The world's first guitar shaped hotel
Hard Rock’s guitar shaped hotel - a first in Hollywood, is due to open in October 2019. Founded on the mantra that music makes people feel good, Hard Rock – which boasts of hotels from Asia to the Caribbean, has been infusing hospitality with a hearty dose of ‘rock ‘n’ roll’ since 1971.
The company that began with a music-themed single café in London called the Hard Rock Cafe to grow later; to become a massive restaurant chain is now very much into hotels. The back-story to the original Hard Rock Café makes for interesting reading. By all accounts it was a genuinely cool ‘hang out’ connected to music - so much so, that Eric Clapton had a regular bar seat. When Clapton donated a guitar to hang above his seat, it started a memento showdown. Soon, Peter Townsend of the ‘Who’ quickly followed with a guitar of his own. The restaurant’s other locations caught on…and the growing collection of memorabilia added a ‘cool and original’ angle.
Known more as a Café than a hotel, Hard Rock Hotels did face some challenges - especially in Europe and the Middle East where it took a couple of years to educate the market on what Hard Rock Hotels is today.
Hard Rock International EMEA vice president of development for hotels Josh Littman explains it best “Everyone’s heard of the brand, but people have heard of Hard Rock Café, which is a completely different business. It’s under the same umbrella and represents the same values, where music is the single strand of DNA that runs through everything we do. But the café is an experience through a 60-90 minute window. In a hotel, you’re paying more money over more time and you don’t want things in your face 24/7. You don’t want to feel like you’re walking into a nightclub. You need to appeal to a wider market, young kids and families. It’s a fantastic lifestyle brand and is one of the most differentiated brands in the market.”
Hard Rock Hotel’s new opening in Hollywood is an expansion of Seminole Hard Rock Hotel Casinos located in Tampa and Hollywood, Florida. The soon-to-open hotel will include a 12,000-square foot rooftop bar, along with spas, a theater, a selection of restaurants and several retail outlets. The property will have its own lazy river and massive swimming pool. The guitar shaped hotel will feature some swim up suites, and will also have villas which will be partially submerged in water. The villas will have their very own private pool and butler service.
The hotel is a rebuilt 7,000 seat concert venue, Hard Rock Live and is expected to host over 100 shows per year. As part of the hotel’s inauguration, Maroon 5 will perform in its new concert venue for its grand opening.
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