At the end of 2019, the property move over for Virgin Hotels Las Vegas after renovation work. It will be the brand's first hotel in the city.
A group led by Virgin Hotels acquired the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas from a private real estate fund managed by Brookfield. Juniper Capital Partners, Fengate Real Asset Investments, Dream Hard Asset Alternatives Trust, Cowie Capital Partners and other private investors are all part of the transaction. The amount for which the financial transaction was carried out has not been made public.
The hotel, located on Paradise Road, just off the Vegas Strip, will continue to operate under the Hard Rock brand until it reopens as a Virgin Hotel. The hotel's guestrooms, restaurants and public spaces will be completely renovated before it reopens. It will have 1,504 rooms, a 60,000 square foot casino, new swimming pools, restaurants and bars, new nightlife venues and the brand's flagship Commons Club, as well as numerous meeting and convention spaces once construction work is completed.
"Las Vegas has long held a special place in my heart," said Sir Richard Branson, Founder of the Virgin Group. "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 […]"
"Las Vegas is a dynamic city – the people, the excitement, the entertainment. To me, it's always been the perfect city for our next Virgin Hotel," said Virgin Hotels CEO Raul Leal. "We are dedicated to delivering the best in design, entertainment, heartfelt service and culinary excellence and we can't wait to welcome visitors to what is sure to be an awe-inspiring Las Vegas experience."
The new property will follow the planned opening in San Francisco in 2018. Virgin Hotels will manage the 196-room property while Paradigm Hotels Group will develop it.
Virgin Hotels' pipeline includes projects in Nashville, Dallas, Washington, D.C., New Orleans, New York, Silicon Valley, Palm Springs, California and Edinburgh, Scotland, all of which are expected to be open by 2020. The new properties in Nashville, Dallas and New York are currently under construction.
The hotel group is also looking for hotel and office conversion opportunities and developments in other cities, including Boston, Los Angeles, Miami, Austin, Seattle and London.
The announcement of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino is, of course, not synonymous with the burial of the franchise, which has ten other points of contact in the United States and plans to open five more.
