These 8 hotels have reinvented the minibar in creative and exciting ways
Technology isn't the only thing advancing in travel. The concept of the minibar is — finally — starting to progress, as hotels are realizing we're totally over the idea of paying $8 for a package of M&Ms. While many hotels are getting rid of the minibar altogether, some are are paving a new path by modernizing the minibar.
1. Gansevoort Meatpacking NYC (NYC): NYC's Meatpacking neighborhood is known for its wait-in-line-for-over-an-hour nightlife and must-be-a-supermodel clubs, so it's important to look your best. Instead of the traditional snacks, the Gansevoort offers a Glamour Bar filled with beauty products from Too Faced, Bumble and bumble and Hampton Sun (for purchase) along with free-to-use vanity mirrors, straightening irons and blow dryers.
2. QT Sydney (Sydney, Australia): This minibar has all your snack, sex, style and gaming needs. Along with premium spirits such as Belvedere Vodka, Chivas Regal Scotch and Patron XO Café — Espresso Martini recipe included – guests will find local snacks like organic beetroot chips and gingerbread ninjas, vintage games (pick up sticks, anyone?), an emergency bowtie and an Intimacy Kit (in case you forget your lube, blindfold and condoms).
3. Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin Resort (Lake Buena Vista, Florida): Instead of having its mini bar items pre-chosen in the room, the Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin Resort offer a mini bar menu for guests to customize their snack choices. Rooms come with "pantry" menus, with a variety of reasonably priced packages available. For example, the Theme Park Package ($15) comes with six water bottles, two Cliff bars, two Zone bars and two candy bars, while the Breaktime ($9.50) features six sodas and two Kit Kat bars.
4. The Epiphany Hotel, a Joie de Vivre Property (Palo Alto, California): While most mini bars offer sugary candy and fat-laden chips, the Epiphany Hotel's Fresh Fridge features healthy food and drink from local purveyors for wellness-conscious road warriors. Think pressed juices, nut milks, farmer's market produce, full biotic yogurt with goji berry and blueberry crumble, seasonal salads, power bars infused with superfoods and more. One thing: instead of munching a la carte, you'll need to pay $95 for the entire fridge, a great deal as long as you'll eat what's inside.
5. The Graham Georgetown (Washington, DC): Traveling is often when people let loose, and the Graham Georgetown plays on the best of human indulgences with a craft cocktail shaker kit, electronic cigarettes, Cheeki Frisky business underwear and Nespresso coffee pods.
6. Art Series Hotels (Throughout Australia): The mini bar is almost as inspiring as the properties' contemporary art prints and programming, as along with locally-curated chips, lollies and nuts, you'll find a mini canvas, paints and brushes (and some Swisse Vitamins and Berocca for mental sharpness). Personally, I'd find my muse through drinking the mini bar Shiraz.
7. Baccarat Hotel & Residences (NYC): This should really be called the un-mini bar, devised around opulent Baccarat glassware. Within the red lacquered cabinet there's also full-sized bottles of shelf liquor and Parisian Fauchon treats like macarons and praliné-laced truffles — apparently the only place in the U.S. Fauchon can be purchased.
8. Le Quartier Francais Hotel (Cape Winelands, South Africa): Le Quartier Francais Hotel features atypical treats from South Africa like confit citrus rinds encrusted in sugar, oak dust-smoked nuts, vanilla fudge and rusks, and twice-baked Afrikaans biscuits -- all complimentary.
Of course, the best things in life are free, and that pertains to the minibar, as well. Andaz Hotels by Hyatt in NYC offer free food and non-alcoholic drinks from local purveyors, while The Little Nell in Aspen, Colorado features everything from canned nuts to canned oxygen. The mini bar at Rancho Valencia Resort & Spa in California, the Beaumont hotel in London and the Concorde De Luxe Resort Antalya in Turkey are a few others with extras at no additional cost.
Going along with the growing free booze hotel trend, the Ellerman House in South Africa has a complimentary minibar that includes full-sized bottles of booze.
Jessica Festa is the founder on the solo and offbeat travel blog, Jessie on a Journey, and the online responsible tourism and culture magazine, Epicure & Culture. She's constantly searching for local experiences beyond the guidebook. You can follow her travels on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.