Hard Rock Comes Full Circle, Returning to its Birth City of London

The Kirkwood piano from Queen legend Freddie Mercury’s childhood home rightfully presides in the hotel lobby of the UK’s first ever Hard Rock Hotel. The venue opened this month in the former Cumberland Hotel, an art deco building beside London’s landmark Marble Arch.

Long before the Seminole Nation completed one of the largest investments by a Tribe in history, purchasing Hard Rock International for approximately $965 million in 2006, the very first Hard Rock Café (not including a hotel) opened in London in 1971, by a couple American expats. Paul McCartney and Wings played the first live set at the hip, original café 48 years ago, and the chain’s music memorabilia collection commenced when Eric Clapton sent the London café his guitar to save his spot at the bar.

“The first Hard Rock Cafe was founded in London in 1971 and here we are, building on where it all began 48 years ago,” said Dale Hipsh, senior vice president of Hard Rock Hotels. “Every Hard Rock Hotel property is one-of-a-kind, but this one represents something special for the brand. This hotel is the culmination of three concepts — the cafes, hotels and Rock Shops — coming together as one in an open-lobby, community-driven environment with Hard Rock’s memorabilia as the design thread binding them together. It’s truly incredible.”

Thoughtfully curated and nostalgic, Hard Rock Hotel London carries on the brand’s musical heritage. Crosley turntables grace the 900 hotel rooms, many of which overlook Oxford Street below, and guests can hire a Fender guitar for their room. The London hotel’s Hard Rock Café will seat 370 diners, featuring daily live music performances by local and international artists, also visible from the tasteful cocktail bar, replete with soft leather banquettes.

“Because of our presence in London we have quite a lot of corporate customers, so we have to offer a product that’s appealing to a leisure traveler and a business traveler,” Andrew Tivers, Hard Rock Hotel London’s head of marketing and communications, told CNN.

Hard Rock International has partnered with London’s largest hotel owner-operator, glh, to run the London attraction.

The Tribally Owned Hospitality Empire

The Seminole Nation first licensed the Hard Rock naming rights to call its two hotel-casinos near Hollywood and Tampa “Hard Rock” in 2004, prior to its December 2006 purchase of Hard Rock International that finalized in 2007. The Seminole Tribe’s acquisition expanded the Tribe’s financial and geographical influence well beyond reservation borders in Florida to around the globe.

As then-Seminole council representative Max B. Osceola Jr. said in New York City’s Times Square at the time of purchase in 2006: “You’re here for a special day in Seminole history. Our ancestors sold Manhattan for trinkets. We’re going to buy Manhattan back, one burger at a time.”

The Tribe’s nearly $1 billion investment marked its transition to leader of one of the largest hospitality empires in the world. Since then, the global brand has expanded its presence from 45 to 74 countries and counting. As James Allen, CEO of Seminole Gaming and Chairman of Hard Rock International, previously said: “We are not afraid to explore the world with this brand.”

Following the London hotel debut, Hard Rock Hotel Madrid will open later this year. More Hard Rock hotels and casinos are slated for Amsterdam, Berlin, Budapest, Dublin, the Maldives, New York City, Ottawa, Sacramento, Dalian and Haikou in China. Meanwhile, the recent debut of the new Hard Rock Hotel in South Florida marks a milestone in its own right as the world’s first guitar-shaped hotel. The grand opening date for the flagship property, Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, is slated for October 24.