Be Treated Like A Rock Star At The Rock Spa & Salon At Hard Rock Atlantic City
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino has only been part of the Atlantic City casino scene for two months. Yet this refreshingly exiting new addition to the Boardwalk keeps going above and beyond to prove without a doubt that it is far more than just another casino hotel.
Anyone who has already visited Hard Rock has no doubt experienced some of the unparalleled musical entertainment. Now get ready for a relaxing, but also invigorating and rejuvenating, blissful escape into a totally different experience at the Rock Spa & Salon.
Grand opening of the Hard Rock Atlantic City Rock Spa & Salon
I had the privilege of being present for the grand opening and ribbon cutting of the Rock Spa & Salon on Thursday, August 30.
Even though I was there for the evening reception and therefore didn’t receive any treatments, surrounded by the 51 Miss America contestants, the place felt utterly magical and a world apart from the crowded casino in the same building. Yet there I was on the third floor of the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.
What makes the Rock Spa & Salon special
Comparing the Rock Spa & Salon to an ordinary spa and salon is like comparing Dom Perignon and a $5 bottle of imitation champagne. There is no comparison.
In fact, the Rock Spa & Salon is a unique offering of the Hard Rock brand. Looking for it at any place other than a Hard Rock property would be pointless. But with 17 other Hard Rock locations in the United States and around the world, how could there not be one in Atlantic City, too?
More than just a spa
According to the complimentary brochure I was handed on my visit, the facility is “more than a spa. It’s an escape.”
The spa promises to “stir the soul, relax the mind, and rock the body.” It’s an opportunity to be pampered like a rock star with anything from a facial to a wide range of massages and other full body treatments.
The spa features 31 treatment rooms, including 20 dedicated massage rooms, four facial rooms, two couples suites, three body treatment rooms, and two Rhythm & Motion rooms. Individual lockers are available in separate areas for ladies and gentlemen, along with steam and sauna rooms that lead to a coed Vitality pool area.
The Body Rock Fitness Center, open 24/7, offers a state-of-the-art Technogym cardio and circuit training equipment. Guests can also sign up for Fitness on Demand, offering a choice of more than 200 premium fitness classes.
Whether you choose to use the facility for an hour, a few hours, or a full day, you will leave feeling vibrant and rejuvenated — almost like a new person.
But bring your wallet or credit card — you’ll need it!
Treatments aren’t cheap by any means, but if you’re fresh off a big win in the casino or money is no object, you might be eager to try the Rock of Love. The spa’s ultimate treatment package for couples includes a body scrub, soak, body wrap, massage, and facial. The full treatment lasts four hours and will set you back $910 (plus a 20 percent service fee), but it does include champagne.
Or, if that’s too much money, Your Body is a Wonderland and It Takes Two, each priced at $590 for 120 minutes, are also available.
Alternatively, individual facials or massages are $135 and up.
At the adjoining full-service salon, customers can receive a complete range of customized hair services as well as signature manicures and pedicures, waxing, and makeup for special occasions. Manicures are $45 and up, while pedicures are $55 for 25 minutes or $75 for 55 minutes.
Rock Spa & Salon rules, policies, and hours of operation
The Rock Spa & Salon at Hard Rock Atlantic City is open every day of the week. The hours vary as shown below:
- Monday-Thursday: 9 a.m. – 7 p.m.
- Friday and Saturday: 9 a.m. – 8 p.m.
- Sunday: 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Appointments need to be scheduled in advance by calling 1-609-449-5380. All appointments must be guaranteed with a credit card, and any changes or cancellations need to be made at least four hours prior to avoid being charged.
Children younger than age 18 are not permitted in the spa/fitness area. Guests between age 16 and 18 are welcome in the salon accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Payment and gratuity policies
The Rock Spa & Salon accepts either cash or major credit cards as payment. Alternatively, hotel guests may charge any services they receive at the Rock Spa & Salon to their guest room.
There is a 20 percent service charge automatically added to the bill for those receiving spa services. Additional gratuities are at the guest’s discretion.
Rock Spa amenities
Rock Spa customers will want to allow enough extra time at the facility before or after their scheduled appointment in order to avail themselves of its many special amenities.
In fact, your scheduled visit for services at the spa also includes, at no extra charge, use of the fitness center and spa facility and a robe, slippers, towel, and locker.
While you are there, if you have time, you are invited to enjoy the Rock Spa wet area and vitality pools, so you are encouraged to bring along a swimsuit. However, you are asked not to bring a cell phone, pager, jewelry, or other valuables, as the Rock Spa is not responsible for lost or misplaced property.
