A white Tesla Model X – the “safest, quickest, most capable SUV ever” – pulled up to the entrance of the hotel. The falcon wing doors (we call them suicide doors) opened skywards. A tiny girl with a tiny outfit stepped out with black platform booties and another girl, mostly matching in style, followed her. A boyfriend or a photographer or a servant gathered their luggage.

It was 2 p.m., Aug. 8. I was at the opening of the pop-up Taco Bell hotel, The Bell, in Palm Springs (we paid $250 for a one-night stay). I paced back and forth in front of the entrance looking for food because I was hungry and trying to find out why only half the menu was available.

It was a marketing stunt, obviously. (An impressive stunt, but still a stunt.) But where was the food?

The first day of the four-night pop-up was filled with thoughtfully-curated social media influencers and entertainment journalists — within the first few minutes of the hotel opening, the collective of guests reached millions of followers with cheeky Instagram stories of nacho fries. The influencers — a person with the ability to sway potential product consumers by promoting the product on social media — took time to set up each photo shot, but were wary to call themselves influencers.

The Bell was a surreal experience, yet those photos posted to Instagram made it look even more than it really was to the Taco Bell fan at home who wished they could embody the “Live Más” life too. (I know, no one’s Instagram life is anyone’s actual life. I was a sucker for the design of the Taco Bell hotel rooms and I Instagram-ed pics of it too.)

Read about the opening day:Taco Bell hotel debuts in Palm Springs during Splash House weekend

I asked a staff member where I could get more food. They gave me a muddled non-answer.

The fast food chain hyped up the menu for the month leading up to the event, but guests could only order off a partial menu during the first day. Things like the toasted cheddar club and the roasted veggie quesadilla were not available. The limited menu offered fish tacos, popcorn chicken, a plate of raw vegetables, Caesar salad or a veggie wrap.

I asked another staff member why the toasted cheddar club isn’t on the menu. Another muddled non-answer.

About five hours into the party, the media was invited to the other side of the hotel property where lights had been hung and beautiful plates of food (including the toasted cheddar club) were arranged. They said we could take photos of the food, but the items weren't for the general guests to order that day. Photographers quickly started shooting photos of the dishes they weren’t able to order, though their photos won’t note that.

I asked Rene Pisciotti, Taco Bell chef and product developer, why the food he showed us wasn't on the menu.

Finally, I got an answer: The staff didn’t want the influencers or entertainment journalists publicizing photos of food that wasn’t perfectly arranged and staged. They wanted to control the first day’s "organic" marketing. (I was assured the following three days would have the full menu for the non-influencer fans.)

By that time it was 6:20 p.m. and I was feeling like a hangry, dramatic journalist ready to expose Taco Bell’s fraud. How dare they lie to us!

I asked Gideon Anstey, a Taco Bell spokesman, how they chose who they invited to Thursday’s opening. He said: “if you’re asking if we invited specific influencers to gain marketing, we didn’t. We wanted to give back to our fans. We even invited a girl who shot her high school senior photos at Taco Bell and she has like no followers.”

The girl Anstey referred to was Brittany Creech (@mogirlprobs), with 34.2k Instagram followers and a blue verification checkmark next to her name. Creech was lounging by the pool with friends. She previously walked in Forever 21’s fashion show that featured a Taco Bell clothing line and was the star of a Taco Bell online commercial.

“I think they do a great job with marketing,” Creech said. “This is the embodiment of ‘Live Mas.’ Everyone here is just enjoying the Taco Bell lifestyle.”

On Thursday, the Taco Bell lifestyle meant staff handed out FREE items not on the national menu including a cheesy gordita crunch with toasted cheddar chalupa bread, a black bean crunch wrap supreme and a quesadilla only made at Taco Bell locations in the U.K. – and I gave in, I was a Taco Bell hotel fan in that moment.

I lounged by the pool as I snacked, I posed for pictures on a hot sauce packet floatie with my friend (Desert Sun visual journalist Vickie Connor), got my hair braided into a "Cinnabon twist" and chatted with Pisciotti, the chef. (I can't complain about those experiences. I loved those moments).

But the lifestyle also meant watching influencers post photos of an unattainable lifestyle to Instagram, like posing in a women's one-piece Taco Bell bathing suit that was $170 or a bikini that was $163.

Creech wasn't the only guest who enjoyed a free room. Other influencers with comped rooms included:

Katie Cazorla (@Officialkatiecazorla, 76.4k followers): a reality TV star. She just adopted a puppy and named her Taco Bella. Cazorla said she was truly living her best life. She and a friend got Taco Bell manicures, braids and then splurged on merchandise. Her Taco Bell Instagram life was true to her actual experience, it was just an unattainable for the average Taco Bell fan (you know, the fan who lives off of the 99-cent menu because that’s all they can afford. Cazorla used to be that person, she said.)

Haley Kalil (@hayleyybaylee, 276k followers): a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model and has a history of posing with Taco Bell products on Instagram. On Thursday night, Kalil ordered Taco Bell delivery because the hotel wasn’t serving her favorite dish, according to her Instagram story. Kalil spent a lot of time posing for photos, but had a “Live Mas” time doing it.

Francis Dominic (@frncissdominc, 78.6k followers) and Patrick Dougall (@patrickadougall, 44.2k followers): influencers from Los Angeles who have worked with Taco Bell previously to promote products. They were invited a week ago to stay at the hotel.

JC Caylen (@jccaylen, 3.4 M followers): who was been invited to the Taco Bell headquarters in Irvine twice before to test out products before they hit the market. He visited the test kitchen to try to Cinnabon Delights before they debuted five years ago and the wet burrito as well.

“Things like this I get invited to and there are no requirements,” Caylen said. “I’ve had a good relationship with Taco Bell for a while, so they know I’ll be posting things, but this isn’t paid and I’m not forced to do anything.”

Caylen said he expected the experience to feel more like a crowded, party-like atmosphere, but appreciated the relaxing, exclusivity of the event.

Liam McEwan (@liam.mcewan, 35.5k followers): a celebrity journalist originally from New Zealand. When he moved to Los Angeles about two years ago, he made sure to find an apartment with a Taco Bell a block away.

“Taco Bell wrote to me to ask me to come and I just love Taco Bell so when I got the invite I got my closest friends together,” McEwan said. “What better way to hang out with the bros than at The Bell? That’s a quote.”

McEwan hates the word “influencer,” but loved the unlimited nacho fries with a quartet of dipping sauces that were delivered to him as he lounged by the pool with his friends on Thursday. He was genuinely excited to to have a room at the hotel.

Jeffree Star (@jeffreestar, 13.5M followers): a celebrity makeup artist and founder of his own cosmetics company. By 2006, he was the most followed person on MySpace, though in recent years he has been criticized for racist comments and behaviors. I asked for an interview and photograph of Star. He ignored us and one of his groupies said Star was too busy. (He was busy walking back and forth with his posse and posing for photos.)

As I climbed the stairs to my Taco Bell hotel room, filled with limited edition Taco Bell chips, I watched Star and his posse sashay into the night (it really was that dramatic to see his entourage march beside him).

I appreciated the pop-up experience for what it was but rolled my eyes at the methodic curation of marketing models (which is representative of the age of advertising we are in). The media was rounded up for Thursday's experience, to prevent inquiring journalists from bombarding guests with questions as they try to eat their nacho fries in peace in the following days. We were told the remainder of the pop-up will be more authentic.

And I, of course, still left with a swag bag of merch and hope the Taco Bell Gods will put the maple syrup-filled pancake bites on the menu (please!).