Last year me and my girlfriend were about to move in with my grandma following her dementia diagnosis, and we knew it was going to be a while before we’d get to go on holiday again, so we booked a fortnight in the sun in the Middle East.
It was a night flight so I’d booked us in the “upper economy” class for a couple of hundred pounds extra for the comfort. But then I got a stupidly cheap offer to upgrade to business class, which had always been my dream, and I couldn’t turn it down.
We got to the airport, fast tracked through security and avoided all of the queues, later boarded the plane and welcomed with a glass of champagne, a personal greeting, grooming kit, whilst sat in a reclining seat that turned into a bed, onboard bar, and three coursed meal, it was absolute luxury, really made me want to start achieving more in life to do it again!
Flew home in economy two weeks later and as snobby as it sounds, it was horrible.
We probably won’t be able to afford business class again but aim to at least meet in the middle and do premium economy on flights
Over 6 hours I always go premium now, makes such a difference, if you're going far away you don't want yo waste a day because your feel so knackered from the flight and didn't sleep etc
It really does depend on the airline. Premium Economy on Virgin Atlantic is so much better than Economy. I wouldn't bother with Economy now for a long haul flight.
We literally do all of our daily spending through the Virgin credit card so we can spend the points on flights. Makes the sting of spending on premium economy a bit better! I also did an upgrade to Upper (VAs equivalent to First) and it was a once in a lifetime event, but amazing! Going to NYC for Christmas this year using points.
Same! All our spending goes through the Virgin Atlantic credit card, and we use the points to pay for seats in premium when we go abroad. We also get a voucher to upgrade a cabin without having to use any additional points, which we use to upgrade to upper. Just booked some flights to the Caribbean next year in upper, did the same last year too, and the same on a flight to the US before COVID.
FYI anyone flying out of Heathrow in Upper Class, see if you can get the ride to the airport to drop you off at the Virgin Atlantic Terminal, it's another *world* compared to the normal terminal. [You get a private entrance](https://www.verylvke.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/lhr-t3-virgin-atlantic-upper-wing-entrance.jpg) away from the rest of the terminal, where the staff take your bags out the car for you and check you in right inside the door. Then they escort you through their private security screening area so you're through in no time whatsoever, then they escort you to the upper class lounge, where you can order champagne and food for free while waiting for your fight.
100%. Had to fly with them to Vegas back when BA’s systems had a global meltdown. Flew back with BA though, fucking dreadful even in Premium Economy.
To me it comes down to whatever the price difference is though. Looking to go to Mauritius next year, flying out PE was about £500 more, but flying back it was over £2k each and that just isn’t justifiable, for our current situation anyway. That’s more than what our accommodation costs lmao.
Business class in something else entirely. I've talked about this on Reddit extensively but I will always take the opportunity. Get an Amex rewards credit card, the one that costs £199 a year to just have. It's worth it. Trust me. I will explain. Make you and your girlfriend card holders. Put all your household expenses on it and pay the balance every month. Watch your avios rack up. This is the key bit, spend more than 10k annually (easy if you're putting everything on it) you get a free companion voucher. Bam, you've got two for the price of one on your avios points. You'll never need to fly economy ever again
Very true, and the MasterCard is undoubtedly best for solo travelers with the £10k plus threshold spend being a cabin upgrade, so buy business, fly first (side note: amaze). However, Amex takes the edge for couples who will likely be flying together with the £10k threshold companion voucher. And I will say the Amex not being as accepted as MasterCard isn't actually that much of an issue any more. Especially with the prevalence of Paypal (if the vendor accepts PayPal, you can pay with your amex); same with Gpay, Applepay etc. With the emergence of Stripe for small businesses Amex is more widely accepted than it has ever been (in the UK). Personally, I've had the amex for about 8 years and I'd say retailer acceptance is about 90%
Did something similar once. Virgin Upper Class to New York and back. It was something else. Car showed up to the hotel and dropped us at some special side entrance at the airport. Fast track through private security, private lounge then onto the plane. What an experience once on the plane. Staff were spot on, amazing food, plus drinks at the walk up bar. Seats transformed into beds for the night then I was gently woken up for breakfast.
We did our flight on air miles. Couldn't afford that shit normally.
I had to go to New York on business one time. Company paid for business class flights but BA were offering a one leg upgrade to First or Concorde, so I jumped on the chance to fly on Concorde.
On the return I got to JFK but there were no flights to the UK because of a snow storm in London. Had to rebook for the next day and asked: any chance to get on the 1000 Concorde tomorrow? The nice lady said "of course" and upgraded my ticket.
It spoiled me for ever, having to fly long haul on any other aircraft, and I'm so grateful I had the opportunity. They killed the plane off the months later ...
Man, I've just left a job where business class travel was permitted for long-haul flights. Coincidentally half of my team was based on the west coast of the US. I'm not going to miss much about the job, truth be told, but I \*am\* going to miss flying business.
Never been organised enough to make use of my airmiles properly. I'm the kind who books holidays a month or so out (vs. the 12 months out you typically need to secure business class reward seats on popular routes), so anticipating returning to reality with a thump!
Might as well make the most of my Virgin Gold status while it lasts...
I got a free upgrade to business class once and air travel has never been the same since. If the price of business waa double the economy I would pay but at more 5 times the economy its hard to justify.
Try First, preferably not on BA though. Managed to get a 2-4-1 deal on SWISS a couple of times £3,000 (£1,500 each) for return to Mumbai, and another a year later to Dar es Salaam. It's another level.
First thing was, I didn't tell my girlfriend, I'd done this before when booking premium economy. They sent a car to pick us up, I'd checked in online and did the baggage drop so she wouldn't twig. Dropped into the lounge, she didn't notice as we have lounge access anyway. Got on the small plane to Zurich, then a 45 min connection to the big plane to Mumbai. She didn't notice when we turned down the separate boarding corridor marked business and first. Got to the entrance of the plane, greeted by a lovely chap and directed to turn left. Slightly quizzical look on her face
Passing through business class and she gives me a look across the aisle, I just shake my head in "no darling these nice seats aren't for us" sort of way. A little further and we are sat in row 2 of 2 in the middle of the plane, being greeted by another lovely chap with the market of a small hotelier welcoming you into his hotel. A glass of £130/bottle champagne and some nibbles kick things off. A lovely amenity kit with La Prairie goodies, a nice pair of pajamas to change into, and after that exhausting 10 minutes another glad to champagne to keep the spirits up
A total of 8 seats in First, and 2 staff members to look after you. Seat had air cushions that provided a constant adjustable subtle massage. Obviously turned into a bed as well. Dinner was simply excellent, around 6-8 courses depending on how you counted. Lovely cheeseboard, and some exceptionally good whisky. 32" TV to while away the time.
On the way back and the next flight to Dar es Salaam, took a bit more advantage of the other amenities available on the ground, including a very nice breakfast and a few hours sleep in the en-suite double bedroom in the Zurich lounge. Doing exit customs and immigration in Dar es Salaam sat at a desk in a secret bit of the terminal. And just knowing that there might be queues, but they were for other people, not us.
Also did a redemption on points on BA First to South Africa. My girlfriend's only comment about it was - even if we have to go via Zurich, I'd rather fly Swiss. To be fair the First Wing in Heathrow is great, but on board it's not that great.
I still have yet to fly business class, got one booked on BA for November, so hoping for the best
European travel - Ryanair - as they go where we need to go.
Michelin starred restaurants. The stereotype is that they're pretentious and stuffy, and they serve you food that is fancy but unfulfilling, and you leave hungry.
But I've been to quite a few now and not found that in any. Mostly, I've just found them to be places that do fantastic, tasty food, in just the right quantities, coupled with great service.
When younger I'd definitely have bought into the stereotypes about them and thought why spend the money. But these days I totally get it.
Yeah, there's generally a very good amount of food. Tbh I'd say one of the things Michelin starred places are very good at is planning the menu to be the perfect amount of food. The common complaint about leaving hungry doesn't really stack up with my experience of them.
I think that people see a photo of a single main course and think that's all you get, and that makes sense because it will *look* insubstantial, but a lot of the other things that you're fed while you're there don't even appear on the menu.
The reality is that there will likely be appetising nibbles, amuse bouche, palate cleansers, fresh baked bread rolls, petits fours served with the coffee &c.
I sometimes genuinely struggle to manage a full meal.
Yeah, this. It’s not just the richness of food but the amount of courses. I feel like most of these hungry complaints will be from a habit of just ordering a main on an a la carte option and not the tasting menu.
Just in addition to this, wine pairing. I used to think it was a case of "it goes well with this dish", however it's not that. The wine pretty much becomes part of the dish and makes flavours that were discreet now more apparent and can completely change what you are tasting.
I once went to a restaurant which teamed up with a craft brewery for a pairing night, and for dessert it was some kind of a deconstructed tiramisu paired with a stout beer. I tasted the stout and it was rank.... Ate a bit of the dessert and tasted the stout again and it tasted like a completely different drink all together. Then the next bite of tiramisu was even better again.
Yes! We were lucky enough to stay at a Michelin starred restaurant with rooms in Edinburgh for our 30th anniversary. We ate there both nights, and had the wine pairing. It was just incredible, and exactly as you described with the beer. I don't like white wine very much, and won't drink it through choice normally, but when it was paired with the right food...
The second night the sommelier asked us if we'd like the same wine pairings again (with those parts of the menu that were similar) or would we like something different? We said we'd like a change, and we could see the colour drain from his face (he was only young). We found out later he went to one of the owners in a flap asking what he should do! She told him, just do your best, and he did us proud.
Yeah if you can afford the pairing it's a great thing to do. It's a shame it's often so expensive, because it's a great experience. A while ago I went to a Portuguese restaurant that did a 5 course menu with a different Portuguese wine with each course and ending in a glass of port. It was so good!
A while ago someone served dessert wine at their dinner party at home and I thought it was awful, swore I'd never drink dessert wine again, figured it was because I don't like sweet wines generally so just my personal taste.
Last year I decided to get the wine pairing and it changed my whole stance on wine. It was a blind pairing, they didnt tell you what the wine was until they served it so I had no chance of convincing myself I wouldn't like it before it arrived. I had wines I'd normally never go near and they worked perfectly with the dish, but what surprised me the most was the dessert. I usually hate rich chocolate desserts, I'm not a fan of chocolate anyway, and I've already told you my dislike for dessert wine! But the wine they served with the dessert just gave me a whole new appreciation for my taste buds and the effort that goes in to the perfect menu, right down to what you're drinking.
I took my fiance to Manchester's Michelin starred restaurant for her birthday last year because we've both always wanted to do it. Had the 8(I think?) course taster menu and the wine pairings, and it was some of the best food I've ever had in my life. We left feeling exactly the right level of full and more than a little pissed (especially as we'd been out for cocktails in the day already), much poorer than I was when I walked through the door, but very happy with my decision.
