An Evening of High Notes and Higher Standards
If you’ve ever thought, “I should become the kind of person who goes to the opera,” but didn’t know where to start—Mandarin Oriental, New York, has just the ticket. Their Metropolitan Opera VIP Experience is basically a cheat sheet for looking sophisticated without breaking a sweat.
You’ll spend two nights at the Mandarin Oriental, a hotel so boujee you might feel slightly underdressed just stepping into the lobby. The rooms? Oh, they come with views—Hudson River, Central Park, or the Manhattan skyline. Perfect for standing dramatically by the window, overpriced drink in hand, gazing thoughtfully into the city below.
From there, it’s a quick stroll to Lincoln Center for a night at the Metropolitan Opera. Your seats are premium, naturally, so no squinting at the stage from nosebleed heights. Dinner is sorted too—an elegant three-course meal at the Grand Tier Restaurant, champagne included. The kind of place where the conversation is hushed, the lighting is just right, and someone nearby probably has a superyacht.
To add to the experience, you’ll get a limited-edition 2024–25 Metropolitan Opera season book—the perfect prop for flipping through later and nodding knowingly, as if you caught every nuance of the performance (even if you spent most of it marveling at the costumes).
It’s all designed to make you feel like the sort of person who casually attends the opera on a Tuesday evening, even if you don’t know a word of Italian or the plot of La Bohème. Mandarin Oriental clearly understands its audience: people who love a bit of culture, as long as it’s served on a silver platter.
In the end, you’ll have an evening that feels as refined as it is effortless. And even if you walk away still clueless about operatic tragedy, at least you’ll have enjoyed champagne, an excellent meal, and the satisfaction of knowing you spent the night in New York doing something far classier than grabbing a hot pretzel from a cart.
