Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, Atlantic City’s crown jewel and most successful casino, is marking its 20th anniversary with a bang, announcing a $55 million renovation and rebranding of a whole hotel tower.
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Introducing Borgata’s spanking new MGM Tower
In a mid-March press statement, Borgata Atlantic City announced that its famous Water Club Hotel is set to be renamed the MGM Tower following a complete remodeling.
The refresh will see the hotel tower upgraded with a bevy of luxury suites and well over 700 remodeled guest rooms.
As part of the redesign, the former Immersion Spa on Club Water’s 32nd story has been spruced into a meeting hall featuring 9,000 square feet of event space.
The property’s parent company MGM Resorts International — the hospitality brand behind ARIA, Bellagio, and an array of other iconic casino hotels — has revealed that the first newly-renovated tower rooms will be available for booking by April, with the entire project expected to be completed by Memorial Day weekend.
While announcing the remodel, MGM Resorts International’s COO, Corey Sanders, said, “Introducing the MGM Tower connects Borgata with the unparalleled entertainment and resort experiences MGM Resorts is recognized for worldwide. We are incredibly proud of Borgata and its industry-leading team of employees, and we believe this significant reinvestment will drive visitation to Atlantic City well into the future.”
The new design will be decked out with modern features and fresh décor
The Water Club already has a refreshingly unique yet modern look and feel that’s more exclusive and upscale than the Borgata, although both share the same hotel complex. And for a good reason — the design especially appeals to the leisure and business clientele attracted to the tower for its two-floor spa, designer shops, and superb meeting rooms.
MGM Resort International plans to take this design to a whole new level. The Las Vegas-based company brought out the big guns, partnering with RVD Associates on the Water Club’s $55 million revamp.
Following the redesign, the newly-rebranded MGM Tower will sport warm yet bright décor with a nautical-inspired color scheme of blue and neutral tones. The official statement added that deep wood accents would be used to finish the beachy color palette for a high-end coastal vibe.
The tower rooms with floor-to-ceiling, east-facing windows will feature white drapery, while the windows on the hotel’s west-facing rooms will sport curtains in a deep-blue hue.
But that isn’t all that comes with the remodel. The new tower will include Vista Suites along with standard rooms.
Featuring sweeping wraparound views of Atlantic City’s magnificent skyline, each corner suite is poised to come with an ample dining area, two bathrooms with granite countertops, and living space.
Corey Sanders asserted that MGM Resorts International is confident that the substantial investment into MGM Tower will bring more visitors to Atlantic City in the years to come.
Leading the pack in Atlantic City for almost 20 years
Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa has been Atlantic City’s crown jewel and biggest casino hotel since it officially opened in July 2003. It has been the top-grossing property in the Marina District since 2005.
On top of that, Borgata and its owner MGM Resorts International are credited with pioneering online gambling in New Jersey. They established Borgata Online Casino, the state’s first gambling site, right after Garden State legalized internet gaming in 2013.
Since then, Borgata has been the market leader in Atlantic City for almost two decades.
Nestled in the northern end of Atlantic City, the 4-pearl hotel boasts more than 2,000 Art Deco guest rooms and luxury suites. The guests can choose from a wide variety of room types, from the 460-square-foot Classic Rooms to the humongous 1500-square-foot Piatto Suite.
The décor in Borgata’s standard guest rooms is more or less similar, with an abundance of muted shades of beige. The addition of a neutral gray palette helps brighten up the fire-colored art on the walls and the hot pink detailing on desk chairs and carpeting.
In-room amenities include desks, large safes, coffeemakers, mini-fridges, and 46+-inch flat-screen TVs, along with standard features like ironing boards and irons in the closet. The enormous bathrooms include spacious walk-in showers, granite countertops, and Lather-brand toiletries.
Each luxury suite at Borgata has its distinct feel and look, with an even larger bathroom featuring bathrobes, Italian marble flooring, and sophisticated décor on top of everything standard rooms offer.
The crowning feature of Borgata Hotel is, of course, its behemoth casino spanning 161,000 square feet of gaming space with more than 4,100 slot machines and 200-odd table games. The dining options run the gamut from casual buffets and Starbucks to a swish Wolfgang Puck steakhouse, not to mention 24-hour room service.
Moreover, an on-site event center can seat 2,400 guests and regularly attract major acts like Gwen Stefani and Pearl Jam, along with a meeting space for up to 3500 attendees. A mix of heated outdoor and indoor pools appeals to the summer and spring crowd, while Spa Toccare offers a beauty salon, a barbershop, and more than 30 spa treatment rooms.
The Gypsy Bar, Music Box (a 1000-seater theater), and gym round out on-site amenities at Borgata.
The soon-to-be-renamed Club Water is a boutique-style hotel that opened its doors in 2008 and is attached to the Borgata complex. Before the remodel, it boasts more than 750 rooms and suites, as well as multiple shopping hubs, four pools, and a 27-square-foot event space.
AC’s top-earning casino hotel
Last year, Borgata generated over $724 million in revenue of the $5.2 billion that New Jersey casinos raked in from table games and slots, beating out the earnings of its closest rival — Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City — by a whopping $232 million.
Borgata’s online partnerships also made more than $496.3 million from internet gambling, while sports betting brought in an additional $83 million in revenue.
Travis Lunn, Borgata’s president and COO, expressed his desire to stay true to the brand’s hospitality and entertainment legacy by evolving the Borgata experience with every New Year.
