Virgin to open its first hotel and casino in Las Vegas
Virgin Hotels is to open its first property in Las Vegas after buying the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino for an undisclosed sum.
Sir Richard Branson’s group has teamed up with a number of investors led by Juniper Capital Partners and Fengate Real Asset Investments to purchase the property.
It will be refurbished over the coming months in readiness for a rebrand to Virgin Hotels Las Vegas by 2019.
It will remain open and will continue operating as a Hard Rock Hotel during the transformation.
Virgin Hotels Las Vegas will become Virgin’s largest hotel by far, with more than 1,500 rooms.
Virgin Hotels already has one hotel in Chicago and others under development in Nashville, Dallas, Washington D.C, New Orleans, New York, Silicon Valley and Palm Springs.
"Virgin Atlantic and Virgin America have enjoyed flying to Las Vegas for years and I’ve always known that Virgin Hotels could thrive there as well. I’m really looking forward to painting the town Virgin red," Branson said.
He added that the iconic giant guitar out front ‘might not survive’.
Under the Virgin Hotels flag it will have 1,504 rooms, or what Virgin calls Chambers, Grand Chamber Suites and Penthouse Suites, along with a fully revamped casino, multiple swimming pools restaurants, lounges and bars.
New night life venues will be added.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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