Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa

After finally having a free day off, the wife and I decided to venture and have a go at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino - Tampa. Having moved to the Tampa Bay area recently, the travel from Lutz to the Tampa Hard Rock was short relative to our previous casino trips. My outlook on the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino franchise completely changed (for the better) after this visit. Hopefully this review will give some reasons why. As an MGM member and one who dabbles in casinos, my profiling of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino grouped the franchise along with the likes of the Caesars, Tropicana, Showboat, Ballys - in other words, casinos that are old and outdated. My ignorance in this regard also stemmed from the few quick stops at the Hard Rocks in Malta and Atlantic City, only to eat on both occasions. Again, my whole view of the Hard Rock franchise completely changed after this visit to the Tampa location. Travel and parking. Located just south of New Tampa and Temple Terrace, the Seminole Hard Rock - Tampa sits conveniently off of the I-4; while not the best of highways, it is arguably the quickest way to get to the venue. As you drive in, there are essentially three parking decks to choose from - Winner's Way and Lucky Street are the two main ones meant for resort visitors, while Orient Road and Draper Place puts you closer with respect to the actual hotel rooms. Either way, there is more than enough safe parking spaces with ease of access to the casino floor. The first thing that stands out is that smoking is permitted on the venue. While most casinos still allow smoking on their premises, it doesn't tend to be a problem. With Hard Rock Tampa - it seems a bit more noticeable. This may be a game changer for some. However, if you want some what of the casino experience without the smoking, they have a designated smoke-free area on the second floor. The casino floor is rather sizeable (larger than Parx Casino in Pennsylvania and can be compared to the Borgata in Atlantic City). The slot machine areas appear to be arranged and organized better than most casinos where other casinos seem like an elaborate maze. Navigating the floor here is easy and not as frustrating. Between the slot areas are a variety of tables. Overall, the casino floor is well maintained, neat, and clean. Meanwhile, the areas and functionality thereof around the casino floor are beautiful. There are a set of marvelous curving escalators that connect the second floor to the first, putting you right by the hotel-check in desk. There are distinguishable arcs that cast over the hall access to the hotel's East and West towers respectively, which offers a sense of elegance and class. If you are an avid casino player, you'll want to sign up at the Player's Club. The Hard Rock's rewards program is called Unity. Like the MGM, there is an app for this. The Hard Rock will also tier-match with MGM if you have the program. The ladies working the Player's Club were great and thorough. They explained the benefits and perks of the Unity program, along with giving us a brief introduction to the hotel and casino itself. The unique thing about the Unity rewards program compared to the MGM is that it applies to all Hard Rock franchise locations, which has a greater international reach compared to the mainly U.S.-based MGM. There is not much for kids - unless of course you are staying at the hotel, in which case there are amenities such as the pool. However, like most other casino resorts, there is not much for kids to do here (the Sugar Factory is more of a restaurant than a candy story itself), while the retail stores are catered toward the adult demographic. It was a fun experience overall, and we are definitely going to venture here a bit more often. I would highly recommend the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa for any casino player and as a resort hotel in general.

Hotel was nice and casino is huge. Only issue was price--its definitely on the high side. Will go again if we find a good price deal only.

Enjoyed the atmosphere and people. Very clean machines and the staff was attentive. A fun environment. A little smoky, but very only bad when you’re next to a smoker. But, I’ll be back.

I'm a little disappointed and never noticed this until now. I was recently at the hard rock and they had decorations up celebrating Hispanic heritage month. I've been going to the Tampa hard rock for over 10 years and I have NEVER seen any celebrations or decorations for Black History month?? I've seen them literally celebrate the Chinese new year, but NEVER Black History month. Sorry but that's not good, and I am disappointed in the Hard Rock. Black History month should be celebrated/decorated like Hispanic heritage month and the Chinese new year!!!

Be aware of this unregulated casino. The worst payback % Anyware the worst rewards of any casino I've been to they ae a bunch of thieves stay away from Hard Rock casinos in Florida no regulation or rules