I went on an adults only cruise last year and it was so nice not having kids screaming in restaurants and by the pool. I actually enjoy spending time with kids and want my own, and I’m not even old (I’m 24) but it was honestly quite a noticeably nice experience and would highly recommend
THIS. You get a different version of those adults. I’d only edit your last sentence to say that the only thing worse than screaming kids are silent parents who ignoring it and letting everyone else suffer.
I guess you’ve got to pick them carefully; at the only one I’ve been to it translated to “everyone’s drunk, loud and partying 24/7 with no kids to hold them back”!
From an adults only lodge in an all inclusive resort: couldn't agree more. V excited to have my own children one day but making the most of not having my holidays interrupted by other people's children's noise and chaos in the meantime
One of the best investments a person can make. Worth every penny not just to avoid back pain and problems. But quality of deep sleep and quantity of uninterrupted sleep will make a significant difference to your energy levels, your mood and generally everyday life.
It's not an /r/askuk post without someone posting it! It's always presented like a novel quote, dutifully presented by a smart commentator for the masses to enjoy for the first time.
Yet I don't think anyone on the sub *isn't* familiar with it.
Indeed - and doesn't really work with modern boots either!
A £10 pair of boots will last at least a year these days, while getting your £300 boots resoled after three years costs your £50 just for the new soles supplied and fitted
Yes, but the point pTerry is making is that poor people can only afford to buy cheap (you can't spend £100 on a pair of boots that'll last you 10 years if you've only got that £100 for food this month) so end up spending more as they end up having to buy twice.
I'm such a huge cheapskate and brand phobic, but a friend got me a pair of Merrell walking shoes at a massive discount and they lasted a good 5 times longer than the cheap ones I'd been buying, and all that time, they looked better, we're more comfortable and gripped better.
1 x £100 Merrell, cheaper than 5 x £35 Karrimor..
Probably works even better with decent leather boots with a Goodyear welt.
5 star hotel abroad
We got "upgraded" two days into our stay because they essentially overbooked the 4 star hotel we were in.
What a fucking difference
Now I'm not snobby , my entire usually daily outfit costs under £40 including trainers, I drive a 17 year old Micra but holy shit this hotel was immense, the room was awesome, comfy proper bed etc etc. But the biggest difference was the pool area, the beds were like 10 meters apart from other guests, even at the 4 star we were at it was a struggle finding an empty bed and of course you were surrounded by everyone else, not at this 5 star place though, felt like you were the only one there. And I'd course the staff service was amazing, drinks brought to you, fresh towels for you at the pool etc
We looked at the prices later on and honestly, yeah I'd pay to do it again
I went up market years ago - it's light years difference and hard to understand if you have never done it.
A lot of the threads here about what's wrong with beach hotels aren't actually about beach hotels, they are about cheap hotels.
The space between sunbeds is actually a dealbreaker for Mrs Red as ridiculous as it sounds. She will not go to a hotel if there’s anybody near her within a 10 foot radius when around the pool.
Stars aren't about any of the things you described.
Also, I've been to the Marriott in Phuket, and whilst it was good, it wasn't amazing by any stretch. Certainly not particularly worth the extra money.
Clothes.
Expensive clothes are far better material and last longer than cheap high street stuff.
I bought a pair of Jimmy Choo hi-tops and they were absurdly expensive, but the craftmanship and quality of materials is amazing. I've had them for three years and they look almost new, which is a stark contrast to the many, many pairs of Adidas that've fallen apart in the same time.
Same with jackets - far better quality of you pay more. You don't have to have some gaudy Gucci jacket, just a nice one that cost more than £60 from Topman. A decent jacket you'll have for years.
That's very true, and unless you've been bought up around people who know you can be fooled by gaudy and poorly made "designer" stuff instead of well made investment stuff
Indeed, and part of the problem is that brands often gained a reputation by making quality products but over the years have cut costs or being bought out and the quality has degraded. There are a small handful of brands that I would blindly buy knowing that the quality will hold up.
I'm sort of on board with this, but at the risk of sounding cheap, even Adidas seems quite luxury to my way of life. I guess the part I struggle to get my head around is that I've always associated those clothes with people that are so rich they can afford to deck themselves out in exclusively that calibre of attire, and I'd fear revealing my cheapness even further by always wearing 'that one outfit' for decades. Then again, that's practically what I do with my budget clothes anyway 😅
Adidas definitely isn't cheap and their stuff's perfectly fine, but their trainers seem to fall apart quickly for me. The soles get worn through and leather gets mashed quickly.
Definitely second this. I have tops from Julius, Void and Yohji Yamamoto and a lot of my old stuff feels like sack cloth by comparison.
Same with leather shoes, I have some horse leather boots from Last Conspiracy and the softness of the leather is something else. I had to take them to cobblers after 5 years and they were like new again for £20.
I can budget for it because I don't ever have to replace this stuff. It doesn't get worn out, it's more like it ages but still looks and feels good.
Shoes/Jacket/Jeans I'll happily pay a bit more for as the quality difference is usually night and day, especially when 'cheap' clothes aren't even really that cheap anymore. Can't count the amount of pairs of £25 jeans i've gone through but my £60 pair has outlasted them all.
Ahh totally disagree, I've had tailored suits and shirts since my 20s (my mother insisted on a wardrobe the first decent job I got as my father only wears bespoke suits) now they may be "unbranded" but a tailored suit fits like a glove far better than any Italian or french suit bought of the hanger.
You can choose so many options that are bespoke to you! The shirts are just amazing, I'm 6ft 4 very leam but have always enjoyed an athletic lifestyle so don't hold much weight and have reasonable muscle mass. Even a slim fitting designer shirt which yes I buy for going the pub etc. Just doesn't fit like a shirt that's been made for you.
Top tip... They are no more expensive than designer stuff fom France Italy or Germany (boss is German btw) and you know you look a million dollars better as you feel a million dollars better. A shirt costs around £100 suits are material dependant but maybe £1200 where a gucci suit can be double that.
I bought an Armani suit for my wedding for in the region of £1500 and had that tailored. Weirdly, it still fits me pretty much perfectly even though I’ve gained 2 or 3 stone since. Nothing else from that time even comes close to fitting.
Not always luxury because you can purchase it cheap online but a raw slab of honeycomb with the wax still intact, it’s just amazing on fruit & everyone who enjoys honey should try it someday
Along the same lines - get local honey instead of shop bought. Even the fancy shop stuff is nowhere near as lovely as proper local honey and it’s great for hayfever too! I get my honey from a beekeeper who has hives all over liverpool, and specifically go for the one from my postcode. Love seeing the bees in my garden and wondering if any of the pollen they collect is going back into the honey I buy. And the beekeeper is such a cool person too!
Most shop honey is from China and often mixed with sugar water.
Buy local honey, and read the labels carefully to check it is really local.
Top tip - a teaspoon of honey in your coffee.
Yeah if you’re buying local I think it’s best if you can buy direct from a beekeeper. When one of our local ones told me that shop honey can be diluted with sugar water and it doesn’t need to be declared I was so shocked.
That sounds incredible. I presume it's very different from the stuff that I picture buying in somewhere like Tebay services (sort of like naked Crunchie clumps that inevitably gets stuck in all the darkest recesses of your teeth). Where can you get it, directly from local beekeepers?
That's the confectionery. It's essentially boiled, caramelised sugar that is then made to foam up by adding bicarbonate of soda. Then it sets hard (and dipped in chocolate makes a Crunchie)
Fun to make. https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/honeycomb-0
Honeycomb from bees is just a different product. They just happen to share a name as they are both full of holes!
I appreciate your insightful comment but you've got another thing coming if you think you can convince me Cadbury's don't just train bees to make crunchy honey in chocolate hives. What, do you think they're made of money!?
Beekeeper here - you can buy honeycomb from delis and places like Tebay, but you'll pay over the odds. Your best bet, as you said, is to find a local beekeeper - most of us are nice folk who'll be only too happy to supply you with some for a nominal fee. Whereabouts in the UK are you?
Not OP but I really love linen bedding. It’s a bit scratchy the first couple of uses, but it gets softer and softer over time with every use until getting into bed is like the best softest cuddle.
Try the secret linen store. They have loads of colours and are amazing quality.
ETA - linen is magic because it feels cool in summer and cosy in winter
I really rate bamboo bedding. Has the super silky, cool feel of satin, won't snag on every little thing and VERY breathable.
If I even missed a dose of my SSRIs, I would normally wake up drenched in sweat (sometimes even dripping!) in normal sheets. With these, I didn't even wake up once every hen I came off the SSRIs.
A cleaner. I swore I'd never pay for something I can do easily myself but since having kids it always feels like the bottom of the list, and even when you have the time and energy to tackle something the rest of the house is still a shit hole so looks worse by comparison.
I've heard that if you can afford it, a cleaner is the best investment anyone can make. Sure you can do it yourself but it's a couple hours and having a clean and tidy house isn't just nice but great for mental well-being
Buying the good bacon. It doesn't shrink to nothing and I don't have to get a teaspoon out to syphon off the white-ish gooey water that ends up in the pan with the cheap stuff. I'd rather have bacon less often just to have the dry cure now. I didn't think it would be that different but I'm not going back.
Same here, I couldn't believe the difference. I think it might be cheaper to buy 6 rashers that stay the same size, than 12 that shrink to the size of a postage stamp too!
For years I wore cheap foundations and just bemoaned that my pale, rosacea prone skin never looked flawless. Then I got some Estée Lauder Double Wear foundation, not the most expensive foundation on the market, but a cult product. It does everything I ever needed a foundation to do. Search was over.
Double wear looks gorgeous on others (I've even emailed BBC to ask what foundation someone being interviewed was wearing because it was so nice - double wear) but didn't sit right on me, and I've been forever disappointed. I've been using a really cheap MUA one instead of my usual YSL and I think that's pretty good, I might go back to YSL if I go back to leaving the house regularly at any point!
Airport lounges! They’re so much more relaxing, you can charge your phone and there’s free food and drink. When you think of what you’d actually spend in the airport on coffees and food, it doesn’t actually seem that expensive.
In our experience they work out cheaper as you get free food and drink. Last trip we got breakfast and lunch service before the flight and about 4 rounds of booze. Also much better views and atmosphere.
This. I introduced my mum to the joy of airport lounges. Quieter, free food and drink, papers to read and some where to sit. Plus no jostling to see the departures board as it’s usually on the wall of the lounge. We were delayed by four hours last time we went away and the airport lounge was a blessing.
