Finally! Minibar snacks and drinks in Chicago's new Virgin Hotel are the SAME PRICE as you pay at shops

  • Virgin Hotels staff went out and recorded street prices of all minibar items
  • Cereal bars will set you back £1.45, while a can of coke will cost 65p
  • Minibars also have pita chips and hummus dip, mints and sex toys
  • Female-focused rooms have extra shower space with a leg-shaving bench 

By Clare Vooght For Mailonline

Published: 07:35 EST, 10 July 2015 | Updated: 08:56 EST, 10 July 2015

In its first foray into the hotel business, Virgin has taken great care to make sure guests staying in the boutique Art Deco building don't have to pay over the odds for minibar items. 

They've taken it so seriously that the director of food and beverages at the Chicago hotel, which opened in January, went out with a pen and pad to record the street price of each individual minibar item.

Each product is priced exactly as it would be in local stores, for example Peanut M&Ms and cans of Coca-Cola are $1 (65p), cereal bars cost $2.25 (£1.45), Red Bull costs $2 (£1.29), and a decent bottle of red wine is $24 (£15.49).

Staff at Virgin's first hotel, which opened in Chicago last January, have made a conscious effort to ensure guests don't pay through the nose for minibar items

Staff at Virgin's first hotel, which opened in Chicago last January, have made a conscious effort to ensure guests don't pay through the nose for minibar items

As well as being reasonably priced, the in-room minibars are well stocked, containing a large variety of different snacks including nuts, pita chips and a hummus dip, mints, chocolates, coconut water, juices and various alcoholic drinks, reported Yahoo Travel.

Spirits come in normal-sized bottles rather than miniatures and the minibar also sells a $20 (£12.91) 'Lovers' Intimacy Kit', which contains items such as condoms and sex toys, reports Bloomberg.

The minibar choices are so extensive, its contents are actually piled up on a tray on top of the fridge. Guests will also find a cocktail shaker and other useful items for making drinks in the room.

Peanut M&Ms and cans of Coca-Cola are $1 (65p), cereal bars cost $2.25 (£1.45), Red Bull costs $2 (£1.29), and a decent bottle of red wine is $24 (£15.49). The 'Lovers' Intimacy Kit' costs $20 (£12.91)

Peanut M&Ms and cans of Coca-Cola are $1 (65p), cereal bars cost $2.25 (£1.45), Red Bull costs $2 (£1.29), and a decent bottle of red wine is $24 (£15.49). The 'Lovers' Intimacy Kit' costs $20 (£12.91)

There's a cocktail shaker and other drinks-making apparatus available in the room, and the minibar contains affordable chilled beverages and normal-sized bottles of spirits - not miniatures

There's a cocktail shaker and other drinks-making apparatus available in the room, and the minibar contains affordable chilled beverages and normal-sized bottles of spirits - not miniatures

When the £140-a-night hotel opened, Virgin Group founder Richard Branson said: 'It's been a long held dream to start beautiful, comfortable, fun hotels for guests and give them what they want and need while being gentle on their wallets.

'I'm tremendously proud of the brilliant Virgin Hotels team.' 

Virgin says it designed the luxury hotel, which was a bank in the 1920s, with female travellers in mind. 

Rooms features extra touches such as a vanity mirror and table, plus an extra-large shower with a bench for sitting down and shaving legs. There is also a separate dressing area and a room divider for extra privacy.

When the £140-per-night hotel opened, Richard Branson said the aim was to provide travellers with a beautiful, comfortable and fun hotel that wouldn't be too expensive

When the £140-per-night hotel opened, Richard Branson said the aim was to provide travellers with a beautiful, comfortable and fun hotel that wouldn't be too expensive

The bright, modern rooms in the Art Deco building and former 1920s bank are designed with women in mind, featuring extra shower space, privacy screens and a vanity table with mirror

The bright, modern rooms in the Art Deco building and former 1920s bank are designed with women in mind, featuring extra shower space, privacy screens and a vanity table with mirror

Guests staying in the 250-room hotel also get free drinks in the bar from 6-7pm

Guests staying in the 250-room hotel also get free drinks in the bar from 6-7pm

The 26-storey, 250-room hotel has also embraced technology, with no traditional check-in desk and rooms powered by the Virgin Hotels app. 

Other perks for guests include free drinks in the bar from 6-7pm every evening.

Virgin intends to open more hotels, with one scheduled to launch in Nashville in 2016, one in New York in 2017 and a total of 20 locations planned by 2025.

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