The new Hollywood Casino Aurora is betting big on resort vibes in the western suburbs, rolling out a full-service Drift Spa, celebrity-backed restaurants and a hotel as it prepares to swap the downtown riverboat for a land-based complex. Developers say the roughly $360 million project will sit near the southwest corner of Farnsworth Avenue and Bilter Road, across from the Chicago Premium Outlets, and is aiming to open in the first half of 2026. Plans call for gaming, a sportsbook and an outdoor entertainment area alongside spa, dining and event space, with local hiring and construction already underway as crews push the interior buildout toward its finishing stages.
What Drift Spa will offer
In a press release via Hollywood Casino Aurora, the company says Drift Spa will mix classic spa services with hair and beauty options and introduce a Drift Drybar concept. The announcement details a dedicated salon and barbering area with 11 stations, seven massage rooms, customized facial treatments and mani/pedi services aimed at both hotel guests and the local community. The release pitches the spa as a quiet, restorative counterpoint to the gaming floor and puts Stacey Steffes, the brand’s founder, at the center of the partnership.
Roots and hiring for the spa
The Drift Spa concept is already in play at the Lancaster Marriott at Penn Square, where the hotel’s site promotes a “Drift Spa” experience and highlights local sourcing for treatments, suggesting the Aurora outpost will lean on that flagship’s design and programming. The resort is actively recruiting spa leadership and clinicians, and a recent Spa Manager posting for the Aurora property lists operations, team development and high-end salon services among the role’s responsibilities. Those postings fold into the casino’s broader hiring push for the new site.
Celebrity dining and the Boulevard food hall
Food is set to be a headline attraction. Hollywood’s Boulevard Food & Drink Hall is being developed with McClain Camarota Hospitality and, according to a Hollywood Casino press release, will feature concepts such as Stephanie Izard’s Lucky Goat, Antique Taco, Pretty Cool Ice Cream and Five50 Pizza. PENN Entertainment has also confirmed a partnership with celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis to open an Italian steakhouse called Sorella at the Aurora property, alongside related Giada projects in the region. Local reporting has chronicled much of the early rollout and initial details around both the spa and the restaurant lineup.
Timeline, construction and jobs
Construction crews broke ground in November 2023 and, according to local construction reporting, have recently shifted focus to interior buildout as work on the exterior wraps up. Regional outlets note the project remains on track for a first half of 2026 opening and that the development is expected to generate hundreds of construction jobs and roughly 700 permanent positions once the resort fully opens. Officials say the move off the Fox River downtown will keep the existing riverboat casino operating until the new property is ready.
For people tracking opening timelines or job opportunities, casino and construction teams are encouraging interested applicants to keep an eye on official career pages and local job fairs as interior work progresses and the resort prepares for regulatory inspections ahead of opening day.