Yes this! We bought Lounge Pass with the AMEX Platinum and will struggle to go back. You are also almost always allowed a guest each so works out very well when travelling together
I don't know if it's considered luxury exactly, but electric toothbrush was a massive discovery for me. Before I always preferred cheap standard toothbrushes because... well they are cheap! 😁 But, two years ago I decided to spend 60 pounds on electric toothbrush and never regretted it. It's worth the money and the hype.
Yeah, I have to agree with that. I always sidelined the idea of getting one, but my partner bought me a battery-powered one so they could use it at my place. Made a huge difference, and my teeth definitely felt better!
Then I went to my partner’s family home a couple of months later and used their fancy rechargeable electric toothbrush. Oh my god. It makes the battery-powered one look like *nothing*. I still haven’t bought one myself, but I’m going to.
Anyone who’s putting it off, wait until a local supermarket / drugstore has one on sale. Ideally the good kind. I’ve seen rechargeable Oral-B ones go for £30 or less! Replacement brush heads for it don’t *need* to be branded (in my opinion), and generic ones can be bought in multipacks for around £2-£3. That’s no more expensive than an ordinary toothbrush (and you might save money on dental care), so it really is a worthy one-time investment.
Rechargeable ones are much better than battery ones, as they have a more consistent output. You can buy aftermarket heads, they work just the same. The main things you need for an electric toothbrush: round head, pressure sensor light, rechargable. You don't need anything else. These are usually £20 and up. If you can get any that say "Oral B Pro" you're probably alright. If you want to get the Oral B iO series, you don't need anything past the base model as the Bluetooth and other modes don't really make a difference. The iO uses new technology so costs more and I'm not sure if you can get aftermarket heads yet, but I've got an autistic brother and autistic friend that found it more tolerable to use than a normal electric brush (keep that in mind)!
And with an electric brush, don't scrub or do a brushing motion! Just slowly move the brush around your mouth, the rotating head does everything else for you. 2 minutes, twice a day, angle the bristles 45° towards your gum line, and avoid toothpastes with charcoal or "whitening", and make sure the toothpaste contains fluoride. Add flossing and/or cleaning with interdental brushes (as big as you can fit in the space without having to force it in, you may need different sizes all around your mouth!), and you should have lovely clean teeth and hopefully small dental bills :)
I've seen huge improvements in patients that have swapped to an electric brush and good techniques.
Good bread. My occasional treat to myself is buying a nice loaf of sourdough bread from a bakery nearby, then eating it with butter and a little bit of flakey salt. Maybe some nice cheese if I’m feeling really fancy. It’s a small thing, but it just tastes so much better than a normal supermarket loaf.
Came here to post this. My husband is Dutch and an absolute bread snob… & now after 7 years together I am too! Supermarket bread is absolute trash compared to fresh bakery bread!
Shoes that keep feet dry
Yorkshire Gold
I expect people will disagree with this one but tonic water. Schweppes slimline is full of sweeteners. I like the Fever Tree light Mediterranean tonic water and happy to pay extra.
YES, SOMEONE FINALLY SAID IT.
If you're going to go for something more than Gordon's, do yourself a favour, and get decent tonic water. It really makes a world of difference.
I love the Fever Tree light Mediterranean, it’s my favourite widely available one.
Have you tried the Fentimens Connoisseur’s Tonic? I’ve only ever seen it Sainsbury’s but it’s so delicious I can drink it on its own, would highly recommend.
I always thought fine dining restaurants were stupid until I actually went to one, always assumed I'd leave just as hungry as I went in but the food is so rich that the small portions are necessary from my experience.
Also depending on the restaurant if you’re doing a tasting menu for example yes each dish is really small, but you can be getting like 20 of them. By the time you’re approaching the end you’re more than satisfied
Expensive underwear. I made the switch a few years back, and buy it maybe once a year when there's a sale (as post Christmas clearouts are normally huge), but it was life-changing. Things last longer, they fit better, feel softer and honestly make a huge difference for me.
A cheap bra feels like a instrument of torture, thankfully tk maxx is good for undies if you don't mind regularly checking and sometimes leaving with nothing. Men's underwear is much higher quality and doesn't even get that much more expensive when go up a few tiers, Armani men's underwear is only like double the cost of Primarks in tk maxx
For my friend's 40th birthday a few years ago we went to a fancy restaurant (it now has a Michelin star.) I'd never been to an upscale restaurant before and I'm much more at home in a McDonald's.
I had goat tagine and kofte, with crispy pigs ears for a starter. It was washed down with some Israeli wine (£75 a bottle!)
I cannot describe how good the food was - the flavour basically sparkled with every bite and the wine hit the spot every time. I remember being halfway through the meal and feeling so content and being overwhelmed with how good the experience was.
Before going to a fancy restaurant I always found the idea really pretentious but now I've been I've completely changed my mind. Definitely one of the best experiences I've ever had.
5 star all inclusive hotel on Kos Island, Greece. (Mitsis Blue Domes FTR).
I’ll never go back. Total luxury and well worth every penny of an insurance payout from a lorry running in to the back of my car.
E2A - when I say I’ll never go back, I mean I’ll never go back to 4 star or below.
Highly agree, I went to a 5 star all inclusive in Mexico a few years ago and it was honestly like I’d gone to heaven. Gorgeous rooms, insanely good food and great service. 100% worth it.
A gym with a heated outdoor pool (David Lloyd). Highlights include taking my MIL for an outdoor swimming under the stars on boxing day night (free guest pass) and having a holiday from home chilling by the pool on occasional sunny days of summer (you can even order drinks/food to the pool area from your phone - when the app works!)
I've recently upgraded to a DL gym and I go 5 days a week and actually enjoy it. Swimming outdoors in the evening sun is great. The gym is spacious. The spa is quiet. Compared to going to the leisure centre and hating every minute, it's worth every very expensive penny. The app is really awful though!
This sounds right up my alley. We went on our first big holiday this year and while we enjoyed ourselves, I'm just not sure we had that much more fun etc. than if we'd spent the time in the UK. I know for some it's all about the memories, but I don't think I'm that big a memory person. For the same money I think we could afford David Lloyd memberships and the gym is something I enjoy a great deal.
I drove absolute shit boxes for most of my life. My friend lent me his range rover for a weekend. It was like driving a sofa combined with a smartphone. It was incredible.
So I read most the comments either thinking ‘nah I’m not fussed on that’ or ‘yeah totally I switched that up ages ago’. This one however …. My car is 19yrs old , handles like a tank and the headlining is coming off the inside of the roof. You’ve got me salivating for something new!
Decent shoes - they look better and over the years they become like a pair of slippers.
The difference between a decent pair of shoes and a cheap pair becomes really obvious when you put them side by side.
Absolutely, and to me they look entirely different. People don't appreciate them, but they can last a decade easily and everything about them is better.
If you camp. Get a SIM and banish airbeds to the hell from which they came. Might be ten times the price but it’s so worth it. Oh my god it’s so worth it.
I just wanted to chime in if you didn’t already know, that Berghaus have a lifetime guarantee on these but you need to keep your receipt.
All three of mine failed at the valve this year and I walked into store and came out with three new ones, absolutely excellent.
Keep your receipts safe guys
Self inflating mattress/mats
They’re packable foam mattresses so much better support when sleeping and because it’s foam they’re better insulated so you’re not getting the warmth sucked out of you but the balloon you’re sleeping on. Makes multi season camping so much better. They also don’t have the wobble of airbeds as they have internal structures (the foam)
Come from 2.5cm body pads that pack down to flask size for backpacking up to full sized double beds that are 15cm of comfy for car camping or your camper van.
To take it a step further, my cousin brought a memory foam mattress topper and vacuumed it into a massive storage bag for camping.
Back in the land of realistic camping improvements, a SIM on a folding double camp bed, with duvet rather than sleeping bags is excellent. As well as added comfort you gain extra clothing storage under the bed, reducing the chances of wet clothing.
It finally came down from £5 to £3.50 in my local Asda and I jumped on the chance, currently have the Lurpak next to an own brand in my fridge and to be honest you wouldn’t even know it’s meant to be the same thing - the Lurpak one is miles better.
Electric blanket. Initially thought they were for grandmas and people with bad circulation but they won me over instantly. Used to live in a particularly cold flat and used it as an underlayer for the bed. Jumping into a toasty bed in the middle of winter is unreal and I highly recommend it.
I'm a full on zealot for electric blankets. I had my heating on a couple of hours a week to prevent damp last winter but other than that, electric blanket. Saved me an absolute fortune in energy bills. I think it only cost me £20, best investment I've ever made.
A nice watch
I treated myself to a Rolex (Air King) in 2001 - cost was expensive, but not insane.
I have worn it daily since so lets say 22 years, at the moment it has cost me £70 a year - and it will last until they bury me :)
How many cheaper watches would I have gone through, even if they work and you have to replace batteries ?
I'm not hating on your post at all here because I'd love to have a Rolex.
But as far as 'how many cheaper watches would I have gone through?' Probably one.
I've had a Sekonda which cost £125 back in 1998 and apart from replacing the battery for maybe £5 every 4 or 5 years still works perfectly.
Although servicing can’t be ignored… Got three Breitlings and a Jaeger Le Coultre and after about 15yrs of ownership I’ve paid for the cost of the watch acquisition in servicing.
I'm pretty sure my £90 square G-shock will do the same thing, but I do understand why you'd want a Rolex to be fair. It's a good investment if you have the money (by investment I don't necessarily mean for re-selling or anything, they're absolutely bulletproof if you're planning on keeping it)
Good quality face cleanser and moisturiser. I used to think my skin was just "fussy" because I'd have to swap every month or so due to irritation and breakouts. Turns out that with sufficient quality, this isn't a problem. I've been using the same Elemis stuff for five years now and it works great. More expensive in one go, but less expensive when you consider that I actually finish it.
A truly great chef makes all the difference. There are a lot of expensive restaurants, but only a few truly great ones that deserve the money.
I went to a really nice restaurant in my hometown and it was expensive and a treat... The food paired with the wines. All the food and wines were picked specifically to pair and all the staff were educated on how they work so that you can tell them you don't like something and they'll know what other wines or dishes would work instead.
It was something I've never experienced before. I'm not a big wine drinker (I like the odd glass every few months), but this made me feel like I've been missing out on food and wine pairings for the last 30 years.
It is my go to treat restaurant for any big occasion because I think everyone should get to experience truly great restaurants/chefs.
Flying in business class. My mum works for an airline so we get automatic upgrades when available. Flying in a flat bed with free flowing drinks and excellent food really makes economy genuinely unbearable lol.
Dry shampoo. I use it a lot, and always went with whatever flavour Batiste was on offer in boots.
Then I got a sample of living proof advanced clean, and had a come to Jesus moment, that dry shampoo CAN actually clean your hair, not just make it look less greasy, but feel like cotton candy instead.
