Along with a group of seven other agents I was lucky enough to be hosted on a once-in-a-lifetime, bucket list, whirlwind VIP famil with Delta Air Lines.
Our journey started bright and early at Sydney Airport where we were met by our wonderful host, Nicole Bennett from Delta, before enjoying lounge access ahead of our flight.
Upon our arrival in LAX we were greeted by a private transfer to our accommodation for the upcoming night, The Sheraton Universal Hotel, which is located just minutes from Universal Studios Hollywood.
The next morning we had an early start, straight to the park where we were greeted by Andrea Blackman, the Universal sales manager, and treated to a very special day with VIP park tickets and the most exceptional tour guide, Zan.
If you are going to do Universal Studios, this is definitely the way you want to do it!
Straight from the park we had a quick outfit change and right off again to the prestigious Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, where we were again treated to VIP lounge access with drinks, canapes and front and centre seats to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
The day was epic but by the end…exhausted is an understatement of how we all felt. Wouldn’t have had it any other way though!
Bright and early the next day, another private transfer to Temecula, a city none of us had heard of before but one you need to put on your list of places to go in SoCal.
We went on a walking tour of this beautiful, picturesque, quaint little old place, followed by a lunch at EAT marketplace, a farm to table establishment with the most delicious food.
This was followed by a tasting at Peltzer Winery, some e-biking through wine country and then a hosted dinner at Bolero at Europa Village.
The next morning…you guessed it, another SUPER EARLY wake up, but oh boy this was worth it!
Back to Europa Village for a hot air balloon ride over the Temecula Valley. The sun was out, the views were stunning, it was absolutely incredible and we are now official Aeronauts!
Day three was the one we had all been waiting for. Palm Springs – here we come!
Early wakeup number three and then we are off on our transfer, with a sneaky brekky stop at Carl’s Junior before we’re on the road again.
We arrive to the very colourful hotel The Saguaro and the vibes are IN CHECK because it’s COACHELLA DAY. A quick dip by the pool while we wait for our rooms, followed by some power naps and lots of glitter gel.
We slap on our VIP wristbands and head to Indio for this three-day festival. The VIP bands got us access into some special areas, VIP food and beverage, and toilets that flushed (very important thing!).
We danced, we sang, we partied with 125,000 other people. We saw Lady Gaga, Post Malone and Green Day headline among so many other performers like Missy Elliott, Charli XCX and special guests galore.
We bumped into celebrities in the crowd. We had the BEST TIME EVER. It was such a great group of agents.
We got home at 2am (after a 5am wake up) and headed off to bed…but not before a cheeky pool party at our hotel, where lots of poolside margaritas were consumed.
On our last day we had a hosted lunch with Palm Springs Tourism then headed back to LAX with access to the Delta One Lounge – our last VIP treat before coming home.
I will forever be thankful to Delta for this experience and to Nic Bennett for being the best hostess we could have asked for.
