If you are staying at hotel as a guest for the night, take the Valet service. The parking garage is normally packed. The hotel is fenominole. This resort is one of the best Seminole properties that I have been to. (won quite a bit of money in slots too) Make sure you check out the pool, it really is one of a kind!

Imagine being forced to breathe other peoples' tobacco smoke every time you leave your room. Imagine constant cigarette and cigar smoke in the food court, the registration desk, and even the areas around the elevator to your room. Imagine a hotel where joyless drones sit for hours listlessly pushing the buttons on slot machines, where the 'entertainment' is out of tune musicians with out of tune voices doing bad songs from the 80s. Imagine having the PA yell at you in the bathroom while you take a leak. Imagine the promise of a fabulous vacation becoming what I describe above. Imagine a landscape around the casino and hotel in which the only businesses are pawnshops open into the night, car lots to buy your car for cash, and tobacco shops. Though this is hard to imagine, that was my experience of the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and casino. Oh- and the food- as part of the professional meeting I attended there we were served filet mignon- an expensive act of generosity by a sponsor. I asked for a vegetarian or fish alternative. 15 minutes after everyone else was served they brought me a bowl of macaroni and cheese. If you like to suffer, try this place. The big showers in the rooms are quite nice, but that is not enough.....

A few friends and I went to a Bachlorette Party at this hotel and had a great time. It was very convinient--to be so close to the bars, restaurants, gambling and shoppes. There was plenty to do at this resort. We loved the pool, which had very friendly service who brought out over 10 chairs for us to lie on. The rooms were really roomy and very clean. The beds were sooo comfortable. Lots of young people everywhere. The casino was also fun but I HATE cigarette smoke and couldnt hang out there too much...and it was waaaay too cold in there. Overall, the hotel was exceptional for the price. I would stay there again and do recommend it to others.

Returning from a business trip, I had one night to spend in / around Miami; so I decided that a casino environment would be ideal.

On arrival I checked into my room, there 4PM check in policy is too late for a complex style location, but luckily my room was ready at 2PM. I had upgraded to a luxury room and was greeted by a fabulously appointed space. Massive bed with Egyptian cotton white sheets, large (non-plasma) TV with sound amplifier and CD/DVD player, table and 4 leather chairs for in-room dining and a large bathroom which opened out via a large wooden louvered window into the bedroom. The walk-in shower was amazing, 7 power shower heads located in a separate glass enclosure with mood lighting. The large modern bath tub had nice touches like bath salts, candle and loofah; with the usual robes and (not nice) toiletries in the bathroom.

The pool was great, large with a cascading man-made central water feature. Plenty of sun lounges and a man made sandy beach. It was hard to imagine that you were swimming adjacent to the busy Interstate 95.

The casino was massive, certainly by UK standards. The biggest array of slot machines I have ever seen, of all shapes, sizes and styles. I am not a slot machine player, but gave it a whirl as I had a free $10 play voucher! All the machines work on barcode vouchers rather than traditional coins, so they are easier to operate. I have never seen so many people playing slots at 5PM on a mid-week evening.

Disappointingly, the gaming tables were virtually non-existent. OK there is a central stud poker area with about 50 tables; but that is the only game you can play. You also have to wait ages to get a seat! In the smaller UK casinos, you get: Roulette, 21, Dice, Caribbean poker etc. Not here, just slots or a seat at a stud poker table and that’s it.

After about one hour I was bored as it was just a large space which the designers had just gone: ‘copy / paste’ everywhere.

I decided to walk out into the man-made fabricated complex of shops, bars and restaurants. The Irish ‘themed’ bar, was just like the other ‘themed’ bars; just with different colours and wall posters. The Council Oak restaurant is particularly nice however.

It was pretty quiet as it was a Wednesday night off season (August) with a few live bands playing and none of the larger venues were open (just open on Friday / Saturday).

I enjoyed the one night but would of hated a second. In summary, if you are a stud poker player you’ll enjoy it, but take your dark glasses and ten gallon hat; if not its worth a night.