Don’t you feel like spur of the moment trips are always better somehow?! I haven’t had too many opportunities to actually take a trip that wasn’t planned. On top of being trapped in my house for the past few months, I hadn’t been on a vacation in almost a year. So when I saw the chance, I had to take it!
Part of my job with the dance company I work for is to host summer camps. I typically work between 5-8 camps throughout the summer; however, a lot of them were cancelled or simply postponed until further notice. Which doesn’t allow much downtime! By the second week of July, I had only worked one camp this summer. Needless to say, I was happy to get an email saying I would be working two more! This has never happened to me before, but I was actually scheduled for two different camps back-to-back, both being in Mississippi. Since I was already going to be out of state for 6 days, I figured why not extend that a little!! A few days before my trip started, my friend and I booked a hotel in Biloxi, and we were ready to have a long weekend getaway!
Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
Because the trip was so last minute, we didn’t know if there would even be availability anywhere, but we lucked out! I had never stayed at the Hard Rock before, but I highly recommend it if there’s one where you’re vacationing. The vibe was honestly everything to me. As soon as you walk through the doors, you find floor to ceiling memorabilia from various rock artists around the world. Now I’m no rock music fan really, but I could appreciate how cool it is! It was fun to just walk around and see the art and equipment in their neon lit cases. I didn’t even mind having to keep my mask on the entire time because I was so mesmerized by it all!
The room was too cool! And I can’t say that about many hotels I’ve stayed in. I don’t know about you guys, but the first thing I do when I get in a hotel room is see what the view is! So right when I got in the room, I threw my backpack down and ran to the giant windows. To my surprise, we had an ocean view!! Well, a gulf view lol, but how nice to be laying in bed and see the water! We actually also had a view of the pool too, so I was one happy camper. The room itself was amazing — the mood matched the vibe of the lobby, and the rock music in the background was the perfect touch! My only real con was the lack of a fridge and microwave, but you could rent a small fridge for a small fee. But what made this hotel the perfect spot was the easy access to the beach, the casino, and all the restaurants just an elevator ride away!
The food made the trip
I’m the person on trips that wants to go to all the places that are location based, those restaurants you can’t get anywhere else! What was awesome about the Hard Rock is that we could do that and stay right inside the hotel! We ate 6 meals, and we only ventured outside the hotel one time. We love that! So I’m going to break down the places that we ate, from “worst” to best, so you are aware of all the amazing food right downstairs from your bed!
7. Ben & Jerry’s
Ok so this one is last simply because it’s just ice cream. Amazing ice cream!! But still was just a late night snack. I had never been to a physical location before, so it was pretty cool to see all the flavors right in front of you! I got Chocolate Therapy and omg — if you’re a chocolate lover like I am, you HAVE to get that one. Too good!
6. Pie Five
This was the meal we ate on the first night after we had arrived in Biloxi! I had camp earlier in the day and then drove about 2 hours, so we didn’t end up getting dinner until nearly 10pm. I’m glad this place was still open because if not, I would have starved lol! It was good as well, but again, it was just pizza. The cool part was the ability to customize the entire thing! It felt like a subway for pizzas, which was fun!
5. McElroy’s
This restaurant isn’t technically associated with Hard Rock. It’s by the marina that’s right outside the Hard Rock parking garage! The entire restaurant is elevated, and if you are seated outside, you have a gorgeous view of the water. The breeze was really nice, and it was fun to watch the boats drive by as we ate our lunch. Speaking of lunch! You should definitely go there for lunch if you want to eat here. I had gotten a lunch special, $11 for popcorn shrimp, fried catfish, and stuffed crab… and it was a massive amount of food! Well worth the money for sure, but I think it would have been a pretty expensive place at dinner. The majority of the menu was seafood, and that’s not my favorite food ever, but it was pretty good here!