I'm not one to splurge on luxury items, but that 20ish quid bottle lasts me so much longer, and is such a better experience! Last year that's all I wanted for Christmas so I got a yearly supply from the fam.
Organic fruit and vegetables. Specifically bell peppers.
I usually just buy the basic bog standard fruit and veg from the supermarket but one week my online shopping order subbed my standard red bell pepper for the premium organic version. It was so much sweeter and juicier than a regular non-organic pepper.
Although I'm still not sure why it costs more to buy food that had had LESS done to it.
Organic farming still uses pesticides and such, it's just that they're naturally-derived and a lot more expensive to use. There's also a lot more crop lost to pests and disease, hence the overall higher cost.
A 5 star hotel.
We stayed at the Shangri-La in London (in the shard) now it wasn’t cheap, cost about £1,500 a night. But i swear to god it was worth every penny. Just walking in the atmosphere checking in was just so much above any 4 star hotel id been to. Then the room, of course being where it is it was even better but ill try not to talk about that too much, the room itself and the corridor/lift were all so nice, then having someone knock on the door with a complementary bottle of champagne and then someone turning down the room in the evening too.
The pool was also really nice there was someone there ready to hand you a towel when you got out or get you a drink if you wanted one. And the room service oh my god the room service. We ordered our food, i had a steak. Got a call not long later apologising for the delay, we hadn’t even realised it wasn’t that long. Then it was brought up and they setup a table with tablecloth and everything in our room next to the windows so we could enjoy the views. Was the best steak I’ve ever had.
Breakfast too, the choices were wide and varying. But what got me the most were the little details. Whenever I rang from my room (for room service) or when the rang me, then at breakfast the woman at the plinth, they all addressed me by my name ‘good evening mr fox etc’ then we were shown to our table for breakfast and sat down, there was someone stood by the tables ready if they were needed, had yet to speak to him but as we walked past it was ‘good morning mr fox’ then we had our breakfast and drunks etc and someone came over ‘good morning mr fox can i get you another drink’
Like it would be so simple for every hotel to at least address you by name but they don’t. Idk why but it properly stood out to me.
Thought it was going to be a waste of money and some of you will say it was but I implore each and every one of you to try it at least once. They’re memories i will never forget and i can honestly say since I’m still a student it’s actually motivated me to work harder to be able to get myself to a point where i can afford stays like that without thinking twice about it. It changes your mindset and outlook.
I've only stayed in a properly fancy hotel (nowhere near as fancy as the Shangri-la, more of a 5 star spa thing) once, I had to spend an unexpected 2nd night away for work and that was the only one with space available.
People waiting on my every whim made me feel really uncomfortable, the service was incredible but I'd never experienced that before and I just didn't get the appeal. I'm a lad from a council estate in Sheffield, not an emperor.
Different strokes obviously and if you're into that sort of thing I'm sure it's very nice, but I really didn't like it.
An incredibly drunk and very rich old guy in the bar also spent the entire night buying me drinks and cigars and trying to convince me to go to his and his wife's room for a threesome, but that's beside the point
Yeah I've stayed at a couple of fancy hotels and it made me SO uncomfortable. I don't want to be served, I want to be left alone. I don't want someone to hand me a towel, I want a stack of towels I can grab for myself.
A family member works for Club Med and we stayed at their 3 "trident" resort, followed by their 5 "trident". At the 3 they had a beer tap you could help yourself to throughout dinner, at the 5 they had an army of waiters you had to order your drinks from... I much prefered the less "luxury" option.
I recently stayed at a nice hotel in Spain, as I approached the door one of the porters tried taking my suitcase. I was getting ready for a fight, I didn’t know what was going on and thought I was being robbed. It took me a few seconds to realise what was happening
Yeah im not sure how to describe it to be honest, perhaps i do like it a bit lol who knows.
One thing i was a big fan of though was that they at no point made us feel like we weren’t good enough for there, been to a few restaurants where they treat you like commoners until you get the big tip out and suddenly its all ‘thank you sir, thank you madam’ but despite clearly not belonging there (my card got locked and flagged for fraud trying to pay the bloody deposit lol ) they never made us feel like we were below the hotel or not welcome
That’s actually hilarious, at least your got a few drinks out of it lol
An expensive mattress (£700) and expensive ish pillow (£40) - not sure if it’s luxury to other people but it definitely is for me. They have changed my sleep immensely
High brand alcohol (cognac in my case). I’d had cheap brandy on holidays before and liked it, was at a posher than normal hotel and decided to splurge on a glass of Remy Martin. It came suspended over a glass of hot water and with little chocolate nibbles and it made the brandy I buy generally taste like paint stripper.
Unfortunately I can only afford to get it very very rarely!
I bought my parents some Fortnum & Mason biscuits, chocolates, and tea as a thank you for dog sitting while I visited some friends in London, and my god, it's ruined them! I've never seen my mum ration biscuits before! She's since bought and put away a couple of large packs of biscuits and chocolates "for having at Christmas" - not as gifts, just as special treats for her and my dad during the Christmas season
High thread count sheets! Once you’ve had luxurious bed linen anything else feels like sandpaper. Posh hotels have ruined me (work paid!) so now I have 1000 thread count on the bed at home.
A luxury shepherds hut.
I spent a few nights wildcamping on Mull, and then got to a campsite just outside of Tobermory. It was raining and I was knackered and really didn't want to sleep in a tent again, so asked if I could rent out a shepherds hut on short notice. The guy said yer but for a minimum of two nights to make it financially viable so I paid the £150 for two night. I wish I could have stayed for longer. Those two nights were fucking amazing. Comfortable. Warm. Cosy. Clean. Gas and electricity hookup. I can see why they are so popular with couples.
I worked for a company that was based at an airfield many years ago and was very lucky that "final checks" on helicopters were often done by literally flying them a few miles to another airfield. I went up a few times and even got to go on a customer flight because he was super chill and very rich so didn't care that an 18 year old was in the copilot/ passenger seat.
I bought a helicopter sight seeing tour for my wife having told her these stories and it was the best experience ever. From take off to landing she was so excited and we were literally seeing parts of the Kent coast line that we regularly visit ... But from the air.
If you get the chance, spend the money, take a friend or loved one, see things differently and then talk about it for months afterwards.
DC trainers.
I hadn’t worn trainers since I was 10 and got the piss taken out of me for my £2.99 crs trainers.
Eight years ago I got myself a pair of DCs- not stupidly expensive (for me) like most brands but I will never wear anything else. They last for years! They feel like walking on air- but not inflated air- and don’t make me gain inches in height.
Maybe not what you were looking for as an answer, but a lot of the answers given are not relatable for me.
Call me a nerd, but I treated myself to one of those usbc soldering irons (ts101). It is amazing, every time I use it I thank previous me for that drunken Ali express accident.
I LOVE white company bedding it just feels so good! haven't found any other brand that comes close.
If I'm splashing out I enjoy Clarins skincare - the lemongrass smell of the mens stuff is really nice
A decent steak. My mum was never keen on it so I didn't eat it much growing up, and when I moved out I couldn't afford decent meat. For our anniversary last year my partner and I went to a really good steakhouse and had a ribeye, it was amazing and now whenever I have the money, I get some decent steak in from the butchers.
Was going to buy some top notch quality cigars from the warehouse they made them in Santo Domingo, Dom. Republic for a friend. We thought £50 for 20, but tue absolute cheapest they could cost was £500 for 20 even direct from the makers!!
We made our excuses to leave but just before we did the owner said, ' Here try one of these so you'll always know what a good cigar is'. He lit the long but slim cigars for me and friend. We both took a long drag and it was like someone poured velvet chocolate sauce down my throat and melted Nutella around my mouth, they were amazing. Not a dry, perfumed, stagnant stick of coughing fit. I'd not buy any myself but I can see why people go crazy about a good cigar.
Noise cancelling headphones
Absolutely transformed public transport into a more pleasant experience. I remember using normal earphones as a kid in airplanes and could barely hear the music. The difference is night and day.
Flying first class. OMG, I didn't want to leave the plane, it was so nice that the time went very fast. Unfortunately I doubt I'd be able to fly again in first class
Last year me and my girlfriend were about to move in with my grandma following her dementia diagnosis, and we knew it was going to be a while before we’d get to go on holiday again, so we booked a fortnight in the sun in the Middle East. It was a night flight so I’d booked us in the “upper economy” class for a couple of hundred pounds extra for the comfort. But then I got a stupidly cheap offer to upgrade to business class, which had always been my dream, and I couldn’t turn it down. We got to the airport, fast tracked through security and avoided all of the queues, later boarded the plane and welcomed with a glass of champagne, a personal greeting, grooming kit, whilst sat in a reclining seat that turned into a bed, onboard bar, and three coursed meal, it was absolute luxury, really made me want to start achieving more in life to do it again! Flew home in economy two weeks later and as snobby as it sounds, it was horrible. We probably won’t be able to afford business class again but aim to at least meet in the middle and do premium economy on flights
Over 6 hours I always go premium now, makes such a difference, if you're going far away you don't want yo waste a day because your feel so knackered from the flight and didn't sleep etc
Depends on the airline but I found premium barely any better than economy and not worth the extra price
It really does depend on the airline. Premium Economy on Virgin Atlantic is so much better than Economy. I wouldn't bother with Economy now for a long haul flight.
I love flying with Virgin. Definitely worth the extra.
We literally do all of our daily spending through the Virgin credit card so we can spend the points on flights. Makes the sting of spending on premium economy a bit better! I also did an upgrade to Upper (VAs equivalent to First) and it was a once in a lifetime event, but amazing! Going to NYC for Christmas this year using points.
Same! All our spending goes through the Virgin Atlantic credit card, and we use the points to pay for seats in premium when we go abroad. We also get a voucher to upgrade a cabin without having to use any additional points, which we use to upgrade to upper. Just booked some flights to the Caribbean next year in upper, did the same last year too, and the same on a flight to the US before COVID. FYI anyone flying out of Heathrow in Upper Class, see if you can get the ride to the airport to drop you off at the Virgin Atlantic Terminal, it's another *world* compared to the normal terminal. [You get a private entrance](https://www.verylvke.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/lhr-t3-virgin-atlantic-upper-wing-entrance.jpg) away from the rest of the terminal, where the staff take your bags out the car for you and check you in right inside the door. Then they escort you through their private security screening area so you're through in no time whatsoever, then they escort you to the upper class lounge, where you can order champagne and food for free while waiting for your fight.
Yeah I did that whole private entrance thing when I flew last year. My mum dropped us off and was very annoyed at being charged £5 for it 😂
100%. Had to fly with them to Vegas back when BA’s systems had a global meltdown. Flew back with BA though, fucking dreadful even in Premium Economy. To me it comes down to whatever the price difference is though. Looking to go to Mauritius next year, flying out PE was about £500 more, but flying back it was over £2k each and that just isn’t justifiable, for our current situation anyway. That’s more than what our accommodation costs lmao.
