300-Room, 13-Story Hotel Finalized For Parx Casino

BENSALEM TOWNSHIP, PA —Parx Casino will build a 300-room, 13-story hotel to its Street Road complex that will feature a rooftop restaurant and space for weddings, banquets, and conventions.

The Bensalem Township Supervisors unanimously approved preliminary and final land development to the Bensalem Racing Assoc., Inc. & Keystone Turf Club, Inc. at its meeting Monday, clearing the way for a hotel that had been planned at the 452-acre Parx property for more than a decade.

"This takes us to the next level of being a destination," Council Vice President Joseph Pilieri said. "There will be no casino in Pennsylvania that will compete with us."

Mike Meginniss, legal council for the Parx Casino Hotel project, told the council that the hotel located on 3001 Street Rd. will include an attached walkway to Parx Casino, 32 guestrooms on 11 floors, and a high-end restaurant on the top floor with "great views" of Philadelphia.

"We're very excited to bring this to fruition," Meginniss said. "This is a natural evolution of the site."

Officials said that construction is expected to be completed in 2025 with a groundbreaking sometime later this year. Mayor Joseph DiGirolamo had told Patch about the hotel plans in late January.

Other amenities include a 14,000-square-foot convention center that can be used for business meetings, weddings, banquets, and other events. The banquet space could accommodate 800 people, Parx Casino Chief Operating Officer John Dixon said.

"We don't have space for national conventions," Dixon said in answering a council member's question. "This won't be Philadelphia with auto and flower shows. We're not in that league."

Parx representatives said the hotel will also have another restaurant in the lobby along with the rooftop restaurant. Both can seat 300 people. The lobby restaurant will feature a show kitchen in which invited chefs will cook and offer special presentations.

A presidential suite and four other high-end suites will occupy the top floors.

The hotel will also feature a coffee shop, spa, and fitness center.

"The hotel is a plus for the casino. People stay in other places so this will help on that end," Pilieri said. "This will bring more people to Bensalem."

Council members asked about branding. Parx representatives said the hotel will be branded as the "Parx Casino Hotel," but that architects will use Marriott as a brand standard in terms of planning. Both restaurants will also be in-house with no branding.

During the presentation, council members asked about bicycle racks being included for residents and whether the hotel would have a pool. Parx representatives said there are no current plans for a pool.