HotelChatter

“If this place is rockin’ don’t bother knockin’, come on in!”

Yeah, we know: groan (That quote is also plastered on the entrance to the Hard Rock in Vegas.) But he's a little excited, OK? Kleisner (who's the CEO of Morgans Hotel Group, let's not forget) goes on to tell us that the three-year long renovation and expansion of the Hard Rock is finally done, and he can't wait for us to explore all the new additions, like Vanity nightclub, the Rehab pool party, and restaurant Johnny Smalls.

The article on Johnny Smalls made us want to hit up the HRH, stat: the tapas-style food and casual atmosphere sounds perfect for Vegas, and perfect for the HRH'n'roll lifestyle. (The chef says you can eat everything with your hands which is cool but we trust what our sibling, VegasChatter has to say about Johnny Smalls instead. )

Other stories on in-house products—the glossy spread given to the Hudson Hotel, for example—made us yawn, but we love that HRH has more interesting subjects than most hotel mags, since it cover the bands and other big names that perform or simply show up at the hotel.

This issue has features on Tracy Morgan, John Varvatos and Them Crooked Vultures—a story worth reading just to find out that Dave Grohl had his 40th birthday party at Medieval Times.

True rock cred even comes courtesy of the magazine's contributors—which in this issue includes Cameron Crowe and photographer Neal Preston. Crowe gives us an intro to a portfolio of Neal's work, and tells us that much of Almost Famous was based on his and Neal Preston's experiences together covering live shows, and antics backstage and in bands' hotel rooms.

Preston pops up again on the final editorial page, "The Take," which features one of his marked-up contact sheets (remember those?!), but before we get there, HRR also tells us a few "True Rock Star Stories" a.k.a staff profiles. We like this. It personalizes the experience of being in a hotel and interacting with staff, especially in a place that can feel disconnected like Vegas.

Rock bible it ain't (although, what is these days?)—but at least we know we can always check into the Hard Rock, pick up HRH and get a dose of musos being musos. Worth a flip through—it may even help your Vegas hangover.