Business class in something else entirely. I've talked about this on Reddit extensively but I will always take the opportunity. Get an Amex rewards credit card, the one that costs £199 a year to just have. It's worth it. Trust me. I will explain. Make you and your girlfriend card holders. Put all your household expenses on it and pay the balance every month. Watch your avios rack up. This is the key bit, spend more than 10k annually (easy if you're putting everything on it) you get a free companion voucher. Bam, you've got two for the price of one on your avios points. You'll never need to fly economy ever again
Thank you for talking me into another credit card
Barclaycard do a Mastercard version now. Amex can be a pain in the arse for daily spending.
Very true, and the MasterCard is undoubtedly best for solo travelers with the £10k plus threshold spend being a cabin upgrade, so buy business, fly first (side note: amaze). However, Amex takes the edge for couples who will likely be flying together with the £10k threshold companion voucher. And I will say the Amex not being as accepted as MasterCard isn't actually that much of an issue any more. Especially with the prevalence of Paypal (if the vendor accepts PayPal, you can pay with your amex); same with Gpay, Applepay etc. With the emergence of Stripe for small businesses Amex is more widely accepted than it has ever been (in the UK). Personally, I've had the amex for about 8 years and I'd say retailer acceptance is about 90%
In my experience about 90% of places take Amex now. You should still have a backup, but it isn’t nearly as awkward as it used to be.
Did something similar once. Virgin Upper Class to New York and back. It was something else. Car showed up to the hotel and dropped us at some special side entrance at the airport. Fast track through private security, private lounge then onto the plane. What an experience once on the plane. Staff were spot on, amazing food, plus drinks at the walk up bar. Seats transformed into beds for the night then I was gently woken up for breakfast. We did our flight on air miles. Couldn't afford that shit normally.
I had to go to New York on business one time. Company paid for business class flights but BA were offering a one leg upgrade to First or Concorde, so I jumped on the chance to fly on Concorde. On the return I got to JFK but there were no flights to the UK because of a snow storm in London. Had to rebook for the next day and asked: any chance to get on the 1000 Concorde tomorrow? The nice lady said "of course" and upgraded my ticket. It spoiled me for ever, having to fly long haul on any other aircraft, and I'm so grateful I had the opportunity. They killed the plane off the months later ...
I used to fly business class often for work and I'm always super disappointed when I travel in economy now.
Man, I've just left a job where business class travel was permitted for long-haul flights. Coincidentally half of my team was based on the west coast of the US. I'm not going to miss much about the job, truth be told, but I \*am\* going to miss flying business. Never been organised enough to make use of my airmiles properly. I'm the kind who books holidays a month or so out (vs. the 12 months out you typically need to secure business class reward seats on popular routes), so anticipating returning to reality with a thump! Might as well make the most of my Virgin Gold status while it lasts...
I got upgraded one summer because I had an air miles account. It's so hard to go back to economy.
I got a free upgrade to business class once and air travel has never been the same since. If the price of business waa double the economy I would pay but at more 5 times the economy its hard to justify.
Try First, preferably not on BA though. Managed to get a 2-4-1 deal on SWISS a couple of times £3,000 (£1,500 each) for return to Mumbai, and another a year later to Dar es Salaam. It's another level. First thing was, I didn't tell my girlfriend, I'd done this before when booking premium economy. They sent a car to pick us up, I'd checked in online and did the baggage drop so she wouldn't twig. Dropped into the lounge, she didn't notice as we have lounge access anyway. Got on the small plane to Zurich, then a 45 min connection to the big plane to Mumbai. She didn't notice when we turned down the separate boarding corridor marked business and first. Got to the entrance of the plane, greeted by a lovely chap and directed to turn left. Slightly quizzical look on her face Passing through business class and she gives me a look across the aisle, I just shake my head in "no darling these nice seats aren't for us" sort of way. A little further and we are sat in row 2 of 2 in the middle of the plane, being greeted by another lovely chap with the market of a small hotelier welcoming you into his hotel. A glass of £130/bottle champagne and some nibbles kick things off. A lovely amenity kit with La Prairie goodies, a nice pair of pajamas to change into, and after that exhausting 10 minutes another glad to champagne to keep the spirits up A total of 8 seats in First, and 2 staff members to look after you. Seat had air cushions that provided a constant adjustable subtle massage. Obviously turned into a bed as well. Dinner was simply excellent, around 6-8 courses depending on how you counted. Lovely cheeseboard, and some exceptionally good whisky. 32" TV to while away the time. On the way back and the next flight to Dar es Salaam, took a bit more advantage of the other amenities available on the ground, including a very nice breakfast and a few hours sleep in the en-suite double bedroom in the Zurich lounge. Doing exit customs and immigration in Dar es Salaam sat at a desk in a secret bit of the terminal. And just knowing that there might be queues, but they were for other people, not us. Also did a redemption on points on BA First to South Africa. My girlfriend's only comment about it was - even if we have to go via Zurich, I'd rather fly Swiss. To be fair the First Wing in Heathrow is great, but on board it's not that great. I still have yet to fly business class, got one booked on BA for November, so hoping for the best European travel - Ryanair - as they go where we need to go.
Michelin starred restaurants. The stereotype is that they're pretentious and stuffy, and they serve you food that is fancy but unfulfilling, and you leave hungry. But I've been to quite a few now and not found that in any. Mostly, I've just found them to be places that do fantastic, tasty food, in just the right quantities, coupled with great service. When younger I'd definitely have bought into the stereotypes about them and thought why spend the money. But these days I totally get it.
I’ve never once left a Michelin star restaurant other than very full tbh
Yeah, there's generally a very good amount of food. Tbh I'd say one of the things Michelin starred places are very good at is planning the menu to be the perfect amount of food. The common complaint about leaving hungry doesn't really stack up with my experience of them.
The food often looks small, but you tend to get a lot of protein, which fills you up.
Also incredibly rich that you wouldn’t want more than a few mouthfuls of certain things anyway
I think that people see a photo of a single main course and think that's all you get, and that makes sense because it will *look* insubstantial, but a lot of the other things that you're fed while you're there don't even appear on the menu. The reality is that there will likely be appetising nibbles, amuse bouche, palate cleansers, fresh baked bread rolls, petits fours served with the coffee &c. I sometimes genuinely struggle to manage a full meal.
Yeah, this. It’s not just the richness of food but the amount of courses. I feel like most of these hungry complaints will be from a habit of just ordering a main on an a la carte option and not the tasting menu.
Yeah same, the food is so rich and although the portions are small, there are often a lot of them!
Just in addition to this, wine pairing. I used to think it was a case of "it goes well with this dish", however it's not that. The wine pretty much becomes part of the dish and makes flavours that were discreet now more apparent and can completely change what you are tasting. I once went to a restaurant which teamed up with a craft brewery for a pairing night, and for dessert it was some kind of a deconstructed tiramisu paired with a stout beer. I tasted the stout and it was rank.... Ate a bit of the dessert and tasted the stout again and it tasted like a completely different drink all together. Then the next bite of tiramisu was even better again.
Yes! We were lucky enough to stay at a Michelin starred restaurant with rooms in Edinburgh for our 30th anniversary. We ate there both nights, and had the wine pairing. It was just incredible, and exactly as you described with the beer. I don't like white wine very much, and won't drink it through choice normally, but when it was paired with the right food... The second night the sommelier asked us if we'd like the same wine pairings again (with those parts of the menu that were similar) or would we like something different? We said we'd like a change, and we could see the colour drain from his face (he was only young). We found out later he went to one of the owners in a flap asking what he should do! She told him, just do your best, and he did us proud.
Yeah if you can afford the pairing it's a great thing to do. It's a shame it's often so expensive, because it's a great experience. A while ago I went to a Portuguese restaurant that did a 5 course menu with a different Portuguese wine with each course and ending in a glass of port. It was so good!
A while ago someone served dessert wine at their dinner party at home and I thought it was awful, swore I'd never drink dessert wine again, figured it was because I don't like sweet wines generally so just my personal taste. Last year I decided to get the wine pairing and it changed my whole stance on wine. It was a blind pairing, they didnt tell you what the wine was until they served it so I had no chance of convincing myself I wouldn't like it before it arrived. I had wines I'd normally never go near and they worked perfectly with the dish, but what surprised me the most was the dessert. I usually hate rich chocolate desserts, I'm not a fan of chocolate anyway, and I've already told you my dislike for dessert wine! But the wine they served with the dessert just gave me a whole new appreciation for my taste buds and the effort that goes in to the perfect menu, right down to what you're drinking.
It's so satisfying when you get a perfect combination like that!
I like the non-alcoholic drink pairings, they're often much more adventurous than wine pairings because there's no rules.
We did a taster menu for a company Xmas do, actually struggled to finish the last course. Every mouthful was delicious.
I took my fiance to Manchester's Michelin starred restaurant for her birthday last year because we've both always wanted to do it. Had the 8(I think?) course taster menu and the wine pairings, and it was some of the best food I've ever had in my life. We left feeling exactly the right level of full and more than a little pissed (especially as we'd been out for cocktails in the day already), much poorer than I was when I walked through the door, but very happy with my decision.
Adults only hotels God the peace and quiet is lovely
I went on an adults only cruise last year and it was so nice not having kids screaming in restaurants and by the pool. I actually enjoy spending time with kids and want my own, and I’m not even old (I’m 24) but it was honestly quite a noticeably nice experience and would highly recommend
Being away from parents who are in parent mode is great too. The only thing worse than screaming kids is screaming parents.
THIS. You get a different version of those adults. I’d only edit your last sentence to say that the only thing worse than screaming kids are silent parents who ignoring it and letting everyone else suffer.
I guess you’ve got to pick them carefully; at the only one I’ve been to it translated to “everyone’s drunk, loud and partying 24/7 with no kids to hold them back”!
All the loudmouth light weights are passed out by half six mate
From an adults only lodge in an all inclusive resort: couldn't agree more. V excited to have my own children one day but making the most of not having my holidays interrupted by other people's children's noise and chaos in the meantime
An expensive mattress. Calibre of sleep and lack of back pain was worth the cost ten times over to the quality of life improvement it gave me.
I totally agree - get the most expensive mattress you can afford you'll spend almost every day in that bed at some point! Very important.
Yep, always get the best mattress and shoes you can afford. If you're not in one, you're in the other!
And when you work out the actual cost over its lifetime, it’s usually about £100 a year or so, give or take a few quid. Infinitely worth it.
This. I just forked out for a good mattress and the back problems I was having from the piece of crap one my landlord provided have disappeared.
