Hotel

This thread is to be used to discuss hotel accommodations at Imperial Palace.

DJTeddyBear has kindly volunteered to write the official Imperial Palace review for the site. He asked me to post the following preview:

Quote: DJTeddyBear

My 'preview' report on the IP is this: It's not as bad as people make it out to be. Certainly, considering the price, and great center strip location, nobody has a right to complain. Sure, it might not be what people expect when they think about a casino on the strip, until they remember that it's a discount casino....

That sad thing is, it would take only some additional signs, a better map, and slightly altered references to the individual towers to overcome a lot of the problems and complaints.

I.E. A couple grand in minor improvements, and a couple memos to staff about the changes.... DONE!

You can feel free to share that preview report if you like.

FYI: I've been typing every night. I currently have well over 20k of raw text to post when I get home - plus a bunch of photos!


By the way, it was nice meeting you, as well as everyone else that was there.

I don't know if this is the same quality as some of the other reviews, but here it is.

Much of the content of this review, but not all of it, comes from my Vegas Trip Log located at https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/off-topic/general/2846-las-vegas-trip-log/

I took the part that pertains to the Imperial Palace, added more content and photos, and formatted it more like a review than a diary. Those that have seen the trip log, will notice a lot of duplication here. On the flip side, those that have not seen my log may want to check it out, since it contains some info about other casinos.

If you click on pictures that I took, you'll get a larger version. If you click on pictures captured from the internet, you'll go to the page where I found it.

Here's my review:

-----

Many internet rumors, and advice from friends, told me to stay elsewhere. Ignoring that, I stayed at the Imperial Palace from 9/19/10 to 9/25/10.

For what it's worth, I was visiting Las Vegas alone. When traveling alone, I don't mind questionable conditions, as long as it's not a Roach Motel. I'm happy to report that the IP is several steps up from a Roach Motel, but that's not saying much. Many people have described it as a dump. I prefer to describe it as dumpy. Granted, there's not much difference, but...

If my wife came to Las Vegas with me, we would have stayed elsewhere - but that's primarily because she qualifies for free rooms at more desireable places than I do.



Preliminary Summary

The Imperial Palace tends to seem confusing, and it's easy to get lost. The saddest part about this is that the problem can be easily fixed with some better maps, better signs, and a more logical tower naming system. But you can't beat Imperial Palace's cheap room rates, and center Strip location. When considering staying at IP, just remember this phrase: You get what you pay for. The IP, even with its very desirable location, is remarkably cheap - but for a reason.



Arrival / Check In

My first problem was getting to the front door. A friend who lives in Vegas picked me up at the airport and drove me to the IP, avoiding The Strip. Doing this proved to be a challenge to get to the front door which, we correctly assumed, would put me near the front desk.

We ended up going to the back and using the self-park garage, then walking thru the hotel and casino towards the front desk, luggage in tow. We almost had to ask how to get there. Once we got to the front desk, there were about 8 people ahead on line with 7 clerks. They use a Wendy's style line, which moves relatively quickly.

Tip: If you don't want to drag your luggage from the garage to the front desk, bite the bullet and drive on The Strip. Then fight a few taxis as you use The Strip entrance. Of course, it might be easier to park, leaving your luggage in your car, until you check in and figure out how to find your room.

My next problem was the room key. Here's the room key and my Total Rewards card.

I'm paranoid about having my key in my wallet before I leave the room. By using the Total Reward cards for room keys meant I had to really make sure I had them both. I asked and they said they cannot make the key work for both purposes.



Navigation

On paper, the IP has six "towers", plus a seventh building, the Capri building.

Five towers are numbered, although the number has nothing to do with the guest room number, and everything to do with the elevator bank the front desk will tell you to use. (The sixth tower is the Pagoda Tower, and only has the restaurants and meeting halls. No guest rooms.)

