logo
Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Ottawa officially opens today. Here's what you need to know

Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Ottawa officially opens today. Here's what you need to know

CTV News03-07-2025
The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Ottawa sign. The new Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Ottawa on Albion Road opens to the public on Thursday. (Shaun Vardon/CTV News Ottawa)
The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Ottawa officially opens to the public this afternoon, featuring a 150-room hotel, a performance venue and gaming space.
The new facility on Albion Road in Ottawa's south end is Hard Rock's first 'fully integrated resort' in Canada with a hotel and gaming facility all in one place.
In 2017, Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation selected Hard Rock International to become the operator of the casino at Rideau Carleton Raceway. In June 2023, construction began on the new $350 million new hotel, casino and performance venue.
The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Ottawa will feature a 150-room hotel, with 22 luxury suites. The more than 150,000 sq. ft. of entertaining and gaming space includes the Hard Rock Live performance venue with the capacity for up to 2,200 people, 1,500 slot machines, up to 40 gaming tables, and a high-limit gaming area.
There will be 10 restaurants and bars at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Ottawa, including the iconic Hard Rock Café.
The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Ottawa will officially open at 1 p.m.
Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Ottawa
The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Ottawa sign. (Shaun Vardon/CTV News Ottawa)
There will also performances by three major Canadian artists to kick off the opening week.
David Foster and Katharine McPhee will perform at the Hard Rock Live performance venue tonight, and Napanee's Avril Lavigne will perform on Saturday.
The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Ottawa is one of several hotels opening in Ottawa over the next year.
The new AC Hotel by Marriott Ottawa Downtown opened on April 24, with 159 rooms, a pool, sauna, gym and meeting rooms. The Moxy Ottawa downtown is opening early in 2026, and a new hotel is scheduled to open at the Ottawa International Airport in late 2025 or early 2026.
Here's what you need to know about the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Ottawa
Opening date: July 3 at 1 p.m.
700 employees
The Hard Rock Hotel will have 150 rooms, including 22 suites
Expanded Hard Rock Casino with 1,500 slot machines, 40 live-action table games, high-limit gaming.
Hard Rock Live – an 1,800-seat theatre with standing room for 2,200 guests
More than 10 restaurants, bars and lounges, including the Hard Rock Café and Council Oak Steakhouse
The Hard Rock shop
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

After winning the Polaris Music Prize, Debby Friday bet on herself
After winning the Polaris Music Prize, Debby Friday bet on herself

CBC

time25 minutes ago

  • CBC

After winning the Polaris Music Prize, Debby Friday bet on herself

When Debby Friday first joined Q 's Tom Power for an interview in 2023, her debut album, Good Luck, didn't just shake up the music scene, it shot her straight into the spotlight. That album ended up winning the Polaris Music Prize, which brought Friday a lot more attention and tons of new fans. But when she sat down to write her latest record, The Starrr Of The Queen Of Life, she made a conscious decision to do things differently. Instead of leaning into the experimental sound she had become known for, she wanted to make a more pop-influenced record. "I have made experimental work pretty much the majority of my career," she says. "That's like my bread and butter. But what I wanted to do was figure out a way to kind of, I would say, bridge the gap between experimental and then also accessible…. I was like, 'What would a Debby Friday pop song sound like?'" WATCH | Debby Friday's full interview with Tom Power: Besides making her music sound catchy, Friday found that the biggest challenge of writing a pop song was that it required her to tap into her vulnerable side. "I think a lot of people, when they meet me through my music, they see the hard side, the rougher side, the side that's more like this powerful — can I say bitch? — this powerful bitch," she tells Power. "But that side, I think, came up more as a self-defense mechanism that I developed earlier on in my life." After winning the Polaris Music Prize, Friday made the decision to be self-managed so she could have complete control over her creative vision. She wrote the song Bet On Me about taking that leap. "Something that is really important to me is just being true to myself and being true to my vision," she says. " I have a very strong vision. I know exactly what I want to get out of this career. And a big part of that is this honesty — honesty and clarity in self-expression, and that's not always going to look like what other people's ideas are." WATCH | Official video for Bet On Me:

Emerging acts and local talent shine in Osheaga's stacked weekend lineup
Emerging acts and local talent shine in Osheaga's stacked weekend lineup

CTV News

timean hour ago

  • CTV News

Emerging acts and local talent shine in Osheaga's stacked weekend lineup

Osheaga is upon us, and while the big-name headliners are sure to draw the crowds, there are plenty of hidden gems worth discovering. Darcy MacDonald, a freelance writer who's been covering Montreal's music scene for 15 years, shared some of his must-see performances — a mix of local acts and rising stars that might just become your new favourites. Friday Joey Valence & Brae, a young hip-hop duo from Pennsylvania, take the Valley Stage at 3:55 p.m. Macdonald says to expect a high-energy set — the perfect way to kick off the weekend. Magi Merlin, a Montreal-based artist, hits the SiriusXM stage at 5:30 p.m. The Saint-Lazare native is known for her blend of alternative R&B and neo-soul. Bibi Club, a Canadian indie-pop duo, will be belting out tunes on the SiriusXM stage at 6:15 p.m. PyPy, a Montreal psych-punk band, takes over the SiriusXM stage at 7:30 p.m. 'Each act brings something profoundly different from the other, but they're all super entertaining,' said MacDonald. Saturday BéLi, the stage name of Montreal-based singer-songwriter Ariane Béliveau, will make her Osheaga debut at 4 p.m. on the SiriusXM stage. TV on the Radio, an Indie rock band from Brooklyn, will perform on the Valley stage at 7 p.m. 'TV on the Radio from Brooklyn in the early aughts. Absolutely adore them, and I've never seen them, which is kind of crazy. So, I'm really looking forward to that,' MacDonald added. Sunday Debby Friday, an electronic musician who grew up in Montreal and is now based in Toronto, will hit the Valley Stage at 2 p.m. She won the Polaris Music Prize in 2023. Turbine, a trio originally from France and now based in Montreal, will deliver a sample-based electronic performance on the Island Stage, also at 2 p.m. 'Both of these talents are high-level,' MacDonald noted.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store