 5-7. You choose the material (leather or exotic skin), color, stitch pattern, toe shape, heel style, shaft height, and more. Then, masters craft a pair of handmade boots according to your specifications. Pricing begins at $1,147 for single occupancy ($1,272 for double occupancy), plus the cost of your new boots.

Take center stage: Budapest, Hungary

Four Seasons

The Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace Budapest redefines romantic dinner with a gourmet meal served center stage at the Hungarian State Opera Houses. For €60,000 ($80,148.60), you and a guest will be taken by limousine to the opera house -- considered one of the most beautiful Neo-Renaissance buildings in Europe -- where you’ll enjoy dishes such as sea bass with black olives and veal fillet Rossini style as musicians and singers perform in an exclusively private concert.

Golf on a glacier: Whistler, Canada

Four Seasons / Corbis Stock

You won’t find the 19th hole on one of Four Seasons Resort Whistler’s three championship courses -- this one's on a glacier. Teeing off comes with a $5,635 (USD) price tag, but the experience is like none other. After completing 18 holes of golf, you’ll board a private helicopter with a PGA pro, who will provide tips as you hit biodegradable golf balls across the glacial surface. Between swings, you can munch on appetizers and sip signature cocktails.

Dive for dinner: Nevis, West Indies

Four Seasons / Corbis Stock

Nothing tastes better in a coastal town than fish and lobster pulled straight from the ocean -- except maybe the fish and lobster that you dive for yourself. Four Seasons Resort Nevis, West Indies gives you the opportunity to do just that, letting you join a joining a chef and dive master to catch then to savor your catch in a lavish, five-course beach dinner with wine pairings. The meal costs $1,950 for the first couple, with $500 per additional person up to a maximum of eight total.

Get schooled, cowboy-style: Scottsdale, AZ

Four Seasons / Thinkstock

So, you want to be a cowboy or cowgirl? The Four Seasons Hotel Scottsdale sends you to school at the Arizona Cowboy College, where you’ll learn to handle horses, rope, round-up cattle, doctor animals, and more. Prices begin at $1,000 -- but include a $250 voucher for a hat, boots, and a cowboy-style dinner catered by Four Seasons. “You won’t come and ‘play cowboy,’” explains senior instructor Rocco Wachman. “You learn real skills required to be a cowboy. It’s a life-changing experience.”

Put the pedal to Ferrari metal: Milano, Italy

Four Seasons

Admit it. You’ve always dreamed of zooming through the Italian countryside in a cherry-red Ferrari, and Four Seasons Hotel Milano gives you the chance to do just that , for €4,600 ($6146.52) plus €100 ($133.62) for personal insurance. You’ll be handed the keys to a current-model Ferrari and sent on a 2.5-hour drive to the Ferrari manufacturing plant in Maranello for a guided tour -- an experience typically reserved for owners. Then, you’ll head to the nearby Ferrari Museum and end your day with lunch at Ristorante Montana, a popular restaurant with Formula One racers.

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