All guest room towers connect thru a long winding hallway, so, except for Capri, and a handful of rooms on the first floor - below the casino! - you can use almost any elevator bank to get to your room. There is one elevator bank in the restaurant area that skips floors 2 thru 5. Separate elevators take you to the restaurants and meeting rooms on floors 2 thru 5. Each guest room elevator bank is designated for a specific tower, although, like I said, it doesn't matter. One bank is positioned, literally, behind the elevator shaft of an elevator bank that is designated for a different tower. The reality is, both elevator banks service the same rooms. But if your room is one in the tower designated for the hidden elevator, the front desk will tell you to look for that elevator bank, but will fail to tell you that it's hidden, or that you can use a different elevator bank!

There are specific elevators in certain elevator banks that will service the penthouse level. I can only hope that a high roller that gets a penthouse suite also gets better instructions on how to get to his room.


Tower 4 is built above the Capri building. If you get a room in the Capri building, you need to go to Tower 4, which itself is a challenge, go up one level, walk to another elevator, then down one or two levels to your floor to find your room. You'll get lost the first few times to look for your room, and curse the room every time after that.

Tip: The Classic rooms are only a couple bucks more than Capri. Get the upgrade.

The IP has a property map PDF on its website, located here: IP Property Map PDF

There are numerous problems with this map. Most importantly, it is not drawn to scale, the plans for the first and second floor jam info about other floors in them, the plans for floors three thru six are rotated 180 degrees.

A small version of the first two floors is printed on the inside of the room key / paperwork package the front desk provides. The front desk does not show this to you (I discovered it on my third day). Nor does the front desk use it even if you are in one of the impossible to find Capri rooms. This was confirmed when, on my fifth day, I bumped into a couple with luggage who were obviously lost. I looked at their paperwork and walked them to their room. I didn't go inside, so I don't know if the Capri room itself is better or worse than the Classic room I had.

Here's an enlargement of a portion of the property map.

Not only is the map jammed with all kinds of stuff, and is out-dated, there are parts of FOUR levels included in this level 1 map!

Note what appears to be a desk labeled Hotel Check-In right in the middle. That would be very convenient if you used the self-park, and the check-in actually existed. The reality is, coming from the parking garage, you find your way towards the point that the 'Hotel Access' is pointing to, where you see this:

The following sign appears above the walkway in the middle of the middle photo:

The sign leads you to believe that to get to the check-in, you should proceed straight and make a right, the same path used to get to the pool and Capri building. The reality is, you should make an immediate right, going down the escalators, to get to the hotel. And to get from here to Capri, you actually make a left!

On my last day, I ran into a security guard. I was about to remark in passing, "After 6 days, I'm finally starting to figure this place out." But he beat me to the punch: "Don't ask me. I've been here 6 years and I still get lost!"

Is it any wonder people complain that Imperial Palace is impossible to navigate?

While wandering around, lost, I would sometimes wish that GoogleMaps would do interiors...






Hotel Room

Upon entering my room, there was a lingering smell like a smoker used the room before me. It was a non-smoking room.

Basic room. Nothing fancy at all. One King sized bed. Two nightstands, one small table and a small wall unit. It looks like it can hold a 36" TV. In it was a 19". No big deal. I'm not here to watch TV. No better or worse than a typical hotel room. A little bigger than a typical motel room.

There's no fridge, coffee maker or safe. I wasn't expecting a fridge or coffee maker, but I thought I saw online that every room has a safe. (I later looked and couldn't find it.) I guess I have to hope that the maid doesn't rummage thru my stuff to find my laptop, or my cash while I'm at the pool. The room DID have an iron and board – a nice touch if you need it. It also had TWO luggage stands. The only thing I hated was the type of hangers. I understand people steal stuff, but there are hangers that can be removed and still discourage theft. Using a hanger that doesn't come off the rod is a pain.

The iron is not attached to the wall, but they use the least user-friendly theft-proof hangers. Go figure. The ironing board isn't attached either, but try to slip it into your luggage...



