The Casino guitar-shaped hotel soars over Hollywood
The Seminole Hard Rock & Casino US$1.5 billion expansion is opening in October
We were in Tampa last week and when traveling on Interstate 4 we were able to see how the new hotel was rising for the great complex the Seminole Tribe is building in this part of Florida. The truth is that in over ten years spent visiting and driving past the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa, on the Gulf of Mexico, there is always something new being built, indicating the constant development activity by the Seminoles.
At the opposite side of the Sunshine state, the Seminoles are in the final phase of building the iconic guitar-shaped hotel, some 500 ft high on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean in Hollywood. Also, on road trips in the last 18 months we have seen the shape of the essential Rock music instrument, first in cement and concrete and now covered in blue glass that shimmers against the blue Atlantic firmament.
The Seminole Hard Rock & Casino is a US$1.5 billion expansion that catches the eye of everyone going past its alluring shape, whether on land, sea or air. At the sneak progress preview, Jim Allen, CEO of Hard Rock International, braved making the comment: “What we’re doing is we’re putting the line in the sand: hell or high water, we’re going to open.”
The date for opening of the new 35-floor hotel has been set for October 25, with bookings for inaugural stay at the property beginning on July 24. Many predict that they’ll sell like hot rock star concert tickets and will be sold out a few hours later. That is, 638 luxury guestrooms at the “Guitar”, plus 168 rooms at the adjacent “Oasis Tower” overlooking a pool lagoon area dubbed “Bora Bora.
Guests checking into the new hotel space will be greeted by “The Oculus,” a continuous show of light, sound and waterfalls choreographed by computer programs.
The Hard Rock in Hollywood also is unveiling an expanded casino gambling floor, a new Rock Spa, 13.5 acres of recreational waterscape, thousands of square feet in additional meeting and convention space, and a retail shopping area covered by a glass roof.
Whether visitors choose to just stay at the hotel, or gamble, shop, attend a conference, or do all of the above, the new US$125 million Hard Rock Live venue promises to be a major cultural and entertainment attraction. Approximately 100 concerts a year will be produced in the clam shell-shaped venue, which can seat up to 6,500 people. The popular Los Angeles-based rock group Maroon 5 will deliver an inaugural performance at the Hollywood property on Oct. 25
