The ultimate luxury hotel-room perk? A Ferrari, McLaren and Porsche drive

There has long been a functional link between luxurious hotels and fine transportation. Back in the late 19^th century, when train tracks were being laid to link up America’s manifest destinations, the railway companies would often build posh accommodations near the stations at which their locomotives stopped. In order to ferry passengers from one to another, they often maintained a fleet of horse-drawn vehicles — vehicles that came to be known as “station wagons.”

Once the automobile came to prominence in the 20^th century, hotels advanced as well. Factory-built station wagons, often with hardwood frames and bodies, became the norm in shuttle transport, with Ford dominating the market with its Model A Wagon.

Cadillac has continued this tradition into the modern day, recently renewing its partnership with the Broadmoor, as well as engaging in exclusive vehicle contracts with the Trump resorts, the Deer Valley resorts, and American Express’ Inspirato group—the Black Card of luxury timeshares. BMW has engaged in an exclusive contract to provide chauffeur-driven 7-Series sedans for guests at the five-star SLS hotel chain. And, with their BMW i electric sub-brand, they will perform a similar but self-driving function for guests at the private-club franchise, Soho House.

Now, the Waldorf-Astoria chain of ultra-luxe resorts has gotten into the contemporary station wagon game, in its own unique way. Its new $999 “Driving Experience” program — which just launched at six of its properties in California, Arizona, Florida, and Louisiana — puts guests behind the wheel of three incredible supercars for a three-hour blast through the local landscape. But this program is not directly affiliated with a manufacturer, and thus isn’t about selling cars. It’s about the high-end hospitality industry’s latest quest: dispensing experiential exclusivity.

“The Waldorf Astoria experience in one word is, unforgettable,” says Stuart Foster, vice president of marketing, luxury brands, for Hilton Worldwide, which owns the Waldorf-Astoria chain. “With this experience you get to drive three incredible cars in truly inspiring destinations. That’s unforgettable.”To that end, for the launch of this program, Waldorf chose the Ferrari 458 Italia Spider, McLaren MP4, and Porsche 911 Turbo. Cars that are, according to Foster, “signature models within iconic brands known for quality and performance, and those that exude luxury.”