Wet area and vitality pools
The Rock Spa wet area is where you can enjoy a steam bath, sauna, hot tub, or cold plunge experience, whatever you are in the mood for at the time. There is also a co-ed vitality pool area featuring a large heated hydrotherapy tub, ambient temperature tub, and a choice of three specialty showers: Cool Mist, Caribbean Rain, or the Atlantic Ocean.
Fitness center
Regular exercise is a vital part of staying healthy, too, and ordinarily, it’s hard to get enough of it if you spend a good part of your time playing in the casino. So be sure to take advantage of the opportunity you have at the Rock Spa to give your body a needed workout.
If you’re a hotel guest, you can visit and avail yourself of this service anytime, even when the rest of the spa is closed. The fitness center is open 24/7.
Juice bar
Another amenity that Rock Spa & Salon guests can enjoy is a juice bar.
In keeping with the overall emphasis on promoting health and vitality, every beverage on the menu is natural, healthy, and low calorie. Guests can choose from a variety of fresh fruit or vegetable juices and smoothies, all with creative and intriguing names.
You never have to wonder what you’re getting because all the ingredients are listed on the menu.
Ordinarily, each drink costs $10, but at the opening night reception, samples of three smoothies were offered free of charge. I opted for the Green Power drink containing spinach, kale, banana, and almond milk. Since I am not a big kale fan (although I know it’s super healthy), I was skeptical how this combination would taste but curious to give it a try.
To my surprise and delight, it was delicious.
Rhythm and Motion services
Of course, this is Hard Rock AC we are talking about, so how could a place called Rock Spa & Salon live up to its name without offering music?
Accordingly, for anyone so inclined, the Rock Spa & Salon is home to the world’s first fully immersive music-centric spa menu. Guests are taken on a “rhythmic massage journey”… sending pulses through the body and leaving you feeling energized and invigorated.”
Choose from the following set list for a “musical massage”:
Synchronicity: $55 for 50 minutes or $215 for 80 minutes
Lose track of time with a pulsating massage infused with natural organic stress-reducing essential oils while listening to some of today’s and yesterday’s greatest hits.
Smooth Operator: $155 for 50 minutes
Two-part body cleansing and hydration treatment starting with a rhythmical dry brushing and finishing with a soothing, detoxifying body wrap.
Face the Music: $155 for 50 minutes or $215 for 80 minutes
A refreshing facial treatment using clinically tested organic products along with sound vibration to hydrate your skin and leave it glowing.
Wrap Remix: $255 for 100 minutes
Intended as the ”ultimate healing experience” including rhythmical dry brushing and a detoxifying body wrap, followed by a 50-minute massage and facial mask. Start and end your treatment with a shot of Rock Spa Detox tea.
Special small group combo packages
The Rock Spa & Salon is also ideal if you and your group are celebrating a special occasion. Whether it happens to be a girls’ getaway, birthday celebration, bridal party, or any other big event, the private VIP spa suite will not only meet your immediate need to look and feel your best, but treat you and your entourage like rock stars.
Depending on your budget and how much time you have, packages of 2 or 2 ½ hours, a half day (9 a.m. – 2 p.m. or 3 p.m. – 7 p.m.) and full day (9 a.m. – 7 p.m.) are all available. A personal spa concierge can help you reserve the package that is right for you.
Miss America events
It was very gracious of the Rock Spa & Salon to invite the Miss America contestants to be special guests at the grand opening.
Of course, Hard Rock AC is not affiliated with Miss America, so this was something they were not obligated to do. But the presence of these beautiful girls did remind me that the competition to crown the next Miss America is right around the corner.
Here are the scheduled events open to the public, starting with the preliminaries, right up to the final competition next Sunday evening at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.
Preliminary events
Wednesday, 9/5 through Friday, 9/7
Boardwalk Hall
7 p.m.
Show Us Your Shoes Parade
Saturday, 9/8
Atlantic City Boardwalk
Starting 5 p.m.
Final 2019 Miss America Competition
Sunday, 9/9
Boardwalk Hall
9 p.m. – 11 p.m. (also broadcast live on ABC)
Tickets for both individual events and packages can be purchased either at the Boardwalk Hall box office or through Ticketmaster.
By the way, major changes have been made in the criteria used to select the new Miss America. This year, for the first time, the swimsuit competition has been eliminated and contestants will no longer be judged on outward physical appearance.
Rock Spa & Salon for the win
Hopefully, you will have a chance to visit the Rock Spa & Salon at Hard Rock Atlantic City soon, as well as watch the crowning of the next Miss America, either in person or on TV.
Despite the controversy over the new format, the crowning of Miss America has been a long-standing Atlantic City tradition that hopefully can continue for many years to come. It therefore deserves our support.
Congratulations to all of the contestants for making it this far. Congratulations to Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, too, for demonstrating once again with its Rock Spa & Salon that it is far more than just a casino with a hotel. It’s a complete resort unlike any other.