Revel Wants You (and Your Dog) to Visit

Revel is kicking off its summer season with a makeover.

The Atlantic City, N.J., resort and casino’s balance sheet has undergone a transformation, thanks to a quickie bankruptcy that saw the reorganized Revel emerge from Chapter 11 protection Tuesday. And there are more changes on tap too—affecting everything from what you can eat to where you can party at the high-end beachfront property this Memorial Day.

Change is even looming for friends of the four-legged variety. Starting over the holiday weekend, Revel is introducing a pet-friendly policy. Dogs under 30 pounds are welcome to stay at the hotel, as long as their owners have an extra $50 per night to spare. For that price, they’ll be treated to amenities including gourmet treats baked by the hotel’s executive pastry chef and a custom dog bed that’s designed to look like a poker chip.

Dirk Schavemaker, the company’s senior vice president of resort operations, said so far the hotel has eight to 10 pet rooms booked for the weekend. An owner of two miniature dachshunds, Schavemaker has found himself coveting the dog bed.

“I actually wanted to take it home,” he said.

He said that fresh programs, like the dog policy, grew out of customer feedback as well as management’s evaluation of the resort’s first year in business.

Built at a cost of $2.4 billion, Revel opened its doors in April of 2012 and began to falter almost immediately. It was imagined as a new luxury and smoke-free paradigm for Atlantic City but instead found itself beaten up by veteran casinos in the running for scarce discretionary dollars. It turned out that Revel had misread customer demand in the downtrodden New Jersey gambling mecca—consumers wanted inexpensive, fast and simple options, not over-the-top glamour.

“We were trying to be perhaps a little bit too fancy,” Schavemaker said. “Maybe that’s what caused some of the issues…the guests were accustomed to Atlantic City prior to Revel.”

He specifically referenced the resort’s dining options as an example. In an attempt to diversify its offerings, Revel is this weekend opening up two new restaurants. One will be a 24-hour eatery called Relish offering quick, American-style comfort food like chicken pot pie and reuben sandwiches.

“Guests wanted cheaper, faster service,” he said.

Another restaurant, simply called Noodle Bar, will serve just that—Asian-style noodles. More complicated names were nixed in keeping with the resort’s new focus, Schavemaker said.

Still, Revel, which has 14 restaurants in total, isn’t doing away with all the glitz. This weekend it’s introducing a new beach club geared toward the younger set. Modeled on outdoor Las Vegas hotspots like Tao Beach and Wet Republic, the 45,000 square foot space will feature sleek day beds, DJs and multiple bars.

“It’s very modern and hip,” Schavemaker said.

The company is also working to add smoking back into the mix at the resort. State gambling regulators are currently reviewing the company’s request to designate a “smoke-friendly area.”

“We’re working very hard to make sure that we overcome the challenges that obviously are still there,” Schavemaker said, adding that he thinks the company now has “a handle” on many of them.

Write to Rachel Feintzeig at [email protected].