This was going to be my 8th time in Vegas, and I had stayed at a new hotel on each visit. However, my friend was a Vegas newbie with a narrow-minded plan of spending most of her time lounging by the pool. Her sister advised us that we just had to book our stay with the Hard Rock Hotel. Since I had yet to try this destination and because of its party atmosphere, I conceded to the suggestion. We planned our trip to span a Thursday through Monday to ensure that we would be poolside for the Sunday Rehab party, which was still advertised as a prominent event on their website, though we had already entered the Fall season.
We arrived on the scheduled Thursday afternoon and were confronted with a lengthy check-in line. We were dying to get settled and start our trip, but we were not allowed to check in prior to their 3 pm time. We were told that our room was ready but awaiting approval from the housekeeping manager, which should only take one hour. We dragged our luggage into the Pink Taco restaurant to grab some tasty Mexican salads (see separate review) and to enjoy the sun on the patio. We returned to the check in desk over an hour later and were told that our room was still awaiting approval, but that we could immediately settle into a room on a lower floor. At this point, we were just eager to get to the pool, so we agreed to the lesser room, which wound up providing a hideous view of the parking garage! The room itself had funky wallpaper, a spacious bathroom, an iPod dock with speakers, and a large flat-screen television.
We had mixed feelings regarding our stay. First, their website did not mention that the Sunday Rehab party was over for the season or that their pool was not heated. So, basically, everyone was relaxing poolside in the 80-degree weather, but had nowhere to properly cool off. In regards to the crowd, I love Jon M's review comparing this to New Jersey; my friend and I thought we were back home among Jersey shore guidos. Fist pumping was definitely not our scene...A final note on the pool is that the waitresses were extremely friendly on Thursday afternoon, but became snooty and pretentious on the weekend. It was as if they were trying to exude a "cool" vibe for the rowdy Saturday-Sunday crowd. All of the pretentiousness was more discouraging than impressive.
Additionally, the hotel's free shuttle to the Strip only arrived once every hour and did not even stop anywhere close to Las Vegas Boulevard. We wound up opting for taxi service instead, which saved time but cost $10 each way.
I was also annoyed by the $20 a day fee to use the fitness center, which was attached to the spa rather than being a part of the hotel. The large room was packed with equipment and would have been the perfect way to counteract my extravagant dinners and evening cocktails, but I refused to pay for this "amenity".
The main reasons to stay at the Hard Rock are for the crazy atmosphere, terrific nightlife options, and large pool grotto. However, many of these things are negligible and can be found at other properties. I would recommend staying on the Strip instead.