Tag: atlantic city hotels
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What Is This At Trump Taj Mahal?
We like to keep it fun but informative here at HotelChatter so our series, What is This?, is devoted to odd-looking items in hotels that upon first glance look as if they serve only a decorative purpose. But everything happens for a reason, right? And we're here to tell you what these things really do.
Most things in Atlantic City hotels you can pretty much take at face value. Casino floor. Slot machine. Starbucks. Jimmy Buffett-inspired beach bar.
But we had to stop and do a double take while wandering around the lobby at Trump Taj Mahal the other day. At the bottom of the escalators, right next to the Baccarat Pit, we spotted what appeared to be a giant children's playpen—then we remembered where we were, and dismissed that thought. Bright, shiny beach balls scattered around a life-size tic-tac-toe board.
But who was playing? Were we allowed to jump in? What the heck was this thing anyway?
Casino Hotels / Margaritaville Hotels / Jimmy Buffett / Atlantic City Hotels / Hotel Restaurants / Hotel Bars / → All Tags
Margaritaville Atlantic City Is Happening In 3 Weeks
Don't pretend you haven't been counting down the days to the opening of Jimmy Buffett's new Margaritaville Casino in Atlantic City. From your cubicle at work, you've fantasized about biting into a "Cheeseburger in Paradise" on the boardwalk, or playing blackjack on one of the brand new Margaritaville-themed casino tables.
Well, the wait is almost over.
Just over a month since Buffett announced plans to team up with Wyndham on a new St Thomas resort, things are gearing up in Atlantic City for a grand opening on Memorial Day weekend. The new venue will sit inside the 942-room Resorts Casino, and its entrance will be marked by a sculpture of a giant blender. (Yes, you read that right.)
Meanwhile, outside, its oceanfront Landshark Bar, will be Atlantic City's first-ever year-round full-service bar and restaurant on the sand side of the Boardwalk.
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Go Borgata, It's Your Birthday! They're Doling Out Deals Like It's Your Birthday
As we all know, Atlantic City has never had trouble finding a reason to throw a party (last year, it was the opening of Revel, which was celebrated over multiple weekends).
Now, it's The Borgata's turn to crank up the volume, as the casino hotel's big 10th anniversary is fast approaching, and you can bet (heh) they're going out of their way to let you know about it.
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Revel's Financing Approved as Summer Approaches the Jersey Shore
Last time we checked in with Revel, they were in the process of filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Last week, a court judge approved a $250 million financing plan that will allow the hotel and casino to continue its operations, including employee wages, sustaining loyalty programs, and paying its bills.
That’s good news for visitors this summer, who, in theory, shouldn’t see any operational changes if they look to help Revel make a comeback. That said, Revel laid off 83 workers last Wednesday from a variety of positions, so it remains to be seen whether those cuts will have any noticeable effect on the consumer (they still have 3,217 employees, so we’re guessing they’ll be all right).
According to the Associated Press, Revel is also rumored to be considering whether to drop its non-smoking policy, which is thought by many, including HC, to be one of the reasons for the casino’s poor performance. It is one of the few Atlantic City venues to have such a regulation.
Hotel Woes / Hotel News / New Jersey Hotels / Atlantic City Hotels / Revel Resorts / → All Tags
[UPDATE] AC's Revel *Plans To File For Bankruptcy
[UPDATE: We received an email from Revel's public relations firm who has asked us to reword our story to indicate that the hotel "plans to file a consensual prepackaged chapter 11." ] Things just keep getting worse for the Revel in Atlantic City. On Tuesday, the most expensive casino ever built in New Jersey announced that it will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
While it is a shame to see, we suppose it doesn't really come as a surprise as Revel's performance has not only been under tight scrutiny since its opening last spring, it has also been pretty poor, consistently at the bottom of the rankings when it comes to gambling revenue in Atlantic City. A lot of that disappointment and inability to attract a wide variety of clientele has been blamed on the hotel's non-smoking policy and high-priced restaurants.
Apparently, the house doesn't always win.
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Is Borgata's New E-Casino Program Just For Couch Potatoes?
You know those times when you're all cozy in your Atlantic City hotel room, reading magazines in the bathtub, and you kinda feel like heading downstairs to blow a few hundred on the slots but then again, you'd have to, like, get up and put clothes on? Yeah, such a drag.
Luckily, The Borgata is fixing all that with a new E-casino program, making it the first US hotel to allow guests to gamble over their TV sets, using just a remote control. Kind of like ordering room service, except instead of someone coming to serve you delicious food, you're just clicking a button until all your money's gone. Sounds fun, huh?
One recent guest told the NY Daily News:
"I like the ambience of being down here on the casino floor. I like the noise of the machines. In my room, I'd find it depressing, to be honest."
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Some Celebrities Went Ham Over The Holidays
It look like celebs have been living it up over the holidays. So much so, we’ve had to condense it into a mini digest. Here’s what’s been going on with the bold faced and the beautiful.
KimYe Are Expecting a Baybay:Some people announce that they’re expecting with a cute little sonogram or something more demure. Not Kanye West. Nope. He had to deliver the news to thousands of folks at Atlantic City’s Revel Resort in this endearing manner, by saying during his December 30th concert, “stop the music right there and make noise for my baby mama," smiling in the direction of his boo, Kim Kardashian. Yes, that’s exactly how one wants to be referred to when revealed we are carrying your child, Yeezy!
