A massive new Hard Rock Hotel opens in Times Square

On Monday, the Hard Rock Hotel New York opened at the northeast tip of Times Square, the latest major hotel brand to open in the area since the pandemic began.

The newly constructed sleek glass tower opened at 159 W. 48th St., bringing 446 rooms and a new live events venue to the Theater District. Room rates start at $475 per night.

Appropriately, the city’s first Hard Rock Hotel and a sister hotel to Broadway’s longtime Hard Rock Cafe (there’s another cafe at Yankee Stadium) stands on Music Row, the stretch along 48th Street that was once teeming with recording studios and instruments, sheet music and Gear was businesses that fueled the city’s music scene.

As a nod to the brand and a tribute to the place, the venue, simply referred to as Venue on Music Row, was purpose-built to showcase music, comedy and other live entertainment.

“We looked at dozens of locations across the city and this really fits perfectly,” said Jim Allen, chairman of Hard Rock International and CEO of Seminole Gaming, of the location. “There’s the business side of Midtown on one side and Times Square on the other. That is extremely exciting for us.”

The music-influenced Hard Rock brand began in London in the 1980s with the Hard Rock Cafe on Park Lane and grew into an international brand with 253 stores.

In addition to the venue, the hotel is home to the RT60 Rooftop Bar and Lounge on the 34th floor.

“Because we were designing a brand new building, we had the opportunity to use a canopy to create an amazing indoor and outdoor space,” Allen said. “We spent a lot of money creating the DJ booth and sound system to create an ultra lounge venue.”

Also locally, NYY Steak continues Hard Rock’s partnership with the New York Yankees, adding a third location — Yankee Stadium and Coconut Creek, Fla., each a home — for steaks and seafood, as well as a rotation of music memorabilia Sports.

The brand’s signature sessions restaurant and bar, serving breakfast and dinner on the main level, features a three-story atrium, al fresco terrace and grand staircase. Acoustic music performances are planned there. Constant Grind, a café for tea, coffee, pastries and a casual bite, rounds out the dining options.

The striking 36-story structure also extends 80 feet underground.

“The usable space has a ceiling height of nearly 40 feet. It has a balcony; The whole thing is incredible,” Allen added of the underground space that the venue is in. “It has a subterranean, speakeasy vibe.”

Guest rooms and suites feature a warm design with caramel and royal blue accents and floor-to-ceiling windows. The Rock Star Suite on the 36th floor is a glamorous, split-level, glass-enclosed penthouse with a 1,600-square-foot terrace and direct access to the rooftop bar.

“This is the suite at its best,” Allen said. “It’s designed to double as a venue for product launches and the like.”

Brand-wide bells and whistles include Crosley turntables and Fender guitars, delivered upon request. But the heart of hard rock is its remarkable music memorabilia, the world’s largest private collection of some 86,000 pieces.

“The hard rock of the ’80s and ’90s was simpler,” Allen said. “They basically put memorabilia on the walls. Now it’s more of a museum quality presentation with history and the story behind each piece and the artist.”

At the Hard Rock Hotel New York, large-scale iconic images of Hendrix and Bowie line the walls, and New York’s music scene is honored by touchstones such as Joey Ramone’s leather jacket, Lady Gaga’s silver patent-leather boots, and handwritten lyrics for John Lennon’s 1972 ode to his adopted home, “New York.” City”.

“With New York’s important place in music history, we wanted to create something special,” Allen added. “We always look at geographic location and the artists that have worked in the area, and then layer in global acts.”

Allen believes New Yorkers will enjoy the hotel, and the venue in particular, as much as hotel guests.

“When I first walked into the venue it was just raw concrete at that point,” he recalled, “and I always say check your ego at the door, but I felt very confident that we had created a great venue had. I just said, ‘We’ve got it!’”