Travel Hacking a Weekend to Saut Hermés
Have you missed me? I’ve missed making TikToks, if I’m being honest. Is the Little Red Book content over? Is it safe to return?
Today marks ~2 months since I quit TikTok, but exactly 1 month since we moved across the pond to Portugal, and in the meantime it’s been hectic getting settled in a new country while still working remotely, but we have taken 2 low cost carrier trips already! We just got back from Marrakech on Ryanair ($16.99 Euro each way, rave review from my end + Delta Stays credit from the Delta Amex Reserve covering all but $27 of our 3 night, 4 star hotel stay) and currently on AF/KLM LCC subsidiary Transavia to Paris. I am falling deeply in love with European LCCs and can’t wait to fly to every destination from my home airport.
Google search or wild hair, not sure how I ended up here, but 2 weeks ago I discovered Saut Hermés, an equestrian jumping event for the best of the best - 5* jumpers and the best under 25 - from around the globe. I will take any excuse to hop on a flight to Paris, and with approximately 10 flights PER day to ORY from my airport, it was easy as cake to book.
Getting to Saut Hermés
We took Transavia, a subsidiary of AF/KLM to get to Paris. You can earn 200 flying blue XP when you fly (meh..) but otherwise cannot use Skyteam status for benefits. It is a low cost carrier, with only a free personal item included, so everything costs, but strangely the seats are free at check in - even at the front of the plane. You cannot book poor man’s first (the software will stop you) when flying with a partner, but you can book aisles opposite each other, which is what we did.
They never weighed, and ended up lax on the size - surprisingly
The 2 hour flight was 41 Euro to Paris, 92 back, so 133 Euro per person roundtrip. It was an additional 27 Euro per way for the carry on (which states 55x35x25 cm and 10 kg total (personal item + carry on), but they allowed our “The Bigger Carry On” from Away and never checked the weight).
As you can see, I did not take the 6am flight there or 10pm flight back, nor did I fly into BVA on RyanAir (thanks, Pat, for the heads up). This trip can be done for a lot cheaper - probably half price - if taken at the right time, due to competition. I expect this to be true from most European cities, as traffic to Paris is high.
Generally, seat comfort and leg room rivaled Air Asia or Spirit - which is really pretty bad - but they had ACTUAL CHAMPAGNE ON BOARD for 15 euro. So my opinion was initially a 3/10, perhaps now 6/10 due to the champagne. French carriers really never disappoint in the wine department.
The type of amenity cash cannot typically buy onboard..
Saut Hermés in Style Means..
That’s right, The Park Hyatt Paris Vendome.
Though most Hyatt heads online prefer the Madeleine - good, let them - I stayed there during the Olympics last year and was not impressed. It can be difficult to fork out the points for a stay at the Park Hyatt, but this time it was worth it because..
They upgraded us to the Ambassador Suite.
Typically this room will run you around $5k per night, and it’s not bookable with an SUA or points as a premium suite. To be clear, this was the upgrade of a lifetime.
I have no idea why the Park Hyatt upgraded us, but here are the facts:
I have Globalist status, since about August 2024
When I tried checking in online, they upgraded us to a “King Deluxe”, the same room we were upgraded to in February 2024, but the check in had “some issues” and “couldn’t complete online”
We stayed here for the weekend in February 2025, so it’s our second visit in ~5 weeks
We spoke with the front desk on the way to the hotel about dinner at Pur and a massage
When we arrived, she told us she “just gave away the last reservation at Pur to a couple” and I said “I hope it’s us!” - It was! The massage, however, could not be booked. I was absolutely grateful of the outcome, knowing both requests were over the top
We spoke a bit about our recent move to Europe and that we were here for Saut Hermés
Next thing we know? Boom - we have a second surprise for you, an upgrade to the Ambassador Suite
So sorry, no hack to share on this part. I really don’t know why they upgraded us, but we were so, so, so grateful and excited. As Alina was telling us about the suite, I informed her that I already knew most of the details as I had carefully reviewed all room types online.
Pre-tax and fees, this room is typically around $5k per night
As Globalists, we receive free breakfast daily, which at the PH Paris-Vendome means:
In the restaurant or
In your room, and
Any time of day
Anything you want off the menu
It’s a very generous policy and one of the reasons I continue to return. Breakfast in bed on schedule for free anytime of day is an insanely generous offer.
Free Globalist breakfast - order whatever breakfast you want, where ever you want, whenever you want
Additionally, the spa amenities (steam room, sauna, showers, whirlpool) are free and available to guests from 7am-10pm daily, making this a shoe in for us as a couple. Yes, the Madeleine has a steam room, but the amenities are subpar in comparison.
75,000 points for 2 nights in an Ambassador suite? Worth every point.
As for PUR?
Is this how they “get you”? It was certainly my idea before the upgrade, and this is not hackable in any way, but..
It was an insanely delightful experience. In fact, it was better than either of my visits to Central (Lima, Peru) in 2022 or 2023. We ordered the 8 course dish with wine pairings, and the sommelier, Colleen, was extremely knowledgable. The pairings were absolute perfection. They truly elevated the dish, which is what a successful pairing should do.
I highly recommend making a reservation for yourself. And by the way, 8 courses was more like 14 by the time all the freebies were thrown in. I could not eat another bite by the end.
Attending Saut Hermés
If you want to see better coverage, check out this WSJ article on this year’s Saut Hermés!
Saut Hermés offers tickets to the public from 60 Euro. There are 4 main tickets: Friday, Saturday morning, Saturday evening and Sunday. Each event is somewhere in the range of 6-8 hours long, so strap in.
We missed the initial ticket drop on their site and were relegated to resale, costing us nearly $200 per person after resale value and all fees. Next year, we’ll get in line early.
The event itself is comparable to an Olympic event, a showcase of sorts of the best of the best. Although we were too tall to ride the ponies or participate in the kids’ event (a competition involving shooting arrows into targets while riding a pony!) we did enjoy the VR horseriding and normally priced food/bev (9 euro for a presunto baguette, 14 for a coupe of champagne). Additionally, Hermés set up a “Librarie” with books for sale, including Hermés-specific books (20%) and horseriding books (80%), starting at 6.50 Euro per book. Each purchase was packed into a signature orange Hermés shopping bag.
Watching the jumping events in person was really inspiring - the horses are so majestic! But really, the VR sold me on the fact that I might.. want to give horse riding another serious try?
Overall it was a fun event, and even more fun if you have kids to bring along. It’s not high octane fun like the Sonoma Raceway event with Delta, but laid back European fun for the family. I’ll probably be back in a few years when I have kids to bring along.
All in all, I am loving new low cost carrier adventures in Europe and will continue to report back on prices, specifications, tips and tricks around them. So far, they are not living up to their “extremely strict” reputation. Each carrier has been relaxed on sizing and weight, despite their websites, and the crew have been fun and professional. Food and beverage offerings have been reasonably priced and delicious (like Stroopwaffel on Ryanair?!).
The blog isn’t the same as TikTok but thanks for following along - once I get into the groove, some more technical data analyses can follow. I’m still tracking everything in excel.
