Hard Rock Hotel And Casino Atlantic City Review

On our last trip to the US, we took a spur of the moment decision to stay in Atlantic City New Jersey for a few days. Our hotel for the stay would be the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Atlantic City.

Why Atlantic City you may ask? Atlantic City is a resort city on the coast in New Jersey, a couple of hours drive from New York, known for its casinos, wide beaches and boardwalk. In some ways, it’s like a smaller version of Las Vegas but to be honest, it doesn’t really compare as Las Vegas is a much bigger entertainment capital. Let’s just say Atlantic City has it has its own unique charms and being close to New York, makes an add on to a New York trip easy and possible.

We’ve stayed in the Hard Rock Hotel in Orlando before and enjoyed visiting the Hard Rock Cafe too so it’s seemed a good idea to book our stay in Atlantic City at the Hard Rock Hotel there.

Check-In

Check-in was straight forward, there were only a couple of people before us and the reception staff were helpful and cheerful. The hotel is huge so it was a nice surprise that we didn’t have to queue for long.

The Room

The room we had booked was a classic king no smoking room with a bay view. The hotel is divided into two towers for the rooms and we were in the North Tower, which is a ten-minute walk to the main casino floor. If you have problems walking I would suggest the South Tower instead.

The room had modern furnishings and was decorated in calming tones of beige and blue. Everything was in good condition, we liked the decor and although it didn’t blow us away, it was still smart.

There were plenty of plugs and USB points in the room and the room had an iron and ironing board, safe, coffee machine and mini-fridge which you could use for your own items. There was also a 40 inch flat-screen TV.

It was nice to have a small table and chair and also a large chair and ottoman on the one side.

The bathroom had a marble double sink and an extremely large shower (Mr W commented you could get a rugby team in there if that’s your thing!) and also a separate toilet. Everything was super clean and complimentary toiletries were provided.

Our room was surprisingly spacious and had large floor to ceiling windows with a view of the bay. This was especially lovely at sunrise and sunset.

The Casino

The casino at the Hard Rock Hotel Atlantic City is huge. With over 100 table games including blackjack, roulette, craps and more and a huge variety of over 2000 slot machines, as well as a sportsbook section, you will certainly have fun on the casino floor is you like a little bet now and again.

The casino floor is really smart and modern, as the Hard Rock Hotel was only opened in 2018 and was formerly the Taj Mahal hotel. This means that a huge amount of money was spent refurbishing the hotel – and it shows.

What we liked was that the casino floor wasn’t too smokey. In many casino hotels, especially the older ones with inefficient air conditioning, you still feel like you’ve had 20 cigarettes at the end of the night as most allow smoking. At The Hard Rock Hotel in Atlantic City, it didn’t feel like that. They also have areas which are clearly no smoking so you won’t have people blowing smoke over your shoulder.

We also liked the fact that you could order complimentary drinks on the slot machines you were playing. In Las Vegas, you have to wait for a waitress to come around to order a complimentary soft or alcoholic drink, then you tip your waitress a dollar or two. This can take a long time for you to be served, and in that time you can gamble a lot. In Atlantic City you order your drinks on the slot machine you are playing, everything from cocktails, liquor, soft drinks, coffee, even champagne, and then the machine updates you on your order. When it arrives you just tip your waitress as normal. Much quicker!

Restaurants

There are several restaurants and quick service locations in the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Atlantic City.

We like the Hard Rock Cafe chain and have visited quite a few different ones around the world, so when we saw there was one in the hotel we had to eat there. It didn’t disappoint. I always have the ‘legendary burger’ which is a beef burger topped with bacon, onion rings, and more. It was very good. While we were at the Hard Rock Cafe on a Saturday night, there was live music playing and we really enjoyed this. I am not sure if this is on every night, but it is certainly worth checking. The serving staff we had were very good too, really pleasant and chatty.

Besides the Hard Rock Cafe, there are 7 or 8 other restaurants from high end to casual. We also enjoyed Trattoria Il Mulino. an Italian restaurant serving fresh pasta, entrees and Italian desserts.

There is a small food court style area for quick service options. Alexia’s Patisserie was very good if a little pricey and Burgers and Hops served an excellent deli sandwich with chips (the crisp type not the fries type).

Facilities

Other facilities included a spa and salon and a fitness centre. It also had an indoor swimming pool which didn’t have many bells and whistles but did the job.

The hotel hosts many live events in its Hard Rock Live and Sound Waves venues from pop and rock stars of the past and present. It also has the Howie Mandel’s Comedy club featuring stand-up comedians too. Adam Sandler was due to play a couple of weeks after we left.

There are also several shops including a high-end clothing boutique, a jeweller and a store selling Hard Rock merchandise. Meeting and function space are also available to rent.

There is also a nightclub and a few bars on-site, many playing live music on the weekend.

Memorabilia

If you are a lover of music, the Hard Rock Hotel Atlantic City has some cool memorabilia. From dresses from Lady Gaga, guitars from Prince, tour notes from Madonna’s first tour, to Elvis’ personal 1963 Rolls Royce phantom and the denim cut off jacket Bruce Springsteen wore for the Born In The USA tour.

There are some absolutely fantastic items here and we both feel it’s well worth the time exploring the hotel to seek them out.

Conclusion

The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City is a fantastic fun hotel and well worth a stay. With very reasonable mid-week rates starting at 49 dollars, if you are on a tight budget I would recommend you visit mid-week. On the weekend prices can escalate vastly and you can easily spend 300 dollars upwards for a summer weekend date. You do have to pay a resort fee, currently $17 a night plus tax for high-speed internet, local calls, access to the pool and fitness centre, so factor that into the cost.

We will definitely be back in the future, so keep stirring those cocktails and making those burgers Hard Rock Hotel, as we can’t wait to visit again!

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