I'm on the sixth floor. It seems like all the rooms have a balcony. If I went out and jumped, I'd fall about three inches to the roof of the meeting rooms section of the casino. Here's the view, as well as a nice little gift left by the prior guest. Maybe this is why there was a cigarette smell to the room!


I used the shower at a variety of hours. The pressure is never great, but the hot water always came up immediately.



Amenities

The ice machine is very close to my room, except it doesn't work. Swell. There's an emergency exit nearby, so I got up one flight to get ice. The machine there is fine.

Internet is expensive. This is a screen shot when I tried to get online.


Tip: If you only need the internet briefly, there's a McDonald's with FREE wi-fi next to Harrah's which is right next door.



Pool

Finding the pool requires an IQ test. I change and go to the casino lobby level and start looking. I see one sign, but it is not followed by another sign, so I lose the trail. I notice a large display map and head towards it. It turns out this map is next to the elevator for the Hash House A Go-Go. I find the pool on the map, but it takes me forever to figure out where it is in relation to where I am. The pool is on the second floor, and there weren't enough common points to to suggest how to get there from where I was on the first floor. I eventually figure it out and head to the elevator I think I should take, but there's no sign, so I'm unsure and ask a guard. He directs me to a little door nearby on the wall opposite the elevator I thought to take. The door has "Pool" on it, and I can't believe I didn't see it sooner. He says to go in, up one flight, then turn left. It's actually a carpeted fire exit, but this turns out to be correct, since that takes us in front of the elevator bank I was just at, except one flight higher. Why not just suggest the elevator? Sure, it's faster just to run up one flight. But isn't this supposed to be a hospitality business? If he said to take the elevator or stairs up one flight, that would have been different.

Now I start looking for the pool and end up asking someone. Three days later I discover that there are signs on the wall. But the sign is right above a fluorescent fixture, making it impossible to see. In the first photo below I had the flash on. The second I didn't. Notice the difference? How about that sign down the hall? Of course, if I simply looked at my feet it would have been simple. Then again, how many people expect to find foot prints to be used as directions?



The pool is OK. Clean, but nothing special. They have about 6 cabanas available, and about 200 lounge chairs. It's not too difficult to find an available chair. I got there at 4:00 and it's mostly in the shade, but it's a hot day, so it was actually nice. The water has a funny taste. There's a bar in one corner getting little action.

The pool is named the "Shangri-La Pool". The only thing that makes it 'Shangri-La' is the small fake rock formation with a waterfall, and the few trees. The water, in mid-September, was a comfortable temperature, but wasn't heated. There was also an adjacent Jacuzzi that was plenty hot.


You'll note in the above photo (taken from the IP website), that there are rafts available. I didn't see any rafts during my visit.

It is NOT a 'party pool' like those seen on some of the Las Vegas themed TV shows. Just a place to lounge and swim. That's what I expected. I met a guy who was in Vegas for the first time, and thought this casino was the greatest. I mentioned that other casinos have party pools and even topless pools. It kinda ruined his vacation.

I used the pool a second day until a cigarette butt floated by. That convinced that there are better things to do in Vegas than swim, and hadn't used the pool for the rest of the trip.



Casino

The Imperial Palace advertises "Dealertainers". These dealers work a special pit with one 12 position RapidRoulette, and about 8 other tables, mostly BlackJack, arranged with a small stage in the middle. Although I didn't play at those tables, I saw that the BJ was $15, 6:5, hit on soft 17. The closest BJ table away from this pit was maybe 20 feet away, $10, 3:2, stand on all 17.

I guess every half hour or so, one of the dealers would take the stage, and sing to a non-vocal track. I caught part of two performer's acts. One was Liza, and did a great job - and the table action came to a halt during her performance. Another was Christina Agulera. There was little loss in table action during her show. Elvis stopped the foot traffic, but the table action remained almost the same.

