Grand opening dates have been announced for the combined $2.2 billion expansions of the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa and the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, where the world’s first guitar hotel and casino complex is on track to open Thursday, Oct. 24. It follows the Thursday, Oct. 3, grand opening of a major expansion of Florida’s largest casino, the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa.
The expansion projects are underway at the two Four Diamond flagship casino-resorts of the Seminole Tribe of Florida, which owns Hard Rock International and operates both entertainment destinations as part of its hugely successful Seminole Gaming business.
Emblematic of the Hard Rock International brand, the $1.5 billion expansion of the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood includes an iconic guitar hotel that can be seen for miles. Like a beacon, it stretches 450 feet into the South Florida sky and is already generating global interest as an integrated resort destination that rivals the world’s most iconic landmarks.
“The guitar tower will attract casino players and other visitors from throughout the country and around the world,” said Hard Rock International Chairman and Seminole Gaming CEO Jim Allen. “It will put South Florida on the map as a world-class gaming destination, and it will have a huge economic impact on Florida. The gaming industry will never be the same.”
Research Forecasts the Creation of 19,000 Additional Direct and Indirect Jobs
Allen points to economic research that predicts the creation of 19,000 direct and indirect jobs, including construction jobs, as part of the expansion projects in Hollywood and Tampa, where more than $700 million is being invested by Seminole Gaming and Hard Rock International. Aggressive global marketing of the expansions will draw hundreds of thousands of new visitors to Florida, further boosting the state’s current record-setting tourism results.
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood
The iconic guitar tower resembles back-to-back guitars, with six illuminated guitar strings on each side. It includes 638 luxury oversized guestrooms and suites. Complementing the guitar tower is a new seven-story guestroom tower along the south side of the new pool complex. It features 168 guestrooms and exclusive swim-up suites that invite guests to step directly out of their rooms and into the surrounding pool. Added to the 465 guestrooms and suites in the resort’s existing hotel tower, the expanded hotel and casino complex will offer a total of 1,271 guestrooms and suites.
The Oculus
Guests arriving via a new grand entrance porte cochere will be immediately impacted by “The Oculus,” a sight and sound extravaganza combining elements of water, fire and technology in a series of floor-to-ceiling shows choreographed to music. The signature entertainment attraction is a collaboration of Mark Fuller of WET Design, Los Angeles, and architect David Rockwell of the Rockwell Group, New York.
A vastly expanded casino of 195,000 square feet includes more than 200 table games like Blackjack and Baccarat, plus 3,100 of the latest slot machines and a new 45-table Poker Room. The expanded casino offerings also include a contemporary High Limit Slots Room, Non-Smoking Slots Room, and the exclusive and new Plum Lounge, an upscale, yet relaxed enclave featuring the ultimate VIP experience for Seminole Hard Rock’s high-end players.
Following an outdoor walkway dotted with grottos, waterfalls and meticulous landscaping, guests will find a completely new, 13.5-acre pool experience at the foot of the guitar tower, part of 19 acres of pools and lagoons on the Seminole Hard Rock property. The new pool complex features individual, overwater cabanas, ranging from 450 to 800 square feet and complete with butler service, private showers and lounge spaces. Spanning three football fields in length, a man-made lake framing the pool experience adds water sports, including paddleboats and canoes, to the resort. The pool complex also includes a Beach Club venue for drinks and dining.
Overlooking the magnificent lagoon and pool area, a pulsing Daer Nightclub boasts 18,800 square feet of indoor space and features the hottest DJs from around the world. The adjacent outdoor Daer Dayclub includes a swimming pool and 21,130 square feet of space.
The New Hard Rock Live
As part of its commitment to music and live entertainment, Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood is investing more than $125 million in a new state-of-the-art Hard Rock Live, the new, highly anticipated theater-style performance venue for 7,000 guests. Designed by Sceno Plus, the new Hard Rock Live is set to host entertainment acts, broadcast productions, award shows and more. A partnership with The Nederlander Organization – the “first family of Broadway” and largest producer of Broadway entertainment in the world – is being extended to include the Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood. Production managers expect to schedule at least 200 nights of entertainment at Hard Rock Live each year.
