Hard Rock Hotel & Casino

Description:

• At press time, the hotel's new owners had announced plans for $750 million worth of new hotel towers, including one that is all suites for VIPs. The parking lot in front will become meeting and convention space plus a new, larger version of The Joint, while the old Joint is being removed and turned into additional casino area. All existing rooms and public spaces will get makeovers, so some of what you read below may have changed.

  As soon as you check out the Hard Rock clientele, you'll know you are in a Vegas hotel that's like no other. The body-fat percentage (and median age) plummets; the percentage of black clothing skyrockets. Yep, the hip -- including Hollywood and the music industry, among others -- still flock to the Hard Rock, drawn by the cool 'n' rockin' ambience and the goodies offered by a boutique hotel (only in Vegas could 657 rooms be considered a "boutique hotel"). Our problem is that we are not famous pop stars and we do not look enough like Pamela Anderson to warrant the kind of attention that the staff seems to reserve for those types.

  It's that Boomer-meets-Gen-X sensibility that finds tacky-chic so very hip. Luckily, the "no-tell motel" look of the older rooms has been updated to more closely match the decor of the rooms in the newer addition. We still aren't crazy about the decor scheme in any of them -- even the newer section is too '60s-futuristic hip to come off as posh, and all of it is showing more wear than it ought to. Bathrooms are a big step forward -- bigger, brighter, and shinier, though in the older section, they can be cramped, spacewise, in suites. On a high note, the beds have feather pillows, and mattresses are surprisingly comfortable.

  The lobby borders the casino (you can see how that immediately plunges you into the action, like it or not), which takes the center position in the round public area you immediately enter when arriving. On the perimeter is a collection of rock memorabilia, ranging from sad (a Kurt Cobain tribute) to cool (various guitars and outfits) to useless (various other guitars and outfits). The Hard Rock now has a permanent, if unwelcome, bit of rock trivia for its collection: John Entwistle, bassist for the Who, died in one of its rooms on the eve of the start of a tour with the band.

  There are several fine restaurants, including AJ's Steakhouse, a tribute to original owner Peter Morton's dad, who brought us the legendary Morton's. You'll also find Nobu, a branch of highly famed Chef Nobu Matsuhisa's wildly popular Japanese restaurant, and AGO, a restaurant co-owned by Robert DeNiro. Kicky and funky Mexican food can be had at lunch and dinner in the folk-art-filled Pink Taco, and Mr. Lucky's 24/7 is the hotel's 'round-the-clock coffee shop, displaying rock memorabilia and old Las Vegas hotel signs. The Hard Rock Cafe is adjacent to the hotel. The Joint is a major showroom that often hosts big-name rock musicians.

  If you've ever dreamed of being in a beach-party movie, or on the set of one of those MTV summer beach-house shows, the pool at the Hard Rock is for you. Multiple pools are joined by a lazy river and fringed in spots by actual sand beaches. You won't get much swimming done -- the water is largely so shallow that it won't hit your knees -- but there is swim-up blackjack (they give you little plastic pouches to hold your money), and a stage that features live music in the summer and is fronted by a sandy area, so you can make like Frankie, Annette, and Erik Von Zipper and do the Watusi. Or just pose in a thong bikini and new breasts. Whichever. On warm days and nights, this is the hangout scene.

  The spa is smaller than its Strip counterparts but is soothing in its posh Space-Age-Zen way, and the health club is plenty large and well equipped, offering a full complement of Cybex equipment, stair machines, treadmills, massage, and steam rooms. There's a $20-per-day fee to use the health-club facilities.

• © Frommer's 2012

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Highly Recommended 2009
•  Highly Recommended 2010