Casablanca Hotel

Casablanca Hotel

The Casablanca Hotel opened its doors in 1997 with 48 rooms and newly refurbished Moroccan style décor. The hotel is operated by HKHotels, a prominent manager of boutique hotels. In addition to rooms, the hotel features a clubroom on the second floor called Rick’s Café, as well as an adjacent courtyard called the Blue Parrot. The hotel also features a Tony’s Di Napoli Italian restaurant in its ground floor space. The six-story old limestone building that now houses the Casablanca boasts a long history as one of the eminent addresses in the Times Square area. The hotel once served as the site of Manhattan House, the largest halfway house in the city for prisoners. In addition, the hotel was the site of the restaurant Café 43, named because of its location on 43rd Street. The building also served as a Cabaret and restaurant when it was called O’Neals Times Square. O’Neals was both a theater and a restaurant within one complex. The historic structure enjoyed its most impressive run as Rossof’s. Rossof’s was both a small hotel and a large three-story restaurant that occupied the first three stories of the building. Rossof’s was a favorite mealtime destination for many theater patrons and actors. Many famous Broadway stars also frequented Rossof’s, most notably Rex Harrison, Sir Laurence Olivier, and Will Rogers. After 63 years, Rossof’s finally closed in 1981. The building maintains much of the flare that made it one of the premiere Broadway haunts for many years.