Hard Rock Hotel & Casino

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Review

With rock tributes and exhibits everywhere, it's impossible to forget you're in the Hard Rock: even the carpeting's decorated with musical notes. A new north tower, dubbed the Paradise Tower, opened in the summer of 2009, and an all-suites south tower, dubbed HRH Tower, opened in January 2010. Across the board, rooms are adorned with sleek furnishings, Bose CD-stereos, and flat-screen plasma TVs that show continuous music videos on one channel. The new poker room's a big hit among serious card sharks; the concert space, The Joint, features great national rock bands. The Hard Rock's pool area—dubbed Beach Club—is a tropical beach-inspired oasis with a floating bar, private cabanas, and swim-up blackjack, and doubles as a favorite filming location for popular TV shows. Very crowded (but fun) public areas offer plenty of opportunities for people-watching. It's possible to score reasonable rates here on weeknights, but be warned; despite direct competition from other hipster-heavy hotels in town, many staffers still retain a healthy helping of arrogance.