Las Vegas Weekly

August 6, 2009 · 7:01 PM

Welcome to Paradise - the new tower at the Hard Rock, that is

By Deanna Rilling

The blue glass curtain wall of the Paradise Tower contains 490 rooms, including pool suites and one mega penthouse suite with near 360 degree views of the city.

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

If Wasted Space or the Hard Rock’s poker lounge morphed into its own sleek hotel, it’d closely resemble the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino’s new Paradise Tower. That’s because designer Mark Zeff, the man behind both, was charged with carrying the rock n’ roll decadence over to hotel and casino’s new addition.

“We have created an entirely new DNA for the Hard Rock,” said Zeff, the President and Founder of Zeffdesign. “The result is a revitalized Hard Rock Hotel that guests have never seen before and never experienced.”

For starters, anyone looking to live the rock star life knows a new hotel addition needs a party-rific suite. Though not quite as unusual as having a bowling alley in your room (like the Casino tower’s suite), the Platinum Suite Penthouse is definitely nothing to scoff at. From the faux silver snakeskin upholstery to stripper poles, this 3,500 square foot pad is dressed for luxurious debauchery.

The three-bedroom suite has a maze of dark-stained wood paneled corridors that lead to the extra rooms that can be sectioned off and used as individual guest rooms or incorporated into the penthouse. (The only thing missing is a faux bookcase secret passage way.) Toile wallpaper depicts what looks to be an iguana getting strangled by vines that’s simultaneously bizarre and creepy-in-a-cool-rocker-way.

But the best feature of the new suite—besides the giant bar, hot tub, floor-to-ceiling windows and flat screen TVs everywhere – is the pool table. Resembling the interactive tables at Revolution or Tabu, a projector and sensors make the pool table appear to change as a game is played, from water to fire, even a naked lady can be revealed during game play. No word on what shows up if you scratch on the eight ball.

The ground level rooms, with direct access to the Rehab mayhem, will also impress thanks to 10 pool suites, including two duplexes. Six of those have one-of-a-kind themes created by local designer Mark Tracy. Highlights from Tracy’s modern touches include a wall of turntables, a mosaic of broken mirrors and a graphic mural of an emaciated Kate Moss. His other pool suites include an ‘80s black and red punk premise with a bad-ass Mohawk chick painted on the walls. On the more frightening side, another suite features a second mural of an attractive female, though this one has the head of a buck and the image might give the guest nightmares if they choose to stop partying and eventually sleep while in Vegas.

The 490 standard Zeff-designed new guest rooms are still fit for a rock star. Burgundy and brown dominate the color scheme on some rooms, grey, blue and black in others. But don’t dare call any of the new tower’s elements “tribal” inspired, that’s so 2008. The rich damask patterns for the wall treatments and carpeting complements the rooms’ leather and silver-studded accents. “This is a high-end, rock n’ roll experience, making this hotel the hottest and sexiest in all of Las Vegas,” Zeff explains.

Opened on July 31, the Paradise Tower is only the first in a series of changes affecting one of the hippest properties in town. While we’re totally stoked about the new rooms, they may be a bit pricey for a Vegas local’s staycation, so we now turn our attention to the booze-slinging imbiberies open to the public and likely aimed at attracting locals as well as out-of-towners.

When the next phase is completed—tentatively in December—the former Joint will serve as a gaming corridor connecting the existing casino to the Hard Rock Hotel all-suite VIP tower. A new 3.5 acre pool will open, possibly with a stage for concerts, and look for a new indoor and outdoor casino space, too. If that wasn’t enough, expect a 24-hour co-ed spa, John Brennan Salon, and 60,000 square feet of meeting and convention space.

And what of our beloved Body English? With a newer, larger club being constructed, we were a bit worried, but reps say when the new nightlife venue opens at the base of the HRH Tower, BE will stay put (though it might transition into a strictly afterhours spot down the road). Daytime, prime time and late-night partying, plus a swanky place to crash should the necessity arise? Sounds like a plan.

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