Hard Rock Hotel & Casino — Hotel Review Rating: 4.0 Pearls

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Oyster Hotel Review

Reviewer: John P.
Updated: May 23, 2010

 Scene

Arguably even more so than the Palms, Hard Rock is one of the most unapologetically hedonistic hotels in Las Vegas. It's a place where wanna-be rock stars and, well, real rock stars can come to party, gamble, and trash their hotel rooms (of course doing so will cost you, or your record company, a fortune).

The hotel is managed by Morgans Hotel Group, a company better known for operating swank boutique party hotels like the infamous Delano, Mondrian, and Shore Club in South Beach, Miami. This means that the glam factor is significantly greater here than at the seven other non-Morgans Hard Rock Hotel and Casinos around the country (including a new one in Tulsa, Okla.,) and the hundred or so Hard Rock Cafe franchises the world over (where you can eat an overpriced burger beside one of the many B.B. King-autographed guitars). Instead, this Hard Rock comes with premier restaurants like Nobu and Ago, a chic nightclub called Vanity, nightly live music at Joint or Wasted Space, a famous on-site tattoo parlor, Hart Huntington, and some of the craziest pool parties in Vegas.

That said, the Las Vegas Hard Rock isn't nearly as stylish as, well, any other Morgans hotel -- it's a fun franchise at heart, not a luxury boutique. This means you don't miss out on the iconic memorabilia like Prince's "Purple Rain" suit, Keith Richards' guitar, or an elaborate tribute to Michael Jackson at the entrance.

 Service

In general, the standards of service at Hard Rock are typical of any of the large luxury hotels on the Strip -- plenty of staff members at every corner and fast response to service requests. But the service at the Hard Rock might be a bit more casual than the white-gloved approach you'd find at the Bellagio or the Four Seasons. By "casual" I mean that the staff seems less focused on granting every guests wish or desire and more focused on keeping all the drunk people from completely trashing the hotel. (Picture swarms of bouncers around the beach waiting to pounce on the first guy who seems out of line.)

 Location

The Hard Rock occupies 16.7 acres just outside the Strip on the less popular four-lane highway called Paradise Road, which is mostly filled with strip malls, fast food joints, and plenty of traffic. There are popular restaurants within a five- to 15-minute walk of the hotel, such as a P.F. Chang's and a number of steakhouses -- Del Frisco's, Ruth's Chris, Gordon Biersch, and Morton's. In addition, there's a CVS pharmacy across the street (a three-minute walk from the hotel). But if you choose to walk, know that you're probably going to be the only person on the sidewalk.

Every half hour from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m., the Hard Rock runs a free shuttle to the MGM Grand, which is on the densely packed three-and-a-half mile long stretch of hotel-casinos known as the Strip. Many visitors like to explore all the hotels and attractions along the Strip and once you're there, it's easy to find a taxi at virtually any time of day or night. A generally less expensive option for getting around the area is also the Deuce, a double-decker bus that runs up and down the strip 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and costs $3 to ride. There's also a monorail system, which stops at MGM Grand, Bally's/Paris, Flamingo/Caesars Palace, Harrah's/Imperial Palace, the Las Vegas Convention Center, the Hilton, and the Sahara. Note, however, that the monorail stations are far from one another so it can be a long walk from the station to where you actually want to go. A single-ride ticket is $5; a one-day pass is $13. If you're traveling along the Strip with at least one other person, a cab is often the least expensive and most convenient option.

Virtually every hotel near the Vegas Strip is a 10- to 15-minute cab ride from McCarran International Airport; the ride typically costs about $15.

 Rooms

The standard guest rooms are bright, clean, and have fitting design touches like vintage rock 'n' roll photos -- check out these three guys swilling Coors originals on a plane. But with chipped paint, worn molding around the doors, and stains on the furniture, they're looking a little battered by the hard-partying clientele -- evidenced by the minibar, which includes a big 375-ml. bottle of Jack Daniel's, "Whose Your Daddy Sport Energy Shot," an intimacy kit, Fusion Energy 6-Hour Energy shots, and Rehab drink (you'll need it in the morning). Still, the look is very modern, and the electronics -- like the 42-inch Philips flat-screen TV (that gets about 30 channels) and the Bose stereo (that doesn't come with an iPod connector) -- are up to date. (In the new Paradise Tower, the features change slightly: a Sony alarm clock with iPod adapter rather than a Bose stereo and a Sony TV instead of a Philips.) Also, unlike many of the larger hotels on the Strip, the rooms in the original tower (not the Paradise Tower) come with a set of French doors that open to a protective railing (not a balcony) -- all the better to lean precariously over.

A step up from the standard rooms, the Hard Rock just finished construction on the Paradise Tower (opened in July 2009), which has a sleeker, sexier (darker) look with furnishings that are still gleaming. Still, even these rooms don't really compare (in both features and style) to the swanky rooms in the Encore, Wynn, Venetian, Palazzo, or even the Bellagio hotels.

Starting at 460 square feet, the base-level guest rooms are big for any other city in the world, but pretty typical for a standard room in Las Vegas -- comparatively, the rooms are about the same size as those at the Bellagio, but almost half the size of the base-level rooms at the Palazzo or Encore hotels. Still, the standard-room bathroom, by any standard, is small -- just a cramped room with a toilet, a stainless-steel sink, and a deep tub/shower. The bathrooms in the Paradise Tower are slightly bigger, meaning that they'd be considered big for most any other hotel in the world, but small when you compare them to some of the other luxury hotels in Vegas.