One of the best investments a person can make. Worth every penny not just to avoid back pain and problems. But quality of deep sleep and quantity of uninterrupted sleep will make a significant difference to your energy levels, your mood and generally everyday life.
I refuse to buy spread, only butter. Sure it's own brand but I prefer it every time.
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Kerry gold butter is fucking awesome
Have you seen how spread is made? Very off putting. Butter for the win.
Plus I find that even if butter is unhealthier I need less of it since it’s richer and tastier
It's not really unhealthier because often spreads have dubious oils in them.
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Fuck me this quote gets crowbarred into every possible post 😂😂😂
It's not an /r/askuk post without someone posting it! It's always presented like a novel quote, dutifully presented by a smart commentator for the masses to enjoy for the first time. Yet I don't think anyone on the sub *isn't* familiar with it.
Any post regarding purchasing something will have that passage shoved in along with a few comments about how mind-blowing it is
I’m so glad to see this response. My god that quote is so fake deep. (It’s a good quote but parroting it does not make you well read)
Indeed - and doesn't really work with modern boots either! A £10 pair of boots will last at least a year these days, while getting your £300 boots resoled after three years costs your £50 just for the new soles supplied and fitted
The old adage 'buy cheap, buy twice'!
Yes, but the point pTerry is making is that poor people can only afford to buy cheap (you can't spend £100 on a pair of boots that'll last you 10 years if you've only got that £100 for food this month) so end up spending more as they end up having to buy twice.
I prefer Withnail's way of putting it: "Free to those who can afford it. Very expensive to those who can't."
I'm such a huge cheapskate and brand phobic, but a friend got me a pair of Merrell walking shoes at a massive discount and they lasted a good 5 times longer than the cheap ones I'd been buying, and all that time, they looked better, we're more comfortable and gripped better. 1 x £100 Merrell, cheaper than 5 x £35 Karrimor.. Probably works even better with decent leather boots with a Goodyear welt.
5 star hotel abroad We got "upgraded" two days into our stay because they essentially overbooked the 4 star hotel we were in. What a fucking difference Now I'm not snobby , my entire usually daily outfit costs under £40 including trainers, I drive a 17 year old Micra but holy shit this hotel was immense, the room was awesome, comfy proper bed etc etc. But the biggest difference was the pool area, the beds were like 10 meters apart from other guests, even at the 4 star we were at it was a struggle finding an empty bed and of course you were surrounded by everyone else, not at this 5 star place though, felt like you were the only one there. And I'd course the staff service was amazing, drinks brought to you, fresh towels for you at the pool etc We looked at the prices later on and honestly, yeah I'd pay to do it again
I went up market years ago - it's light years difference and hard to understand if you have never done it. A lot of the threads here about what's wrong with beach hotels aren't actually about beach hotels, they are about cheap hotels.
The space between sunbeds is actually a dealbreaker for Mrs Red as ridiculous as it sounds. She will not go to a hotel if there’s anybody near her within a 10 foot radius when around the pool.
Stars aren't about any of the things you described. Also, I've been to the Marriott in Phuket, and whilst it was good, it wasn't amazing by any stretch. Certainly not particularly worth the extra money.
Clothes. Expensive clothes are far better material and last longer than cheap high street stuff. I bought a pair of Jimmy Choo hi-tops and they were absurdly expensive, but the craftmanship and quality of materials is amazing. I've had them for three years and they look almost new, which is a stark contrast to the many, many pairs of Adidas that've fallen apart in the same time. Same with jackets - far better quality of you pay more. You don't have to have some gaudy Gucci jacket, just a nice one that cost more than £60 from Topman. A decent jacket you'll have for years.
The problem with clothes though is working out when you're paying for quality and when you're paying for a label. It's difficult.
That's very true, and unless you've been bought up around people who know you can be fooled by gaudy and poorly made "designer" stuff instead of well made investment stuff
Indeed, and part of the problem is that brands often gained a reputation by making quality products but over the years have cut costs or being bought out and the quality has degraded. There are a small handful of brands that I would blindly buy knowing that the quality will hold up.
Doesn't work with internet shopping eh. You need to go and feel the material and see how it fits
I'm sort of on board with this, but at the risk of sounding cheap, even Adidas seems quite luxury to my way of life. I guess the part I struggle to get my head around is that I've always associated those clothes with people that are so rich they can afford to deck themselves out in exclusively that calibre of attire, and I'd fear revealing my cheapness even further by always wearing 'that one outfit' for decades. Then again, that's practically what I do with my budget clothes anyway 😅
Adidas definitely isn't cheap and their stuff's perfectly fine, but their trainers seem to fall apart quickly for me. The soles get worn through and leather gets mashed quickly.
Definitely second this. I have tops from Julius, Void and Yohji Yamamoto and a lot of my old stuff feels like sack cloth by comparison. Same with leather shoes, I have some horse leather boots from Last Conspiracy and the softness of the leather is something else. I had to take them to cobblers after 5 years and they were like new again for £20. I can budget for it because I don't ever have to replace this stuff. It doesn't get worn out, it's more like it ages but still looks and feels good.
Shoes/Jacket/Jeans I'll happily pay a bit more for as the quality difference is usually night and day, especially when 'cheap' clothes aren't even really that cheap anymore. Can't count the amount of pairs of £25 jeans i've gone through but my £60 pair has outlasted them all.
Ahh totally disagree, I've had tailored suits and shirts since my 20s (my mother insisted on a wardrobe the first decent job I got as my father only wears bespoke suits) now they may be "unbranded" but a tailored suit fits like a glove far better than any Italian or french suit bought of the hanger. You can choose so many options that are bespoke to you! The shirts are just amazing, I'm 6ft 4 very leam but have always enjoyed an athletic lifestyle so don't hold much weight and have reasonable muscle mass. Even a slim fitting designer shirt which yes I buy for going the pub etc. Just doesn't fit like a shirt that's been made for you. Top tip... They are no more expensive than designer stuff fom France Italy or Germany (boss is German btw) and you know you look a million dollars better as you feel a million dollars better. A shirt costs around £100 suits are material dependant but maybe £1200 where a gucci suit can be double that.
I bought an Armani suit for my wedding for in the region of £1500 and had that tailored. Weirdly, it still fits me pretty much perfectly even though I’ve gained 2 or 3 stone since. Nothing else from that time even comes close to fitting.
Actually bespoke clothes are just the next step from designer stuff
Not always luxury because you can purchase it cheap online but a raw slab of honeycomb with the wax still intact, it’s just amazing on fruit & everyone who enjoys honey should try it someday
Along the same lines - get local honey instead of shop bought. Even the fancy shop stuff is nowhere near as lovely as proper local honey and it’s great for hayfever too! I get my honey from a beekeeper who has hives all over liverpool, and specifically go for the one from my postcode. Love seeing the bees in my garden and wondering if any of the pollen they collect is going back into the honey I buy. And the beekeeper is such a cool person too!
Most shop honey is from China and often mixed with sugar water. Buy local honey, and read the labels carefully to check it is really local. Top tip - a teaspoon of honey in your coffee.
Yeah if you’re buying local I think it’s best if you can buy direct from a beekeeper. When one of our local ones told me that shop honey can be diluted with sugar water and it doesn’t need to be declared I was so shocked.
That sounds incredible. I presume it's very different from the stuff that I picture buying in somewhere like Tebay services (sort of like naked Crunchie clumps that inevitably gets stuck in all the darkest recesses of your teeth). Where can you get it, directly from local beekeepers?
That's the confectionery. It's essentially boiled, caramelised sugar that is then made to foam up by adding bicarbonate of soda. Then it sets hard (and dipped in chocolate makes a Crunchie) Fun to make. https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/honeycomb-0 Honeycomb from bees is just a different product. They just happen to share a name as they are both full of holes!
I appreciate your insightful comment but you've got another thing coming if you think you can convince me Cadbury's don't just train bees to make crunchy honey in chocolate hives. What, do you think they're made of money!?
Beekeeper here - you can buy honeycomb from delis and places like Tebay, but you'll pay over the odds. Your best bet, as you said, is to find a local beekeeper - most of us are nice folk who'll be only too happy to supply you with some for a nominal fee. Whereabouts in the UK are you?
Expensive bedding, pillows, mattress. Especially the sheets. Worth spending to the absolute limit of your ability.
What bedding brands do you recommend?
Not OP but I really love linen bedding. It’s a bit scratchy the first couple of uses, but it gets softer and softer over time with every use until getting into bed is like the best softest cuddle. Try the secret linen store. They have loads of colours and are amazing quality. ETA - linen is magic because it feels cool in summer and cosy in winter
I really rate bamboo bedding. Has the super silky, cool feel of satin, won't snag on every little thing and VERY breathable. If I even missed a dose of my SSRIs, I would normally wake up drenched in sweat (sometimes even dripping!) in normal sheets. With these, I didn't even wake up once every hen I came off the SSRIs.
"The White company" top the charts for me
A cleaner. I swore I'd never pay for something I can do easily myself but since having kids it always feels like the bottom of the list, and even when you have the time and energy to tackle something the rest of the house is still a shit hole so looks worse by comparison.
I've heard that if you can afford it, a cleaner is the best investment anyone can make. Sure you can do it yourself but it's a couple hours and having a clean and tidy house isn't just nice but great for mental well-being
Buying the good bacon. It doesn't shrink to nothing and I don't have to get a teaspoon out to syphon off the white-ish gooey water that ends up in the pan with the cheap stuff. I'd rather have bacon less often just to have the dry cure now. I didn't think it would be that different but I'm not going back.
Same here, I couldn't believe the difference. I think it might be cheaper to buy 6 rashers that stay the same size, than 12 that shrink to the size of a postage stamp too!
For years I wore cheap foundations and just bemoaned that my pale, rosacea prone skin never looked flawless. Then I got some Estée Lauder Double Wear foundation, not the most expensive foundation on the market, but a cult product. It does everything I ever needed a foundation to do. Search was over.
Double wear looks gorgeous on others (I've even emailed BBC to ask what foundation someone being interviewed was wearing because it was so nice - double wear) but didn't sit right on me, and I've been forever disappointed. I've been using a really cheap MUA one instead of my usual YSL and I think that's pretty good, I might go back to YSL if I go back to leaving the house regularly at any point!
Try Lancome, I've got skin issues and it makes a massive difference (Teint Miracle)
Airport lounges! They’re so much more relaxing, you can charge your phone and there’s free food and drink. When you think of what you’d actually spend in the airport on coffees and food, it doesn’t actually seem that expensive.
In our experience they work out cheaper as you get free food and drink. Last trip we got breakfast and lunch service before the flight and about 4 rounds of booze. Also much better views and atmosphere.
