Is this Four Seasons New Experience an Oyster Lover’s Dream?
The Four Seasons New Orleans may very well have launched an experience that’s one of the best examples of a luxury brand providing an offering unique to the market it operates in and the profile of its target customer. Oysters Take Flight allows Four Seasons guests to experience the inner workings of an operations oyster farm, followed by a dinner at - Chemin à la Mer, a Donald Link restaurant housed at the Four Seasons. The ‘Flight’ portion is a nod to the Cessna 206 seaplane that transports guests to and from Grand Isle, offering picturesque views of the City of New Orleans and the South Louisiana coastal landscape. All of this comes at the slight cost of $7500 for four guests, a cool $1875 per person.
Is Oysters Take Flight Worth it?
Everyone will have their thoughts on this, so who’s to say if dropping almost 2K per person for one experience is too steep or more than fair? It’s fun to debate, nonetheless. Grand Isle is two hours away from New Orleans, so you’re talking four hours round trip. Can you rent a car and drive? Hire a car? Surely. I imagine the rental will cost significantly less than hiring a car, but either way, you’re trading one hour of transit time by seaplane for four hours of a car ride. The oyster farm - Little Moon Oysters - offers private events and experiences on its website. You could always organize something yourself. And dinner at the restaurant? If you’re already staying there, I’m sure it’s easy to get a table and order whatever you want instead of dealing with a set menu. But as is the case with many luxury goods - you’re paying a premium for the convenience and service, which may not even be too much of one.
Views of the Mississippi River, city of New Orleans, and coastal isles from a seaplane - Source: Four Seasons New Orleans
This isn’t the only experience the Four Seasons New Orleans offers - you could ride a private streetcar, get a private show from the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, or swim with sharks…in New Orleans? That said, I’m a huge oyster fan, and as anyone who’s lived in the Gulf Coast will tell you, oysters are a considerable part of the ecosystem - an increasingly at-risk part.
Oyster Farms and fresh oysters - Source: Four Season New Orleans
If you’re a fan of shellfish, you can live your briniest dreams, slurping your way through oysters all around the city. Getting a front-row seat to the action and seeing how oysters are cultivated on-location while enjoying an upscale meal feels like a treat. Additionally, since its debut, the Four Seasons New Orleans has nestled itself atop the luxury hotel scene in the city. As such, it sees its fair share of deep-pocketed clientele and is uniquely positioned to offer such an experience to customers. Whether this is something you would or would not do, I have to hand it to the Four Seasons New Orleans - this feels like a unique offering and a reasonable effort to offer its clientele a fun experience.