BETHLEHEM | Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem on Monday confirmed spring opening dates for its 300-room hotel and a new Italian restaurant from celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse.
Emeril's Italian Table will be Lagasse's third restaurant at the casino along with Emeril's Chop House and Burgers and More by Emeril.
The hotel will be the first Sands-owned amenity on site besides the casino. Originally scheduled to open in conjunction with the casino in May 2009, the hotel and a future Sands convention center and mall were postponed because of the recession.
The hotel is accepting reservations starting May 27, and Monday also was the first time hotel rates were made public through the casino's website.
Several searches indicate the hotel will charge $149 for basic rooms Sunday through Thursday and $219 Fridays and Saturdays.
The weekend rates especially are higher than any other hotel in the Bethlehem area, with Hotel Bethlehem being the closest at $149 to $169 for standard rooms on the weekends. Three other Bethlehem hotels -- Comfort Suites, Holiday Inn Express and Hyatt Place -- range from $113 to $139 for a comparable Saturday night price.
Weekdays vs. weekends
While the Sands rate is higher, Mike Stershic, president of Discover Lehigh Valley, thinks it's a fair rate for the quality of the hotel.
"It's a full-service property and you can only compare them with the Hotel Bethlehem and a few other hotels in the Valley," he said.
Stershic said he believes Sands will have a harder time filling its hotel on weekdays as he doesn't expect the hotel will especially attract business travelers, who make up the bulk of local weekday hotel business.
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