Sex toys in the minibar and peepholes in the bedrooms: Inside Sir Richard Branson's 'female-friendly' hotel
- The first of 20 planned Virgin Hotel properties opened in Chicago in January, with some unusual additions
- Rooms were designed to accommodate professional women travellers
- Features include a larger shower area and bench for shaving legs and a vanity table with lighting
- Sex toys are also available in a $20 kit stored in the mini bar
Sir Richard Branson has created his new brand of hotels - the first of which opened this year in Chicago - keeping the female traveller in mind.
The entrepreneur has focused on the fairer sex for the Virgin Hotel in Chicago, with a bench in the shower so women can sit and shave their legs to a 'Lovers' Intimacy Kit' in the minibar.
Containing condoms and sex toys, the $20 addition is one of the more unusual extras found in the room alongside the reasonably priced snacks (the hotel prides itself on charging accurate prices for food and drink).
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All rooms are two-room 'chambers,' with a separate dressing room and bedroom area. The compartment divider can slide across, if people require privacy when ordering room service
In order to design a hotel that would appeal to women, Virgin held focus groups with frequent female travelers asking them what was on their hotel wish lists. The responses stated they mainly wanted safety and convenience
The 26-storey, Art Deco building's rooms have also been designed with a large vanity table complete with drawers to store make-up and even a sliding compartment door with a peep hole separating the entrance and the bedroom, so guests in a state of undress can accept room service without being seen.
With additional clothes hangers especially for lingerie and an app called Lucy for calling room service, the hotel certainly appears to favour the females.
'I don't think any hotel caters to the female traveller,' Branson, 64, told the Wall Street Journal.
'It will give Virgin an edge to make sure we look after them.'
'We're taking into consideration the rise of female business travellers, and appreciate what it means to our success as a brand.'
Women can shave their legs on a bench in the shower for safety, (left), and do their makeup with the light of a back-lit magnifying mirror, (right)
The wardrobe comes with his and hers section, complete with shoe racks and separated hangers for lingerie
The chamber is separated in two sections, separated by a sliding door, with a peep hole. This allows room service to be ordered, and modesty protected
The hotel has caused a stir for more than just its unusual mini bar offerings.
When it was unveiled in January, the hotel also showcased a room key vending machine instead of a check-in desk and even free drinks at happy hour.
The hospitality group, which includes everything from airplanes to mobile phone plans, has long made eliminating fees and surcharges a top priority.
So it's perhaps no surprise that WiFi is free and room service is available at no additional cost.
At the heart of the property is The Commons Club, a members-only inspired space where guests can drink, dine and mingle.
Some of the quirky additions at the hotel are designed to make female travellers feel comfortable and offer a sense of 'fun'
It's here that visitors can also take advantage of Social Hour - like happy hour, but better - where all drinks are free between 6pm and 7pm.
Guests can plug their music into a USB port in the room to stream their own favourite bands, or take advantage of the free music albums on the TV, specially curated for the hotels.
The hotel is located in the historic Old Dear Born Bank Building, a Chicago landmark, and offers 250 guest rooms, which start at £140.
Virgin Hotels has plans to open a second location in Nashville in summer 2016 and a third property in New York City in the fall of 2017, with 20 locations by 2025.
'Chicago is an exhilarating and historic city, and a place we're happy to call home for the first-ever Virgin Hotel,' said Raul Leal, CEO of Virgin Hotels.
'It's an exciting time for our team as we get to unveil our new approach to room design, service, and entertainment within the hotel industry.
The hotel is not the only one to offer intimate toys up to its guests. The Drake Hotel in Canada provides a pleasure menu, alongside the standard room service.
And Ushuaia, the celebrity-filled party hotel in Ibiza, comes with its own erotic kits in rooms, complete with silk handcuffs.
The innovative hotel does not have a front check-in desk. Computer screens sitting atop a former cigar bar (the prior tenant was a 1920s bank) where you can access your reservation profile and check-in
'Chicago is an exhilarating and historic city, and a place we're happy to call home for the first-ever Virgin Hotel,' said Raul Leal, CEO of Virgin Hotels
The Commons Club, a members-only inspired space, offers Social Hour daily, with free drinks from 6-7pm
A 2011 report from the Center for Hospitality Research at Cornell University stated that while females accounted for only a quarter of business travelers in 1991, they now comprise about half, an opportunity Virgin Hotels is keen to reflect in its rooms
The property, at 203 N. Wabash in the Loop, is the first of three planned for the US. Two hotels are being developed in New York and Nashville
