SEMINOLE HARD ROCK TAMPA
Seminole
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa
A Complete Experience!
By: Jolie G. Padilla
Recently, Latin Times Magazine had the pleasure and honor of being invited, along with other local Hispanic Journalists to do an in-depth review of the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa. The Experience was beyond our expectations, and I hope you each have the opportunity to visit them soon!
DAY 1: From the moment we arrived, the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa delivered a truly unexpected yet luxurious experience. The rooms were not only beautifully furnished, but also incredibly comfortable – the perfect blend of elegance and relaxation, the thing that impressed me the most about the rooms was the bathroom – it was huge, a separate toilet area with a huge sliding door made of smocked glass-and a huge walk in shower, complete with a built in bench and a handheld shower sprayer. Our room was located within the East Tower-which is the newest wing of the Hotel, I later found out that the West Tower was also recently completely remodeled as well.( NEXT TIME, WE WILL CHECK IT OUT!)
After settling into the room, the first thing we wanted to do was head down to check out the beautiful casino areas-I say areas because the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa is one of the largest and most successful casinos in the world offering award-winning gaming, hospitality, and entertainment, and its right here in our backyard, if you are in the Tampa Bay area, and of course driving distance for other Florida cities. The casino features over 5,200 SLOT MACHINES, and I can tell you, we tried many of them, our favorite being the 1 cent slots, what can I say? – I’ m not big into slots, but my mom and friends were, and they had a great time checking them out and hearing the sounds of big winners hitting the jackpots! For me, I always enjoyed Poker-I wasn’ t ready to play yet, but I did enjoy checking out the table games, I love Blackjack – while I waited for my friends that were heading to Hard Rock to help me celebrate my birthday –
When one of my friends arrived, we headed to the second floor, to check out the vip event-since we were early, we decided to check out a small ice cream shop-that turned out to be a“ Liquor Infused Ice Cream Bar” called Aubi & Ramsa – the choices? Liquor Infused ¼ Pints to full pints of flavors like“ the Coco Loco”; The“ White Russian” the Agave Dulce de Leche-and much more, but since we were heading to an event we decided to share a VERY CREATIVE MIMOSA – Champaign with Passion Fruit Ice Cream – the best descrip
The VIP event we had been invited to was on the second floor across from Aubi & Ramsa at“ La Canita” a great little spot with a small stage, a limited amount of booths and tables – on stage was a great little Latin Band playing some great Salsa, and the room was jammed packed with some of Tampa Bays most wellknown Hispanic leaders, it felt like a reunion – I enjoyed seeing many old friends, and watching a young couple dance and perform salsa so beautifully- we also enjoyed the delicious hors devours and great conversation, after spending an hour there we headed out to look for my family-we were meeting at the Hard Rock Café-
DAY 2: Breakfast consisted of a Guava Cheese Croissant and a café con leche at the Constant Grind, a small“ walk-thru” or as they describe it a“ grab and go! This quick stop Delite had the most delicious and visually appealing pastries and a great café con leche so it was our go to AM stop. I had to eat light because I had a 10AM appointment with the Rock Spa & Salon where the Hard Rock treated us to an amazing Swedish Massage- when we arrived at the Spa, we were introduced to the Manager of the Pool & Spa Operations, Angela Hayes, a beautiful Cubana, who arranged for us to receive a tour of the amazing Spa which is actually 26,000 squarefoot spa with 13 treatment rooms, including a Rhythm & Motion room, Hammam Ritual room, two couples suites plus a full salon and co-ed aqua lounge, this amazing Spa, I am sure MANY people do not even realize it is even there! I enjoyed 80 Minutes of pure bliss and relaxation which consisted of a full body massage that left me feeling light and renewed!
Later that same day-we had the pleasure of enjoying a tour of the event center areas – As an event planner, I really enjoyed this portion of our trip because I had no idea that there was such a large event / conference center. The Seminole Hard Rock Tampa continues to elevate its music and entertainment with the Hard Rock Event Center. This 1,500- seat venue is on the second floor of the casino complex. The event center has everything you’ re looking for to host some of the nation’ s hottest entertainers and must-see concerts as well as conventions, trade shows, private events, large-scale poker tournaments and many more. The difference between this event / conference center and others was the fact that this venue had a way to include a flow into a beautiful outdoor area complete with a stage outside, pools
The Pool area was also something that impressed me
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa offers guests the modern pool experience. Make a splash at the contemporary and luxurious pool facility, featuring 3 diverse pools. Not just any poolside, the pool area includes two DJ booths for weekend pool parties and the Pool Bar & Grill to satisfy any craving. With over 500 loungers and daybeds, sip your day away poolside with our signature cocktails or choose to relax on one of our ledge loungers, offering in-water chaise lounges submerged in up to 9 inches of water.
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