New Jersey

July 3, 2018

Two major new resort openings in Atlantic City just brought a host of new meeting and event space to the destination, plus some major new entertainment venues. The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City, built on the site of the former Trump Taj Mahal, and Ocean Resort Casino, formerly Revel, both celebrated their grand opening on June 28.

Ocean Resort Casino, which held a ribbon cutting ceremony June 28 with actor Mark Wahlberg and other city and state officials, was acquired by AC Ocean Walk in January. It has gone a top-to-bottom property refresh aimed at creating what officials are describing as a welcoming, exciting and engaging destination resort casino. It is part of The Unbound Collection by Hyatt brand.

Ocean Resort Casino has 160,000 square feet of meeting and convention space, plus 90,000 square feet of flexible outdoor special event space. The property is built around a 138,000 square foot casino floor, which includes a 7,500 square foot sports book and bar. In terms of accommodations, there are 1,399 guest rooms, all of which have views of the Atlantic Ocean. Types range from standard rooms with queen beds to one bedroom suites with king beds and a separate sitting room. Other amenities include a 40,000 square foot onsite Exhale spa (from Hyatt’s newly acquired wellness brand), six swimming pools – one of which is a dayclub that hosts live entertainment – the world’s largest indoor Topgolf Swing Suite and two nightclubs. There is also a 4,2000 seat Ovation Hall event venue that will host live entertainment and concerts, plus more than 15 restaurants. The resort is part of the World of Hyatt loyalty program, and it is pet-friendly.

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City is a 17-acre property on the boardwalk. Since Hard Rock purchased it as the former Trump Taj Mahal, pouring over $500 million into a renovation that completely gutted the guest rooms and most public areas. The resort now has 150,000 square feet of meeting space, plus an aggressive entertainment lineup through its “365 Live” program, which will aim to host acts every day of the year across six different performance stages with artists from popular talent shows like American Idol, The Voice and America's Got Talent, Grammy Award winners, comedians and national touring acts. There is also a nightclub, as well as a comedy club by Howie Mandel. In terms of accommodations, there are 2,000 guestrooms and suites, plus amenities such as the Rock Spa & Salon, Body Rock Fitness Center, retail offerings, The Sound of Your Stay music amenity program and the Rock Shop. More than 20 food and beverage offerings run the gamut from the Council Oak Fish seafood restaurant to an outpost of the Sugar Factory.

The twin openings come following a challenging few years for Atlantic City’s tourism sector. The $2.4 billion mega-resort, Revel, closed in 2014 after its second bankruptcy filing, just two years after it opened. The Trump Taj Mahal closed in October 2016 amid a labor dispute; the property had previously been purchased in 2014 by investor Carl Icahn.