Group-buying site LivingSocial has kicked off a luxurious offer today, and while it is half off the retail price, it’s still not cheap.
For the bargain-basement price of $10,000, you will receive a one-night stay for four in the Penthouse at the Fairmont in San Francisco, a four-course dinner, a commemorative Tiffany china set for four, monogrammed robes, Bulgari amenities–and not just any rental car, but a Maserati Quattroporte for the day.
The package normally costs $20,000, but for the next six days on LivingSocial’s travel site, it will be sold for 50 percent off. Still a little out of your price range? Well, if you can scratch together $2,000, you can enjoy a one-night stay for two in the Presidential Suite (without the china set and other extras), another half-off deal.
Hardly the usual dinner out or day-spa offer, but seven packages (mix unknown) have already been purchased!
The penthouse deal may be one of the most expensive yet to pop up as the race heats up between the various players competing for a foothold in the relatively young space of offering heavily discounted items in return for selling high volumes.
Another big-ticket item that sold recently was on the flash-sales site Gilt Groupe, which was offering 2011 Volkswagen Jettas for $5,995 (or 63 percent off the regular price of $15,995). Quantities were limited to three.
Gilt Groupe also has its daily deals business, called Gilt City, which offers premium and often luxurious deals in several U.S. cities. It also has a companion travel site, called Jetsetter, that offers exotic trips around the world or even closer to home. A current offer on the site is for ritzy digs at a New York City hotel for $205 a night (including a shower with a view).
In an interview with Tim O’Shaughnessy, CEO and co-founder of LivingSocial.com, late last year, he said that the company is increasingly putting the focus on hand-crafted curated packages, which will help them differentiate from market-leading Groupon or the dozens of other clones hitting the market.
If you ask us, a $10,000 one-night stay in a San Francisco hotel would count as an eye-catcher.
It’s hard to know if this package is truly a bargain, since prices on hotel rooms can vary so drastically, and this deal isn’t really found anywhere else.
But if you take their word for it, the one-night stay for four in the penthouse normally fetches $10,000 a night. The exclusive china set costs $1,600. The monogrammed robes, Bulgari amenities and rental Maserati…well, we don’t know.
Here’s a description of the penthouse from the listing: “Your decadent digs in the recently renovated eighth-floor Penthouse feature three bedrooms, a formal dining room that seats 60, a two-story circular library with gold-leaf rotunda, a Persian-tiled billiard room, and an expansive terrace where Sean Connery famously received a haircut in ‘The Rock.’”
Is there a pull-out couch? Heck, I’m sure someone would be willing to sleep on the floor.
Just in case you are wondering, the fine print is tolerable.
The deal expires at the end of the year, the driver must have insurance, be at least 25 and have a valid driver’s license, and reservations are required.