Ah I miss the Twitter deals of yesteryear that would get me to stay at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino for $50 a night in the Paradise Towers. Sadly those no longer happen but I'll always fondly think of it as where I stayed for my 21st birthday... and some random weekend in April 2010... and my 23rd birthday....
Wow. Time flies.
Unless you have a pool facing view, avoid the Casino rooms and go for the Paradise Towers instead. It's worth the price increase. Paradise rooms are all new with awesome amenities and plushy beds to lay your weary head down for for 45 minutes. They just feel so much cleaner. Think of it this way, less coke has been blown in the Paradise rooms compared to the much older Casino rooms.
As you might have guessed, the crowd that stays here is more of the "young-and-forever-a-rocker-at-heart" variety. I would never consider this a family friendly place unless you like the idea of explaining alcohol and (especially) drugs to your children at a very young age. Save the kiddos for the Bellagio or something more PC.
This hotel has lots of fun restaurants inside to recover from at all hours of the day. I think every time I stayed here I ended up at Mr. Lucky's 24/7 at some ungodly hour noshing on something deep fried covered in fat. It was heaven. There's also Pink Taco for your normal eating pleasure as well as Nobu to indulge in fancy sushi.
It's also home to my favorite pool on the strip, Rehab and Vanity Nightclub. Rehab. Really, the pool is the best. Softly sloping sandy beaches, palm trees, islands and cabanas all around. Rehab, the HOTTEST pool party in Vegas takes place at their pool every Sunday from April through October. Vanity is their new club that basically replaced Body English which opened in 2009.
Bottom line: the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino is located off the strip which can be a pain but it is definitely worth the trip if you are coming or staying for the pool and Rehab!
Oh and I really want to stay in the Provocateur Suite one of these days... *hint hint wink wink*