A show-stopping weekend of grand opening festivities kicks off Thursday, Oct. 24, with headliner Adam Levine and Maroon 5 officially opening Hard Rock Live on Friday, Oct. 25. Coming off a yearlong World Tour that hit four continents, with over 50 shows in more than 20 countries, Maroon 5 will be the first performers to take the stage of this premier South Florida entertainment venue. As part of the inaugural line-up, Grammy® Award-nominated and legendary Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli is confirmed for a Thursday, Nov. 7, performance. More entertainment announcements are expected throughout the summer.
Upon its completion, Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood will feature 19 distinct restaurants and 20 bars and lounges. New restaurant options will include a new contemporary Italian restaurant, an American grill, a 24-hour bakery café, a buffet with multiple live action stations, poolside dining with a tropical twist, an artisanal coffee shop and much more.
The integrated resort will also unveil a new spa featuring more than 40 treatment rooms, dry and wet lounges, 150,000 square feet of premier meeting and convention space, a 26,000-square-foot retail promenade, and more.
New guestrooms and suites at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood are available to book beginning July 24, 2019.
Architect of record for the expansion of Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood is Klai Juba Wald of Las Vegas. Interiors design is handled by the Rockwell Group of New York and Wilson Associates of Dallas, New York and Los Angeles. Landscape designers are EDSA of Fort Lauderdale.
For more information, visit www.seminolehardrockhollywood.com.
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa, one of the largest and most successful casinos in the world, plans a series of opening reveals throughout the summer, leading up to a grand opening on Thursday, Oct. 3.
The $700 million expansion includes a new 14-story hotel tower with 562 guestrooms and suites, three ultra-lavish pools and extensive gaming space. The casino complex has already completed expansions to its state-of-the-art Poker Room, Mezzanine Level Casino/Rock Walk and Orient Road Garage. It will also unveil a new Rock Spa® & Salon, new food and beverage options, retail stores, Hard Rock Event Center and a new arrival experience.
Three new outdoor swimming pools are located on the second level of the expanded hotel and casino complex. With a total of 200,000 gallons of water to float, soak and splash around in, a 60,000-square-foot expanded pool and deck area will feature 20 cabanas, 700 lounges and daybeds, two DJ booths and more.
The completed 245,000-square-foot casino includes an additional 1,000 slots and 41 table games throughout its new gaming spaces, bringing the completed gaming experience to nearly 5,000 slots, 179 tables and a state-of-the-art poker room with 46 poker tables. For the ultimate VIP experience, a high floor of the new hotel tower will feature a private gaming parlor for VIP guests, with an exclusive check-in and private elevators to rock star suites.
Hard Rock International acquired Elvis Presley’s 24-karat gold leaf plated 1928 Kimball Piano Company Grand Piano in 2015 as its 80,000th piece of memorabilia. The piano was originally purchased in 1955 by Presley as a gift for his mother, Gladys. Following her death in 1958, the piano was placed in storage, then resurrected by Elvis’ wife Priscilla Presley in 1968 in celebration of their first anniversary, when the gold leaf finish was added. The piano will be on permanent display in the Grand Entrance of the Seminole Hard Rock Tampa.
Continuing to elevate its music and entertainment programming, a Hard Rock Event Center with seating for 2,000 guests is set to open on the second level of the casino complex. A companion 17,000-square-foot grand ballroom will host conventions, trade shows, private events, large-scale poker tournaments and concerts, including 60 major entertainment acts each year.
The expanded, 26,000-square-foot Rock Spa® & Salon will feature 13 treatment rooms, including a Rhythm & Motion room, Hammam, and two VIP suites, plus a hair and nail salon, barber shop, and co-ed aqua lounge.
Upon completion, a total of 14 restaurants and bars will keep hungry hearts happy, including the addition of Constant Grind, a casual sit down or grab and go hot spot for coffee, gelato, pastries, and more, the Pool Bar & Grill, an upbeat, full service restaurant presenting stellar views from the center of the hotel’s three pools, and an Italian fine dining concept that will further elevate the property to true culinary destination status in the Tampa Bay area.
An upscale wine and spirits experience will join the retail offerings at Seminole Hard Rock Tampa, presenting the opportunity to enjoy wine by the glass and sample featured wines available for purchase. Additional retail concepts will feature jewelry, cosmetics, and men’s and women’s fashions.
Rooms in the expanded Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa are available to book now for resort stays beginning in mid-July.
Architect of record for the expanded Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa is Klai Juba Wald of Las Vegas. Interiors design is led by Wimberly Interiors, New York. Landscape designers are EDSA of Fort Lauderdale.