Hollywood Casino announced Tuesday that it will be bringing a Pennsylvania-based luxury wellness spa to the $360 million casino resort currently under construction in Aurora.
Drift Spa, by beauty and wellness entrepreneur Stacey Steffes, is set to offer classic spa experiences along with hair and beauty services, according to a news release from Hollywood Casino. This will be the spa’s second location, with the first located within the Marriott at Penn Square in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
“Building a new property from the ground up gave us an opportunity to introduce new amenities with our guests and community in mind,” Greg Moore, vice president and general manager of Hollywood Casino Aurora, said in the news release. “Hollywood Aurora is already known for providing a great place to play and our new location offers so much more — entertainment, celebrity-driven dining options and, with Stacey on board, a beautiful spa experience.”
The new location of the city’s Hollywood Casino — which is located along Farnsworth Avenue and Bilter Road, across the street from Chicago Premium Outlets mall and near the Interstate 88 interchange — is set to replace the casino currently in downtown Aurora. Construction officially broke ground in November 2023, and officials have said it is on schedule to open in the first half of this year.
A full-service spa has been a part of plans for the new casino location, although details until now have been limited.
The newly-announced Drift Spa at Hollywood Aurora will be similar to the spa’s flagship location in Pennsylvania, but it will also offer additional services, Steffes told The Beacon-News. For example, she said it will include the Drift Drybar — which according to the casino’s news release is a hybrid concept pairing high-end, non-chemical salon services with “elevated hospitality.”
Manicure and pedicure services will be offered, as will customized facial treatments designed to support skin health, the news release said.
The spa’s salon and barbering area will have 11 stations for hair, makeup and nails. Plus, there will be seven dedicated rooms for massage therapies, including deep tissue, Swedish and therapeutic treatments. Overall, the space will be designed to create a serene experience, the officials said in the news release.
“This strategic partnership creates a space where guests can step away from the pace of everyday life and truly relax,” Steffes said in the news release.
Through Drift Spa at Hollywood Aurora, Steffes said she is committed to collaborating with Chicago-area brands, creatives and makers with shared values. Her spa in Pennsylvania collaborates with local farmers, she told The Beacon-News, and at Aurora’s new casino location she’d similarly be looking to lean into things the Chicago area is known for.
Hollywood Casino’s news release calls Steffes a “visionary in the spa industry” who is known for her award-winning services and her full-service salon, Envy Studio, which is also located in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and earned a Top 10 Salon statewide recognition within three months of opening.
When planning for the new Hollywood Casino Aurora location, company officials knew they wanted to “elevate the guest experience with amenities our current property doesn’t offer,” Moore told The Beacon-News. With the addition of the 200-room hotel, a spa felt like a natural extension so that guests could unwind after “thrilling fun and delicious food,” he said.
Beyond the spa and the hotel, the new casino and resort is expected to have 900 slot machines, 50 live table games, a retail sportsbook, an outdoor entertainment area, a roughly 12,000-square-foot event center with meeting areas and a number of bars and restaurants.
Celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis will be opening an Italian steakhouse called Sorella at the new Aurora site. The restaurant is expected to have outdoor seating and an open kitchen with a menu including fresh pasta, steaks, Roman-style pizza and other Italian dishes.
Also coming to the Aurora site is the Boulevard Food & Drink Hall, which is set to include Lucky Goat, a burger restaurant by celebrity chef Stephanie Izard, plus Antique Taco, Pretty Cool Ice Cream and Five50 Pizza.
The food hall is being developed in partnership with McClain Camarota Hospitality, the restaurant group of James Beard Award-winning chef and restaurateur Shawn McClain.
Joliet’s new Hollywood Casino location, which opened last year, also has the food hall and a restaurant by De Laurentiis called Sorellina.
Hollywood Casino Aurora is currently hiring in preparation for the new location. More information about job opportunities, and the new casino location in general, can be found at: www.hollywoodcasinoaurora.com/new-casino-information
rsmith@chicagotribune.com
