Next month, Harrah’s Gulf Coast Casino in East Biloxi will begin a million renovation of its hotel tower, with work to be completed in April 2016. General Manager Jonathan Jones said, “We’re really excited about the design,” which will be plush and up-to-date, with contemporary furnishings, flooring and fixtures from the lobbies to rooms to corridors. Five rooms will be added during the remodel, bringing the total to 499.
The hotel was updated when it was rebranded in May 2014 but, Jones noted, this project will be a full remodel. Designers Marnell Companies of Las Vegas combined neutrals with Harrah’s trademark rich purple for a fresh take on the Harrah’s brand, and the hotel’s 40 suites, many with panoramic water views, will offer new levels of luxury, he said. Artwork of the nearby Biloxi Bay Bridge, Biloxi Lighthouse and local scenery will bring South Mississippi indoors. “We’re spending as much on the functionality as on the design,” Jones said–including new plumbing and lighting fixtures, custom bedding and 49-inch, wall-mounted HD televisions offering advanced in-room entertainment and interactive technology system. The hotel will remain pet-friendly, Jones said.
Last year at the property Caesars Entertainment added new restaurants, expanded the casino and created a sports bar and lounge. But following new construction and renovations at other South Mississippi casinos, Jones said, “The bar’s been raised in this market. This investment in Harrah’s Gulf Coast shows Caesars is very committed to the Gulf Coast market. Although the company is in bankruptcy proceedings, the improvements are in the best interest of all parties. Our creditors have approved our capital plan.”
Jones said 80 percent of the resort’s customers are from outside South Mississippi and more than half from beyond 300 miles. “The Harrah’s name has been great for us,” he said. Customers from the company’s 50 properties are part of the Caesars Total Rewards program and Harrah’s Gulf Coast has its own charter-flight program to bring players to Biloxi. Jones said sometimes they don’t even know where they’re going. “They just know the Harrah’s name,” he said.