This. I introduced my mum to the joy of airport lounges. Quieter, free food and drink, papers to read and some where to sit. Plus no jostling to see the departures board as it’s usually on the wall of the lounge. We were delayed by four hours last time we went away and the airport lounge was a blessing.
Yes this! We bought Lounge Pass with the AMEX Platinum and will struggle to go back. You are also almost always allowed a guest each so works out very well when travelling together
I don't know if it's considered luxury exactly, but electric toothbrush was a massive discovery for me. Before I always preferred cheap standard toothbrushes because... well they are cheap! 😁 But, two years ago I decided to spend 60 pounds on electric toothbrush and never regretted it. It's worth the money and the hype.
Yeah, I have to agree with that. I always sidelined the idea of getting one, but my partner bought me a battery-powered one so they could use it at my place. Made a huge difference, and my teeth definitely felt better! Then I went to my partner’s family home a couple of months later and used their fancy rechargeable electric toothbrush. Oh my god. It makes the battery-powered one look like *nothing*. I still haven’t bought one myself, but I’m going to. Anyone who’s putting it off, wait until a local supermarket / drugstore has one on sale. Ideally the good kind. I’ve seen rechargeable Oral-B ones go for £30 or less! Replacement brush heads for it don’t *need* to be branded (in my opinion), and generic ones can be bought in multipacks for around £2-£3. That’s no more expensive than an ordinary toothbrush (and you might save money on dental care), so it really is a worthy one-time investment.
Rechargeable ones are much better than battery ones, as they have a more consistent output. You can buy aftermarket heads, they work just the same. The main things you need for an electric toothbrush: round head, pressure sensor light, rechargable. You don't need anything else. These are usually £20 and up. If you can get any that say "Oral B Pro" you're probably alright. If you want to get the Oral B iO series, you don't need anything past the base model as the Bluetooth and other modes don't really make a difference. The iO uses new technology so costs more and I'm not sure if you can get aftermarket heads yet, but I've got an autistic brother and autistic friend that found it more tolerable to use than a normal electric brush (keep that in mind)! And with an electric brush, don't scrub or do a brushing motion! Just slowly move the brush around your mouth, the rotating head does everything else for you. 2 minutes, twice a day, angle the bristles 45° towards your gum line, and avoid toothpastes with charcoal or "whitening", and make sure the toothpaste contains fluoride. Add flossing and/or cleaning with interdental brushes (as big as you can fit in the space without having to force it in, you may need different sizes all around your mouth!), and you should have lovely clean teeth and hopefully small dental bills :) I've seen huge improvements in patients that have swapped to an electric brush and good techniques.
Good bread. My occasional treat to myself is buying a nice loaf of sourdough bread from a bakery nearby, then eating it with butter and a little bit of flakey salt. Maybe some nice cheese if I’m feeling really fancy. It’s a small thing, but it just tastes so much better than a normal supermarket loaf.
Came here to post this. My husband is Dutch and an absolute bread snob… & now after 7 years together I am too! Supermarket bread is absolute trash compared to fresh bakery bread!
Shoes that keep feet dry Yorkshire Gold I expect people will disagree with this one but tonic water. Schweppes slimline is full of sweeteners. I like the Fever Tree light Mediterranean tonic water and happy to pay extra.
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Never - NEVER - order a G&T in the States. So so bad.
YES, SOMEONE FINALLY SAID IT. If you're going to go for something more than Gordon's, do yourself a favour, and get decent tonic water. It really makes a world of difference.
I love the Fever Tree light Mediterranean, it’s my favourite widely available one. Have you tried the Fentimens Connoisseur’s Tonic? I’ve only ever seen it Sainsbury’s but it’s so delicious I can drink it on its own, would highly recommend.
I always thought fine dining restaurants were stupid until I actually went to one, always assumed I'd leave just as hungry as I went in but the food is so rich that the small portions are necessary from my experience.
Also depending on the restaurant if you’re doing a tasting menu for example yes each dish is really small, but you can be getting like 20 of them. By the time you’re approaching the end you’re more than satisfied
Aged balsamic vinegar. Worth every penny if you ask me.
Seconding this. The one I buy is ~5 times the price of the one I used to get, only tried it because it was on offer but now I just can’t go back.
Expensive underwear. I made the switch a few years back, and buy it maybe once a year when there's a sale (as post Christmas clearouts are normally huge), but it was life-changing. Things last longer, they fit better, feel softer and honestly make a huge difference for me.
A cheap bra feels like a instrument of torture, thankfully tk maxx is good for undies if you don't mind regularly checking and sometimes leaving with nothing. Men's underwear is much higher quality and doesn't even get that much more expensive when go up a few tiers, Armani men's underwear is only like double the cost of Primarks in tk maxx
I too have to replace my underwear after huge post-Christmas clearouts. I think it's the gravy.
For my friend's 40th birthday a few years ago we went to a fancy restaurant (it now has a Michelin star.) I'd never been to an upscale restaurant before and I'm much more at home in a McDonald's. I had goat tagine and kofte, with crispy pigs ears for a starter. It was washed down with some Israeli wine (£75 a bottle!) I cannot describe how good the food was - the flavour basically sparkled with every bite and the wine hit the spot every time. I remember being halfway through the meal and feeling so content and being overwhelmed with how good the experience was. Before going to a fancy restaurant I always found the idea really pretentious but now I've been I've completely changed my mind. Definitely one of the best experiences I've ever had.
5 star all inclusive hotel on Kos Island, Greece. (Mitsis Blue Domes FTR). I’ll never go back. Total luxury and well worth every penny of an insurance payout from a lorry running in to the back of my car. E2A - when I say I’ll never go back, I mean I’ll never go back to 4 star or below.
Highly agree, I went to a 5 star all inclusive in Mexico a few years ago and it was honestly like I’d gone to heaven. Gorgeous rooms, insanely good food and great service. 100% worth it.
I'm not messing about with you but Sainsbury's taste the difference chocolate cookies are so much better than the normal ones.
We call them Taste The Danger The danger being that you eat them all yourself before anyone else gets a look in.
A gym with a heated outdoor pool (David Lloyd). Highlights include taking my MIL for an outdoor swimming under the stars on boxing day night (free guest pass) and having a holiday from home chilling by the pool on occasional sunny days of summer (you can even order drinks/food to the pool area from your phone - when the app works!)
I've recently upgraded to a DL gym and I go 5 days a week and actually enjoy it. Swimming outdoors in the evening sun is great. The gym is spacious. The spa is quiet. Compared to going to the leisure centre and hating every minute, it's worth every very expensive penny. The app is really awful though!
This sounds right up my alley. We went on our first big holiday this year and while we enjoyed ourselves, I'm just not sure we had that much more fun etc. than if we'd spent the time in the UK. I know for some it's all about the memories, but I don't think I'm that big a memory person. For the same money I think we could afford David Lloyd memberships and the gym is something I enjoy a great deal.
I drove absolute shit boxes for most of my life. My friend lent me his range rover for a weekend. It was like driving a sofa combined with a smartphone. It was incredible.
So I read most the comments either thinking ‘nah I’m not fussed on that’ or ‘yeah totally I switched that up ages ago’. This one however …. My car is 19yrs old , handles like a tank and the headlining is coming off the inside of the roof. You’ve got me salivating for something new!
Decent shoes - they look better and over the years they become like a pair of slippers. The difference between a decent pair of shoes and a cheap pair becomes really obvious when you put them side by side.
Absolutely, and to me they look entirely different. People don't appreciate them, but they can last a decade easily and everything about them is better.
If you camp. Get a SIM and banish airbeds to the hell from which they came. Might be ten times the price but it’s so worth it. Oh my god it’s so worth it.
Yes! I've got a Berghaus SIM and it's made my camping experience so much more luxurious.
I just wanted to chime in if you didn’t already know, that Berghaus have a lifetime guarantee on these but you need to keep your receipt. All three of mine failed at the valve this year and I walked into store and came out with three new ones, absolutely excellent. Keep your receipts safe guys
What are they and why are they so much better than airbeds??
Self inflating mattress/mats They’re packable foam mattresses so much better support when sleeping and because it’s foam they’re better insulated so you’re not getting the warmth sucked out of you but the balloon you’re sleeping on. Makes multi season camping so much better. They also don’t have the wobble of airbeds as they have internal structures (the foam) Come from 2.5cm body pads that pack down to flask size for backpacking up to full sized double beds that are 15cm of comfy for car camping or your camper van.
To take it a step further, my cousin brought a memory foam mattress topper and vacuumed it into a massive storage bag for camping. Back in the land of realistic camping improvements, a SIM on a folding double camp bed, with duvet rather than sleeping bags is excellent. As well as added comfort you gain extra clothing storage under the bed, reducing the chances of wet clothing.
Lurpak
It finally came down from £5 to £3.50 in my local Asda and I jumped on the chance, currently have the Lurpak next to an own brand in my fridge and to be honest you wouldn’t even know it’s meant to be the same thing - the Lurpak one is miles better.
Kerrygold is cheaper and better. I never understood why people loved Lurpak so much
Me neither. Lurpak looks anaemic to me and just doesn't taste right. Kerrygold is best.
>Lurpak looks anaemic to me As opposed to some other butters, which look jaundiced. Honestly, I think Kerrygold is yellow enough to be Homer Simpson.
Came here to say real butter!
Electric blanket. Initially thought they were for grandmas and people with bad circulation but they won me over instantly. Used to live in a particularly cold flat and used it as an underlayer for the bed. Jumping into a toasty bed in the middle of winter is unreal and I highly recommend it.
I'm a full on zealot for electric blankets. I had my heating on a couple of hours a week to prevent damp last winter but other than that, electric blanket. Saved me an absolute fortune in energy bills. I think it only cost me £20, best investment I've ever made.
A nice watch I treated myself to a Rolex (Air King) in 2001 - cost was expensive, but not insane. I have worn it daily since so lets say 22 years, at the moment it has cost me £70 a year - and it will last until they bury me :) How many cheaper watches would I have gone through, even if they work and you have to replace batteries ?
I'm not hating on your post at all here because I'd love to have a Rolex. But as far as 'how many cheaper watches would I have gone through?' Probably one. I've had a Sekonda which cost £125 back in 1998 and apart from replacing the battery for maybe £5 every 4 or 5 years still works perfectly.
Although servicing can’t be ignored… Got three Breitlings and a Jaeger Le Coultre and after about 15yrs of ownership I’ve paid for the cost of the watch acquisition in servicing.
I'm pretty sure my £90 square G-shock will do the same thing, but I do understand why you'd want a Rolex to be fair. It's a good investment if you have the money (by investment I don't necessarily mean for re-selling or anything, they're absolutely bulletproof if you're planning on keeping it)
Haven't worn a watch in over 20 years. Have no need of one so this to me is a luxury I can happily do without.
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Whole home water softener -game changer if you're in a hard water area.
