VIPs, REVs, and the wow factor ratio

There’s nothing better than being made to feel like a Very Important Person.  Fast-tracked entry, red carpet treatment, and the opportunity to go places Regular Everyday Visitors (like me) aren’t allowed to go.

That’s exactly why VIP experiences exist; and why they make such extra-special personal treats, presents and prizes.  It’s also why Longleat, in Wiltshire, has such an outstanding range of VIP Safari Tours to chose from…

Since the Safari Park was first opened in 1966, Longleat has become famous for the animals they care for, and the overall experience it offers to well over one-million visitors each year.  But there’s an opportunity these days to really stand out from the crowd - and to enjoy up-close, off-road, behind-the-scenes close encounters with some of those animals.

Speaking as a REV myself, I can vouch for the everyday experience on offer at Longleat.  But turn-up as a VIP, and you really are going to get an experience of a lifetime.

Upgrade to Bronze, for example, and as well as a full day in the Park, you’ll also spend two hours with your favourite animals in the company of an expert ranger.  Opt for the three-and-a-half-hour Silver VIP Safari Tour and you’ll have a full-guided tour of the Safari Park, get to feed the giraffes by hand and then enjoy privileged behind-the-scenes access at Animal Adventure with (amongst others) the ever-popular meerkats.

Gold buys you a seven-hour package featuring all of the treats of the Silver Tour, plus the chance to hand-feed the tigers and get up close to the lions and cheetahs.

And then - there’s the ultimate package: The Platinum VIP Safari Tour.  All the glitter of Gold, but with an overnight stay in a sumptuous Longleat Spa Hotel.  That’s £399 per person - compared with the £85 price tag for the Bronze VIP Safari Tour, £150 for Silver, and £299 for Gold.  But then - as the saying goes - some things are just priceless!

It’s easy enough to compare the various VIP packages on a look-before-you-book section of their website.

What the smallprint also makes clear, however, is that “other experiences are also available”!  So if you’re looking to drop hints for birthdays, Christmas, high days and holidays, make sure your loved ones take a look here, which features full details of all the other VIP experiences that are on offer at Longleat.

Me?  I’d just be happy to go back again as a REV - and buy my regular everyday ticket online for a few pennies over £25.  That actually works out at a “wow-factor” ratio of around one for every fiver.

(Seeing as you ask, they were: catching my first glimpse of Longleat House on the long approach road; driving just a few feet away from a pack of lion cubs; getting so close to giraffes you could smell their breath; watching a couple of hippos heads bob-up from underneath the water; and seeing the actual blood-stained, silk sleeved waistcoat in Longleat House which was worn by King Charles I at his execution in 1649).

All I can say is if the VIP packages offer a similar wow-factor ratio, then no-one - VIP, or REV - is going to leave Longleat disappointed.

You’ll find more details here.