I got to experience how the ultra-rich live on NYC's Billionaires' Row. I was shocked at how comfortable Central Park Tower felt and how curated every aspect of living there was.

The building is just over a mile away from the humble 300-square-foot one-bedroom apartment my partner and I rent for $3,400 per month — but it felt like an entirely different planet up in the clouds.

By contrast, available condos here start at $6.5 million for a nearly 1,900-square-foot two-bedroom.

For a moment, just before arriving, I forgot I was about to walk into a building only affordable to the world's richest residents, where a 17,500-square-foot home in the sky is currently listed for $250 million. 

As I approached the building, I noticed a hot-dog cart served tourists nearby, orange construction cones blocked off a portion of the sidewalk under renovation, and passersby headed into a diner a few doors down. Outside, the scent of Midtown in summer — an eclectic mix of food, dirt, and other smells baking in the humidity — wafted around me.

The building's lobby is drenched with elements of Art Deco design: metallics and stone hues, and a motif of strong symmetrical angles combined with eccentric curved lines. I felt like I could be walking onto a set for "The Great Gatsby."

It's not just the building's design that evokes a time of great wealth. Indeed, these buildings are a sign of a new gilded era, Wall Street Journal reporter and author Katherine Clarke writes in her book "Billionaires' Row," released earlier this month, about the collection of skyscrapers. 

"To gaze south from New York City's Central Park these days is to look upon a physical manifestation of global wealth," she wrote. "Though these buildings have dramatically reshaped the city's iconic skyline, the average New Yorker will likely never set foot in any of them." 

There was also a huge movie theater and a lounge exclusively for tweens.  

I imagined the opulent birthday parties I could plan if I lived there, and how nice it would be to chill out there after an international flight on my imaginary private jet. 

"It's very important that a space like this be busy and alive. When you go to the nightclub, and the dance floor is empty, you feel like you're backing the wrong horse," Cowie told me. "So we have social members. We invite gorgeous people to come up, interesting people to talk to, and it becomes very social for everyone." 

Central Park Club has hosted events with celebrities like Angela Bassett and "Hamilton" star Lexi Lawson.

"Luxury is not a product anymore," Cowie told Insider about his vision for Central Park Club. "Today, it's how it makes you feel. I think luxury is what you smell, touch, taste, and hear in harmony with one another."

One thing's for sure: the building's residents want for nothing.