4. Margaritaville
I was so hype to eat here oh my gosh. I could drink margs every day of the week, and I knew they were going to be the real deal here! This is the only place we ate that we had to drive to. With that being said, it was about a 5 minute drive, so nothing major! Before you even get into the restaurant, the first floor was entirely arcade games, rock climbing, and bowling. We had to wait about 30 minutes before getting a table, so we adventured down to check out the games. (I think this hotel in general would be a great pick if you have kids btw!) Up the escalator was the restaurant, and we sat right by the giant volcano! Which “erupted” every 70 minutes (I know, v specific). The volcano nachos were a hit, and the Last Mango in Paris drink was great! I was so full off the appetizer that I didn’t want to eat a whole meal, so I got another app! I really wanted to try the Caribbean egg rolls, but they literally sold out right after I placed my order. So instead I got the Lava Lava Shrimp, and they were so good and the perfect amount of food.
3. Hard Rock Cafe
Ok can you really stay at Hard Rock without going to the Hard Rock Cafe?? Don’t think so! The restaurant obviously had the same vibe as the whole hotel, so if you’re REALLY into rock and roll, eat here. No questions asked. But the reason this place was so high on my list is because of The Legendary Burger — I could not get enough of this burger! It’s the first burger I’ve ever ordered outside the “norm,” and what I really mean is that there was a whole large onion ring on this thing. I’m a plain cheese and ketchup person, so for me to step out of my comfort zone AND it be that delicious, I was sold! Everything about the environment and the food made it cool and casual. We debated eating here for dinner, but we opted for lunch instead, and I’m so glad we did!
2. Ruth Chris Steakhouse
I totally understand this isn’t in everyone’s price point, but I wanted to splurge. I’ve eaten here a few times in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, so it didn’t go with the theme of “eat where you’ve never before.” But… it was heaven. I’ve never had an issue with any meal at a Ruth Chris location, so I just knew the food and experience were going to be amazing! I obviously ordered a steak, and if you don’t, what are you doing with your life! And although that steak was insane, I have to highlight my Cesar salad appetizer. I cannot with this salad, I really think it’s the best Cesar salad I’ve ever eaten in my life (drama not included). It was so perfect and so expensive that my heart physically hurts. But so worth it! I mean, if you’re staying at a nice hotel, treat yourself to a fancy meal!
1. Sugar Factory
This. Place. Wow. I’ve seen people post about this place before, and I knew there was hype around it, but it’s a place I kind of forgot about. I was surprised to find out it was right inside the hotel! I don’t remember why, but they were operating by reservation only at the time, but we were unaware of that. The single handedly most kind and caring hostess got us a table because a reservation did not show up. As you walk in, there’s big screens playing E! News clips of celebrities who have eaten there, and the cutest and most aesthetic decor lined the entire restaurant. They’re known for their crazy drinks, so we knew we needed one of those in our lives. It took us 20 minutes to get through all the drink menu, but we finally settled on the Electric Margarita, which was crafted by The Chainsmokers — an instant sell for me. We also ordered the appetizer sampler. We wanted the appetizer sliders with the rainbow hamburger buns, but they were sold out. That meal came with a Sugar Factory rubber duck, which we really wanted, so our sweet waitress snagged us one even though the sampler didn’t come with one! BUT the sampler ended up being amazing, and the drink was out of this world! We didn’t order full meals because it was around 2pm when we strolled downstairs for food that day, but I can promise you that if the SAMPLER was that good, a full meal would’ve killed me. Do not sleep on this restaurant! You most definitely cannot skip if you go to Biloxi.
Vacay wrap up
I know a large portion of this post was dedicated to food lol, but we didn’t do too many other things! We wanted to stay as safe as possible and not go in too crowded of areas. We did walk down to the beach and spent some time there! We also checked out the pool and spend a couple hours in the casino one night. All in all, I think that was an amazing trip if you’re looking for ultimate relaxation. No hate on Biloxi, but there aren’t that many other things to do besides the things we did. It’s the perfect place to unwind and chill rather than running around trying to fit a lot of activities into each day. Because some vacations can get like that! I know I needed to chill after 6 straight days of dance camp, and it made me so happy to get out and about again. If you’ve ever stayed at the Hard Rock, I want to hear about your experience!! Mine was definitely a good one, and I hope this helps anyone looking for a small, affordable weekend getaway!
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