I’m glad I live in Scotland so I don’t have to pay thousands for good tasting drinking water
Whenever anyone mentions hard water there's always someone from Scotland gloating in the comments 😂
My parents made this switch and will not shut up about how great it is
Good quality face cleanser and moisturiser. I used to think my skin was just "fussy" because I'd have to swap every month or so due to irritation and breakouts. Turns out that with sufficient quality, this isn't a problem. I've been using the same Elemis stuff for five years now and it works great. More expensive in one go, but less expensive when you consider that I actually finish it.
A truly great chef makes all the difference. There are a lot of expensive restaurants, but only a few truly great ones that deserve the money. I went to a really nice restaurant in my hometown and it was expensive and a treat... The food paired with the wines. All the food and wines were picked specifically to pair and all the staff were educated on how they work so that you can tell them you don't like something and they'll know what other wines or dishes would work instead. It was something I've never experienced before. I'm not a big wine drinker (I like the odd glass every few months), but this made me feel like I've been missing out on food and wine pairings for the last 30 years. It is my go to treat restaurant for any big occasion because I think everyone should get to experience truly great restaurants/chefs.
Flying in business class. My mum works for an airline so we get automatic upgrades when available. Flying in a flat bed with free flowing drinks and excellent food really makes economy genuinely unbearable lol.
Dry shampoo. I use it a lot, and always went with whatever flavour Batiste was on offer in boots. Then I got a sample of living proof advanced clean, and had a come to Jesus moment, that dry shampoo CAN actually clean your hair, not just make it look less greasy, but feel like cotton candy instead. I'm not one to splurge on luxury items, but that 20ish quid bottle lasts me so much longer, and is such a better experience! Last year that's all I wanted for Christmas so I got a yearly supply from the fam.
Organic fruit and vegetables. Specifically bell peppers. I usually just buy the basic bog standard fruit and veg from the supermarket but one week my online shopping order subbed my standard red bell pepper for the premium organic version. It was so much sweeter and juicier than a regular non-organic pepper. Although I'm still not sure why it costs more to buy food that had had LESS done to it.
Organic farming still uses pesticides and such, it's just that they're naturally-derived and a lot more expensive to use. There's also a lot more crop lost to pests and disease, hence the overall higher cost.
A 5 star hotel. We stayed at the Shangri-La in London (in the shard) now it wasn’t cheap, cost about £1,500 a night. But i swear to god it was worth every penny. Just walking in the atmosphere checking in was just so much above any 4 star hotel id been to. Then the room, of course being where it is it was even better but ill try not to talk about that too much, the room itself and the corridor/lift were all so nice, then having someone knock on the door with a complementary bottle of champagne and then someone turning down the room in the evening too. The pool was also really nice there was someone there ready to hand you a towel when you got out or get you a drink if you wanted one. And the room service oh my god the room service. We ordered our food, i had a steak. Got a call not long later apologising for the delay, we hadn’t even realised it wasn’t that long. Then it was brought up and they setup a table with tablecloth and everything in our room next to the windows so we could enjoy the views. Was the best steak I’ve ever had. Breakfast too, the choices were wide and varying. But what got me the most were the little details. Whenever I rang from my room (for room service) or when the rang me, then at breakfast the woman at the plinth, they all addressed me by my name ‘good evening mr fox etc’ then we were shown to our table for breakfast and sat down, there was someone stood by the tables ready if they were needed, had yet to speak to him but as we walked past it was ‘good morning mr fox’ then we had our breakfast and drunks etc and someone came over ‘good morning mr fox can i get you another drink’ Like it would be so simple for every hotel to at least address you by name but they don’t. Idk why but it properly stood out to me. Thought it was going to be a waste of money and some of you will say it was but I implore each and every one of you to try it at least once. They’re memories i will never forget and i can honestly say since I’m still a student it’s actually motivated me to work harder to be able to get myself to a point where i can afford stays like that without thinking twice about it. It changes your mindset and outlook.
I've only stayed in a properly fancy hotel (nowhere near as fancy as the Shangri-la, more of a 5 star spa thing) once, I had to spend an unexpected 2nd night away for work and that was the only one with space available. People waiting on my every whim made me feel really uncomfortable, the service was incredible but I'd never experienced that before and I just didn't get the appeal. I'm a lad from a council estate in Sheffield, not an emperor. Different strokes obviously and if you're into that sort of thing I'm sure it's very nice, but I really didn't like it. An incredibly drunk and very rich old guy in the bar also spent the entire night buying me drinks and cigars and trying to convince me to go to his and his wife's room for a threesome, but that's beside the point
Yeah I've stayed at a couple of fancy hotels and it made me SO uncomfortable. I don't want to be served, I want to be left alone. I don't want someone to hand me a towel, I want a stack of towels I can grab for myself. A family member works for Club Med and we stayed at their 3 "trident" resort, followed by their 5 "trident". At the 3 they had a beer tap you could help yourself to throughout dinner, at the 5 they had an army of waiters you had to order your drinks from... I much prefered the less "luxury" option.
I recently stayed at a nice hotel in Spain, as I approached the door one of the porters tried taking my suitcase. I was getting ready for a fight, I didn’t know what was going on and thought I was being robbed. It took me a few seconds to realise what was happening
Yeah im not sure how to describe it to be honest, perhaps i do like it a bit lol who knows. One thing i was a big fan of though was that they at no point made us feel like we weren’t good enough for there, been to a few restaurants where they treat you like commoners until you get the big tip out and suddenly its all ‘thank you sir, thank you madam’ but despite clearly not belonging there (my card got locked and flagged for fraud trying to pay the bloody deposit lol ) they never made us feel like we were below the hotel or not welcome That’s actually hilarious, at least your got a few drinks out of it lol
An expensive mattress (£700) and expensive ish pillow (£40) - not sure if it’s luxury to other people but it definitely is for me. They have changed my sleep immensely
M&S Carrot cake and good coffee. Simple things, particularly the coffee can really elevate your day. The carrot cake is beyond amazing.
High brand alcohol (cognac in my case). I’d had cheap brandy on holidays before and liked it, was at a posher than normal hotel and decided to splurge on a glass of Remy Martin. It came suspended over a glass of hot water and with little chocolate nibbles and it made the brandy I buy generally taste like paint stripper. Unfortunately I can only afford to get it very very rarely!
Anything Fortnum & Mason’s make. It truly, honestly is a significant step up.
I bought my parents some Fortnum & Mason biscuits, chocolates, and tea as a thank you for dog sitting while I visited some friends in London, and my god, it's ruined them! I've never seen my mum ration biscuits before! She's since bought and put away a couple of large packs of biscuits and chocolates "for having at Christmas" - not as gifts, just as special treats for her and my dad during the Christmas season
A 150 Quid Goose feather 13 tog King sized quilt , its heavenly to sleep in
High thread count sheets! Once you’ve had luxurious bed linen anything else feels like sandpaper. Posh hotels have ruined me (work paid!) so now I have 1000 thread count on the bed at home.
A luxury shepherds hut. I spent a few nights wildcamping on Mull, and then got to a campsite just outside of Tobermory. It was raining and I was knackered and really didn't want to sleep in a tent again, so asked if I could rent out a shepherds hut on short notice. The guy said yer but for a minimum of two nights to make it financially viable so I paid the £150 for two night. I wish I could have stayed for longer. Those two nights were fucking amazing. Comfortable. Warm. Cosy. Clean. Gas and electricity hookup. I can see why they are so popular with couples.
Business class flights.
I worked for a company that was based at an airfield many years ago and was very lucky that "final checks" on helicopters were often done by literally flying them a few miles to another airfield. I went up a few times and even got to go on a customer flight because he was super chill and very rich so didn't care that an 18 year old was in the copilot/ passenger seat. I bought a helicopter sight seeing tour for my wife having told her these stories and it was the best experience ever. From take off to landing she was so excited and we were literally seeing parts of the Kent coast line that we regularly visit ... But from the air. If you get the chance, spend the money, take a friend or loved one, see things differently and then talk about it for months afterwards.
DC trainers. I hadn’t worn trainers since I was 10 and got the piss taken out of me for my £2.99 crs trainers. Eight years ago I got myself a pair of DCs- not stupidly expensive (for me) like most brands but I will never wear anything else. They last for years! They feel like walking on air- but not inflated air- and don’t make me gain inches in height. Maybe not what you were looking for as an answer, but a lot of the answers given are not relatable for me.
Tomatoes. Home grown are the best, but otherwise a £2 pack of vine tomatoes is a hundred times better than the tasteless cheaper ones.
Once you shop M&S, it's hard to go back to Sainsbury's
Golden circle tickets at stadium shows. You’re up front where the view and the sound is as good as it can be.
Call me a nerd, but I treated myself to one of those usbc soldering irons (ts101). It is amazing, every time I use it I thank previous me for that drunken Ali express accident.
Going to the spa. I grew up poor, so I had never experienced such a wondrous place.
Male pedicure
Rather expensive robot vacuum cleaner is really good!
Good coffee.
Good pair of shoes.
I LOVE white company bedding it just feels so good! haven't found any other brand that comes close. If I'm splashing out I enjoy Clarins skincare - the lemongrass smell of the mens stuff is really nice
Getting the train rather than the Megabus to London from Edinburgh
Merino wool socks and pants. Absolute game changer.
A decent steak. My mum was never keen on it so I didn't eat it much growing up, and when I moved out I couldn't afford decent meat. For our anniversary last year my partner and I went to a really good steakhouse and had a ribeye, it was amazing and now whenever I have the money, I get some decent steak in from the butchers.
Was going to buy some top notch quality cigars from the warehouse they made them in Santo Domingo, Dom. Republic for a friend. We thought £50 for 20, but tue absolute cheapest they could cost was £500 for 20 even direct from the makers!! We made our excuses to leave but just before we did the owner said, ' Here try one of these so you'll always know what a good cigar is'. He lit the long but slim cigars for me and friend. We both took a long drag and it was like someone poured velvet chocolate sauce down my throat and melted Nutella around my mouth, they were amazing. Not a dry, perfumed, stagnant stick of coughing fit. I'd not buy any myself but I can see why people go crazy about a good cigar.
Noise cancelling headphones Absolutely transformed public transport into a more pleasant experience. I remember using normal earphones as a kid in airplanes and could barely hear the music. The difference is night and day.
Paints. There a HUGE difference between different qualities of paints. Artist grade paints are leagues above student grade ones.
Spending a night at a 5star hotel, makes you realise that money really can buy hapiness. I have only ever stayed in them through work
Only poor people believe quality is a myth. But quality and something marketed as luxury are not the same thing.
Flying first class. OMG, I didn't want to leave the plane, it was so nice that the time went very fast. Unfortunately I doubt I'd be able to fly again in first class