Celebrity Chefs / Atlantic City Hotels / Wolfgang Puck / Borgata Hotels / → All Tags
Wolfgang Puck at The Borgata: Sets His Sights on Doha
We had the pleasure of being invited to the recent Savor Borgata Event in Atlantic City where chefs Bobby Flay, Wolfgang Puck, Michael Mina, Geoffrey Zakarian and others were there presenting food demos and a huge culinary showcase for a crowd we were delighted to see come out in droves to support the city just a week after Hurricane Sandy hit.
We were lucky enough to spend a few minutes interviewing some of the chefs. We talked about some of their holiday plans, and more importantly what’s on their hotel horizon.
We spoke with the personable Wolfgang Puck:
Celebrity Chefs / Atlantic City Hotels / Bobby Flay / Borgata Hotels / → All Tags
Bobby Flay At The Borgata: Dishes On Thanksgiving and His Food Future
We had the pleasure being invited to the recent Savor Borgata Event in Atlantic City where chefs Bobby Flay, Wolfgang Puck, Michael Mina, Geoffrey Zakarian and others were there food demos and to present a huge culinary showcase for a crowd we were delighted to see come out in droves to support the city just a week after Hurricane Sandy hit.
Though the Borgata and sister hotel The Water Club are not on the Boardwalk, they did feel some of the effects of Sandy, but, as they say, the show must go on—and that it did.
We were lucky enough to spend a few minutes to interview the chefs. We talked about some of their Thanksgiving Plans, and more importantly find out what’s on their hotel horizon.
We spoke with Bobby Flay, after his Thanksgiving-dinner demo where he showed his huge audience how to properly cook a turkey, prepare a spicy pumpkin soup (with chipotles, of course!), convinced naysayers to embrace Brussels sprouts, and bigged up Geoffrey Zakarian's Lamb's Club at The Chatwal as one of his favorite restaurants--despite Zakarian telling us Conde Naster's were getting too fat from his food!
A little more from Flay:
Casino Hotels / Hurricane Sandy / Atlantic City Hotels / Revel Resorts / Borgata / New Jersey Hotels / → All Tags
Bettor Believe It! Atlantic City Casinos and Hotels Are Open Again
Last we heard, Atlantic City had completely shut down in preparation for the storm, ordering casinos to terminate gambling and hotel guests to be evacuated. That was last Sunday.
Over a week later, much of the Jersey Shore has been devastated, and the Atlantic City boardwalk has all but disappeared, but casinos and hotels are starting to open up once more.
For starters, Revel re-opened on Saturday at noon, with the following words:
"Revel sustained minimal damage and although our team is fully ready, we have elected to reopen tomorrow to allow for residents to return to their homes. We are grateful to our staff for their continued support"
The 740-room Golden Nugget, which recently completed a major $150 million renovation in April, was the first casino to re-open after the storm. In fact, owners were so anxious to get gamblers back in the building that the doors were flung open within hours of Governor Chris Christie's official go-ahead on Friday.
Hurricane Sandy / Hotel Emergencies / Manhattan Hotels / Atlantic City Hotels / Washington DC Hotels / → All Tags
Hurricane Sandy Causes A Surge In Hotel Stays and Cancellations
The view just few blocks from the Marriott Downtown
Last weekend, it seemed as if Hurricane Sandy hadn’t worried enough hoteliers in the southern region of the country to do much more than shut down some areas of their hotels,and pull in deck chairs to keep them from flying around.
It’s been quite the different story in the last few days and particularly in the northeast which has been busy dealing with hotel reservation cancellation, extensions, and new requests for guests who can’t leave town or must leave their homes due to evacuation orders. Naturally because of generators, hotels are an easy option for safer ground.
Reports of hotel closures and evacuations dominated the news over the entire weekend. Yesterday on New York’s ABC channel, a reporter told the tale of how a groom-to-be named “Seth” of Great Neck, NY was scheduled to be married at 5pm on Sunday in Tribeca. However, the wedding party and their guests, who were staying at a Battery Park City hotel (we guessed The Ritz, who didn't confirm that particular party), were forced to leave the property by 7pm, as part of the city’s mandatory evacuation order. Add insult to injury, Seth and is bride-to-be wouldn’t be able to leave for their honeymoon today thanks to the cancelled flights which our sister Jaunted is covering extensively.
Hotel News / Hotel Construction / Hard Rock Hotels / Atlantic City Hotels / Hotel Delays / → All Tags
Over Before It Began: Hard Rock Atlantic City Not Happening
After much back-and-forth, it looks like plans for Hard Rock Atlantic City have finally been put to rest. Developers of the casino hotel, the first phase of which was scheduled to open in 2015, apparently backed out of the deal on Wednesday, after they'd already been given a generous six-month extension by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission to get their act together.
Which, as we can see, they failed to do.
What a bummer! When we first heard about these plans in 2010, we were actually pretty excited—especially given the fact that Revel was being billed as Atlantic City's "last casino" for a while. We'd kinda hoped that Hard Rock would become the boardwalk's miracle hotel, proving everyone else wrong. Instead, we just get another empty, unused lot.
