Las Vegas Weekly

July 30, 2009 · 9:46 AM

New nightclub, casino, pools and restaurant in store for Hard Rock Hotel

By Robin Leach

Hard Rock Hotel Senior Vice President and General Manager of Operations Yale Rowe in the new Paradise Tower.

Photo: Erik Kabik/Retna/www.erikkabik.com

Two new pools, a Sky Bar and a nightclub are all planned for the fall expansion at the Hard Rock Hotel, while Body English will close after New Year’s Eve celebrations and debut as a new entity next April -- and not necessarily as a nightclub!

That’s the word from Hard Rock’s head honcho, Yale Rowe, senior vice president and general manager of operations. Click HERE for our photo tour yesterday of the new Paradise Tower he’s opening there this weekend.

Yale told me: “We’re opening two months ahead of plans. The slowed construction activity around town actually worked to our advantage, and we were able to bring in some of the best crews around to finish ahead of schedule. It’ll be another three weeks before our six new pool villas will be fully opened. We have a new European (read topless) pool that will be completed in December and yet another new pool that will open in 2010 and hold 4,000 for outdoor concerts. We’ll have a new Sky Bar based on the highly successful Sky Bar at the Mondrian Hotel on Sunset Strip in West Hollywood. It’s all as sensational as it sounds, and we’ll have the full demographic at the pools as we have at the concerts and other venues.

“When the additional HRH tower opens in December with a new spa and shopping arcade, our total room count will be 1,500. We have a number of new retail stores in the pipeline, including a new retail fashion concept from designer John Varvatos. A new casino will be carved out of the old Joint venue, and then our expansion is complete. And we’ll have yet another new American food-focused restaurant that will be totally unique to Vegas. Also within the new casino environment coming in December, we’ll have our new nightclub.”

“We’re keeping all the details of it top secret, but suffice to say it will become the best of all in Vegas. The Body English nightclub will go down in the New Year and debut with a totally new look and feel in April 2010, but possibly not necessarily a new club. “

I asked Yale if he was better positioned in these tougher economic times with just 1,500 suites rather than a rival resort complex with 7,000 rooms. He replied: “We have the same challenges -- it’s just relative. We, however, did manage to prepare for the economy going under weather. We knew it was coming, so we knew what it was going to deal with us. The others opened right at the height of the storm.

Photo: Erik Kabik/Retna/www.erikkabik.com

Hard Rock Hotel Senior Vice President and General Manager of Operations Yale Rowe in the new Paradise Tower.

“I’d still like to see us get better room rates. Obviously the bankers and lenders are hypersensitive about the situation in Vegas. We’re getting our fair share of business, though, and the new Joint has helped greatly. It is a fantastic success story, in fact. Carlos Santana has proved to be a strong hit, and we’ve talked about another resident headliner to come to The Joint when he’s not playing there.

“These are exciting times. Obviously, we are thrilled about the new rooms and the new attractions we’re opening. Everybody loves what they’ve seen so far, so we have even better still to be unveiled!”

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

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