Atlantic City resort to join Hyatt's Unbound Collection

Atlantic City's former Revel casino is moving toward its reincarnation as the Ocean Resort Casino.

The Boardwalk property said Monday it's affiliating with Hyatt as a member of the hotel company's Unbound Collection. The announcement came on the sixth anniversary of the opening of Revel.

Colorado developer Bruce Deifik bought Revel in January and set about remaking the property.

"Hyatt has an incredible 60-plus-year legacy in the industry, and its loyal global customer base will have access to an authentic way to experience all that makes Atlantic City attractive and popular," Deifik said.

Although Ocean Resort will own and operate the 1,399-room hotel and the casino, its affiliation with Hyatt will enable it to make use of their reservation systems and other infrastructure, a spokeswoman said.

It also will include the 32,000-square-foot location of Exhale, Hyatt's newly acquired fitness and spa brand, which will feature 32 treatment rooms, a mind and body studio, and a retail boutique.

Ocean Resort plans to open sometime this summer, although it has not yet announced a date.

Accessing the expertise of a major worldwide hotel chain -- and its base of potential customers -- could address two big reasons why Revel failed. It shut down in 2014 after a little over two years of operation, during which it never came close to making a profit.

"The global recognition of the Hyatt brand, its base of customers and well-developed loyalty program are major assets for the Ocean Resort Casino, and should provide a strong support for the resort when it opens this summer," said Rummy Pandit, executive director of the Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality & Tourism at New Jersey's Stockton University.

"The addition of the Exhale fitness and spa brand puts even greater emphasis on the resort's non-gaming amenities and signals a focus on providing guests with experiences beyond casino gaming."

Ocean Resort recently got approval from state gambling regulators for the design of its gambling chips, and has been advertising jobs throughout the resort.

It is one of two shuttered casinos planning to reopen this year.

Hard Rock is remaking the former Trump Taj Mahal that President Donald Trump opened in 1990 and fellow billionaire Carl Icahn closed in 2016.