Elite Night @ Velvet Sessions

I had never heard of the Velvet Sessions at the Hard Rock Hotel until this Elite Event. I was so surprised to find out they have been doing this for about 13 years now! The last Thursday of every month brings a different artist to the hotel lobby to perform. This gives you the chance to see some of your favorite artists from back in the day up close and personal. They definitely cater to an older crowd. Many of the previous artists were popular in the 80s, though they did mention that they are trying to bring in a younger crowd by focusing more on the 90s soon.
We were lucky enough to get our own VIP treatment for the first half of the night, where we had our own bar setup and passed hors d’oeuvres. Everything tasted great and the staff was very friendly and accommodating. Once our VIP experience was over, we headed into the main room to enjoy more drinks and hors d’oeuvres before Modern English took the stage. Once we were with the rest of the crowd it became more difficult to get our hands on food, but we still enjoyed the hunt. :) We had lots of fun hanging out and people-​watching.
Overall, this was a great event and I plan on keeping an eye out for Velvet Sessions in the future. For $ 29, it’s a bargain. Especially for the Bret Michaels one, aka Cougars Gone Wild.

The Hard Rock Hotel Orlando and Velvet Sessions rolled out the red carpet for Unilocal Elites! We were ushered to a private set up, with butlered apps and bottomless beverages. Our area had access to a beautiful balcony which overlooked the pool area, it was very swanky and picturesque. Staff was very friendly, always around with a full tray and described the yummy appetizers. The Ahi Tuna balls, Kung Pao Chicken bites, Reuben croquettes, Filet Skewers and Roasted corn veggie phillo cups were all very tasty.
After the royal treatment we explored the Velvet lounge and enjoyed the show. Modern English put on a great show, and the encore song had everyone singing along. (Melt with You). The band stayed to sign autographs and chill with the fans, it was a great venue for an up close and personal experience.
Valet parking was quick to bring our cars around, staff was super friendly. What a great night! Rock On!

Super fun event! I’ve lived in Orlando for about 4 ½ yrs now and used to work/​live in the theme park area but never spent much time around Universal and had never visited Hard Rock Hotel at all but i was pleasantly surprised. Right away starting with the guard gate all of the employees were SO friendly! You can tell they have the parking system down pat because it was the smoothest transition from driving in, being directed to the right place and having the valet take care of our car for us just within minutes.
I have never heard of the Velvet Sessions before and I had no idea how big the event is so i was really shocked at how busy and crazy it was and I was extra grateful to have our own little private Unilocal party otherwise it probably would have been a little crazy for me.
The food bites we had were alright… the first few things that came out seemed kind of cold and the kung pao chicken was super salty but overall it was fine as far as appetizers go it hit the spot and filled me up just enough. Again all of the staff was super friendly and welcoming and it was in a natural sort of way… as opposed to a «im clearly faking this smile and its pretty obvious i actually hate my job» sort of way.
The concert experience was… different. I really wanted to listen to the band but some of the other concert goers seemed a little ‘mid life crisis’ to me. I’m always down for a party and people having a good time and I have nothing agains being around lots of people that are of a different generation. or two… from me but I almost felt like the concert goers were more focused on telling me that I was «too young to even know this music» than the music itself. Hello??? Since when is music not timeless?! Whatever, it didnt ruin my time it was just odd. Not everyone can have the class of the Unilocal Elites :)
$ 29 a ticket for free drinks and apps for 2 hrs plus a concert and free parking=awesome deal. Gin Blossoms is on my list for the future :)

I had so much fun and as always the Unilocal event was fantastic!!! I had to miss my math class but it was so worth it! Drinks were flowing and the appeterzers were yummy! The hotel staff was fantastic! Butttttt once we got to the hotel event I’m not sure if it was the group but I felt like I was in the twilight old zone lol. We got hit on my so many old men lol and the women wowzer lol they did love the music and perhaps it just wasn’t out genra… I didn’t know not even one song… The group was really old but I’m soooooo sure if it would of been a group I would have known then it would have been a perfect night!
We had valet parking so we did wait a bit I was beginning to think «DUDE where’s my car!’ Lol but I did get it back thank god.
Over all the Unilocal even was a blast the velvet session was blah but the event waste try cool! Love my Unilocalers! Such awesome people! Colleen is pretty awesome too she is so super sweet!

As usual, we had a great time at another Unilocal event! I haven’t been to the Hard Rock in ages! The drinks and company were great! And it was nice to be introduced to the Velvet Sessions. I would have loved to have seen the Go-Go’s. The hotel staff did a fantastic job. Our only issues came when we were not in the Unilocal event itself. We had one group of guys begging us to join them instead of going to thenYelp event. Ewwww… I think not!

Ask for Christian as a bartender, he’s the best! Nice event. Find a band you want to see. Pay your $ 29 (WHAT!!!) and enjoy complimentary valet parking, drinks, and passed apps before the show. TIP WELL! Don’t be a jerk. (Cheap enough to get a room or a cab if those ‘free’ drinks get to you!)