After 12 years and $1.5 billion spent, the twanging new Guitar Hotel at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino officially opened last Thursday, October 24, making it the newest luxury casino resort destination. Rivaling Las Vegas, the opening day events showed off the gleaming 450-foot high Guitar Hotel with performances, a red carpet packed with surprise celebrities – Johnny Depp! Joe Perry of Aerosmith! Khloe Kardashian! – and party around a 5-acre lagoon pool with mermaids and mermen, water jet pack stunts, and a guitar-smashing and LED fireworks show at dusk.
The iconic Guitar Hotel has an expanded and updated casino gaming area that has 195,000 square feet of gaming space. The 13.5-acre pool features luxury overwater cabanas outfitted with world-class amenities and the Rock Spa is a huge oasis overlooking the pool area with dark woods and crystal rock décor that add to the lush feel of this amazing resort.
Over in the new mall is a collection of high-end retail stores including a new outlet for the rock star-studded Wentworth Gallery. Brian Wheat, the bassist of Tesla was there, exhibiting his newest work and posing for photos. A Caviar store, high-end watches, jewelry and new Hard Rock stores dot the marble-floored mall.
Rock star memorabilia, cars, and stage costumes line the walls. But the most wondrous element is in the main lobby entrance – the Oculus is a circular fountain with holographic projections inside of guitars and rock stars, choreographed to music. Its stunning design is surrounded by elements of lush greenery, light and water, choreographed to music and redefines the unrivaled level of entertainment people can enjoy here.
I was thrilled to see my old friend Big Kenny Alphin of the country duo Big & Rich. I had written up Kenny in Billboard Magazine in 1998 as an unsigned country act to watch. Five years later he had multiple hit songs as well as Grammy, Billboard and CMA awards. Kenny did a fun 30-minute set of his hits including the smash “Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy”. He was accompanied by Stevie Salas, guitarist for Mick Jagger and Rod Stewart, as well as producer of the film Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World.
Many celebrities flocked to South Florida to check out the world’s first guitar-shaped hotel. Morgan Freeman, Bella Thorne, Joe Perry, Sofia Richie, Joe Manganiello, Jeremy Piven, Julio Iglesias Jr., among many more. Chris Osceola, Hollywood Councilman for the Seminole Tribe, counts rockers as his friends, supporting their music and sponsoring film and music projects. Maroon 5 christened the new Hard Rock Live venue that seats 7,000 in a clamshell state-of-the-art performance venue.
The Guitar Hotel’s grand opening celebration was as spectacular as a party in Las Vegas, delivering top-notch entertainment with a pool party where champagne, rum cocktails, buffets of lobster rolls, roasted pigs, dessert bars and cigar rollers awaited the strolling hordes.
Truly an entertainment destination, not just a casino, “The Guitar Hotel will attract visitors from throughout the nation and around the globe,” said Jim Allen, CEO of Seminole Gaming and Chairman of Hard Rock International. “They will experience world-class entertainment, gaming and dining destination.”
The hotel’s show-stopping light show extravaganza is a series of orchestrated outdoor music and laser light shows that showcase every side of the Guitar Hotel. This is a daily spectacular at dusk where lights are programmed to change color and intensity, with changes timed to music, beaming 20,000 feet into the night sky to mimic the guitar strings of an imaginary guitar neck.
The @HardRockHolly #GuitarHotel is OFFICIALLY open pic.twitter.com/DZHTk1aS44
— Joel Franco (@OfficialJoelF) October 25, 2019
The Guitar Hotel is a prototype, with plans to build similar shaped hotels in Japan, Mexico, and Europe. The unique design has swimming pools on upper-level suites with palm trees and views all the way to the Atlantic Ocean.
For those who want to follow the traditional routes of Las Vegas entertainment and fun, this is the right place. The Guitar Hotel at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood will also bring some of the biggest names in music, comedy, and extraordinary acts to South Florida unlike any other destination.
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The Guitar Hotel is located at 1 Seminole Way, Hollywood, 33314. If you visit, check seminolehardrockhollywood.com for specific information.
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Guitar Hotel Brings ‘Las Vegas’ Feeling to South Florida
