Officials at the Seminole Hard Rock & Casino in Hollywood, Florida announced its $1.5 billion expansion—including a 35-story, 638-room guitar-shaped hotel—will open Thursday, October 24. Hard Rock International Chief Executive Officer Jim Allen said, “What we’re doing is we’re putting the line in the sand: Hell or high water, we’re going to open. There has never been a building in the world shaped like a guitar.” The rock group Maroon 5 will perform an inaugural concert on October 25. The new hotel will start taking reservations July 24.
At check-in, guests will be greeted by the Oculus, a continuous light, sound and waterfall show choreographed by computer programs.
Besides the unique, all-glass hotel, the expanded resort will offer two others. The 168-room Oasis Tower will overlook a pool lagoon area named Bora Bora that features cabanas, beach club dining, and paddleboats and canoes. All hotel rooms will be 515 square feet, well beyond the industry standard of 400 square feet.
In addition, the expansion will offer an enlarged gambling floor with 3,000 new slot machines, 193 table games and a 46-table poker room, plus 30 new restaurants lounges and bars. The clam-shaped, $125 million, 6,500-seat Hard Rock Live venue will offer 100 concerts and events a year. Other amenities will include the Rock Spa, 13.5 acres of recreational waterscape, thousands of square feet of meeting and convention space and a glass-roofed shopping area.