The platform bed is firm, but well-padded, and comes with a heavy comforter and quality bedding. I slept fine, but the bed didn't quite stand up to the amazing beds at the Encore or Palms hotels.

 Features

The grotto pool has two beaches (actual sand -- in the pool itself!), a waterslide, scantily clad waitresses, and plenty of cabanas hooked up with TVs and refrigerators. The pool is big, though not quite as large as the pool area at Mandalay Bay. But it's the crowd that bumps the Hard Rock pool into legendary status. On Sundays the hotel hosts the Rehab pool party, one of Las Vegas' most notorious parades of tanned and toned bare skin -- it's so popular, non-hotel guests have been known to line up early in the morning and fork over $100 (for guys) or $50 (for ladies) just to get inside. Fortunately, hotel guests get free access (via wristbands) to the party -- though this doesn't mean you won't have to wait in line.

But before you imagine a glamorous red-carpet event, remember this: It's a Hard Rock party. Imagine: oiled abs; neon plastic beer cups with lids and straws to support in-pool drinking in 105-degree heat; thumping, club-banger tunes; ladies who would rather be ranked among Maxim magazine's "hometown hotties" than snag a Chanel runway contract. It's fun, but it's not for the Hamptons crowd. But you don't have to take my word for it -- just watch the Rehab reality TV show, filmed on location.

For a still sexy pool scene that's a little less over-the-top, check out Wet Republic at the MGM Grand (which the Hard Rock runs a free shuttle to throughout the day) or the European pool at the Venetian.

Aside from the pool, the predominant feature of Hard Rock, unsurprisingly, is the music scene. Big name bands regularly play the recently renovated Joint, a 4,000-seat venue attached to the hotel. The hotel also brings in smaller acts to play weeknight shows at smaller clubs like Wasted Space, so there's always some music to check out. It's also piped throughout the casino over the loudspeakers -- you don't get the traditional Muzak here, it's mostly classic rock and '80s pop.

Feel like sweating out the alcohol? The hotel also has a fitness center at the Rock Spa (access costs $20, but an access fee is common at most Vegas luxury hotels). The spa, with separate male and female sections, is pretty small compared to other Las Vegas hotels, and the common features basically consist of a small hot tub and steam room in the locker room and a small relaxation area. The fitness center comes with five elliptical machines, recumbent stationary bikes, treadmills, strength training machines, and free weights. There are TVs mounted on the wall and windows face the pool outside, but unlike many other gyms in Vegas, there are no private TV video monitors on any of the cardio machines.

 Casino

As for games, the casino has the typical assortment of slots, table games, race and sports book, a high-limit room, and a separate poker room.

 Family

Sure, families come to the Hard Rock. Its museum's worth of rock 'n' roll memorabilia is a great place to teach the young ones about the world of music that pre-dates the Jonas Brothers. And though the pool certainly satisfies the party crowd, kids will no doubt get a kick out of the waterslide or beaches. But make no mistake, the Hard Rock is very much an adult hotel -- nightclubs, fine dining, and "tied up" do not disturb signs on the doors.

If you do bring the kids, know that double rooms are available, cribs are complimentary, and rollaway beds are an extra $40 per night.

 Cleanliness

The Hard Rock is kept clean, but after a pool party you can expect to see some debris on the beach that might not get cleaned up until the following day. The standard guest rooms in the main tower are a little worn -- some dings and scratches -- but still very well-kept. The new rooms on the fresh-built Paradise Tower, however, are flawless.

 Food

There's no buffet at the Hard Rock -- unlike many of the hotels on the Strip, like the Bellagio or Planet Hollywood -- but there are a variety of options (both inexpensive and expensive) that would suit just about any guest on a multi-day stay. Mr. Lucky's is a good 24-hour diner with an extensive menu and loud Hard Rock-style music piped in -- a fine place to ignore drunken friends or down a 4 a.m. hangover preventer. It's also about the only place in the hotel to get breakfast at 7 a.m.

Nobu -- a pan-Asian hot spot with locations in New York, L.A., Tokyo, and Malibu -- has an outpost right off the casino floor. Beside it is another upscale big city favorite, Ago, which serves Tuscan-style Italian cuisine for dinner. Rare 120, a stylish steakhouse, comes with a large lounge area and a big wine list. The menu is heavy on the turf, but it has surf as well.

Pink Taco, an upscale Mexican restaurant, isn't amazing -- at least not compared to some of the celebrity-chef-led restaurants at some of the hotels on the Strip, like the Venetian or Wynn -- but the guacamole is good and there's outdoor seating that overlooks the sexy pool crowd. (Just note, these seats go fast and you might have to wait a long while for them.) Food is prepared quickly and if you're in search of greasy food to pull you out of a hangover -- this is the place. There's also a weekday happy hour from 4 to 7 p.m.

 Bottom Line

Managed by the swank Morgans hotel group, the Hard Rock is off the Strip, but it knows how to throw a party -- Rehab, Vegas' best pool party; go-go dancers in the casino; live music at Joint or Wasted Space; stylish cuisine at Nobu or Ago.