When they are dealing, instead of nametags, there is a small sign on the table showing their name, as well as the name of the person they are portraying. Oddly, Christina Agulera and Ric Ocasek were the only ones specified by full name - even though full names are used on the website. Nowhere did it specify exactly who Ric is (He's the lead singer of The Cars). The guy I saw portraying Ric was Ellwood on a different day. Elvis, Ellwood and Jake were popular. I saw at least two different guys portraying each.

Additional dealertainers that I saw deal but not perform were Cher, Charo, Beyonce, Madonna. I don't know why I didn't get more pictures of them.


As expected, the product looks better in the advertising photo. This is from the IP website:
' rel='nofollow' target='_blank'>http://www.imperialpalace.com/casinos/imperial-palace/casino-gambling/dealertainers-detail.html]

The website indicates that the dealertainers deal starting at 11am. I looked on several days in the afternoon and they weren't dealing. The earliest I saw them was about 7pm.

Next to the dealertainer pit is a regular pit with a variety of games with better rules and lower minimums. Apparently, there's no such thing as a free lunch, or free entertainment.

I played some craps. $5 minimum. Field pays double for both 2 and 12. The junk in the middle all pays "FOR" I.E. The hardways pay 10 for 1 and 8 for 1. No big deal. I'm used to seeing 9 to 1 and 7 to 1. That's mathematically the same. But the other stuff pays 15 for 1 or 30 for 1 for things I'm recall seeing elsewhere as 30 to 1 and 15 to 1. During my week in town, I discover that all craps tables use the "for" terminology, but pay 31 for 1 and 16 for 1 at most non-Harrah's company casinos. Ditto for the field bet. Harrah's pays double for 12. Most other places pay triple.

The poker room has six tables. It never had more than three tables running. Usually it was just two: $2/$4 limit and $1/$2 no limit. More than once I passed by to see only $2/$4 limit. A small bonus for poker players: They fresh made have cookies available. Damn tasty too!

I'm not a sports bettor, but the sports book looked nice. A good number of seats near the betting windows, with additional seating arranged stadium style. The only bad thing is that it is near the karaoke bar.



Restaurants

There are several restaurants, although I only tried two of them on my visit. Except for a coffee house type place in the retail area of the first floor, all are upstairs, meaning they are a challenge to find.


Emperor's Buffet

Everyone I knew who has ever stayed at IP told me to avoid the buffet. But curiosity is killing me, so I go anyway at 8:15pm on my fourth day. The price is $18.99. More than I want to spend to satisfy curiosity. But I ask to go in and check it out. There are several choices that, based on name only, I would probably like, and a few that I wouldn't. Plus a carving station, and the obligatory salad bar and desert spread. But that's all. It's the smallest buffet I have ever seen.

So I'm not going ot pay for this. Maybe a different day for the $12.99 brunch. But before I leave, I ask a couple in their 20's that had just stepped up to the desert table what they think. I ask, "I didn't pay yet. I'm just checking it out. Should I go elsewhere?" The gal says "Uuhhhmmmm..... Yyyyeeeeaaaaahhhhhhh........"

On a different day, I did go for the brunch. It's got eggs and other breakfast foods and some lunch items. How bad can it be?

I get there at 1:45 and am told it closes at 2:00. I knew that, but asked what that means. I can stay until 2:30, but they start breaking down the buffet at 2:15. No problem. When alone, I normally eat quickly and run. Of course, it makes me wonder why it takes until 4:00 to set up and open for dinner.

The hot food sections were set in a basic steam table, two sides with about 8 items each. One side had scrambled eggs, sausage links, limp bacon, undercooked corned beef hash, limp breakfast potatoes, waffles, french toast and fried chicken. The other side had fried shrimp, butter noodles, stroganoff, roasted chicken, fish, sauteed vegetables, and I think one or two other items.

In between was a carving station with ham and turkey and a chef making omelettes.

Because of my younger days as a restaurant employee, I know how hard it is to keep dry foods such as waffles and french toast hot and fresh. So I didn't bother with them. But limp bacon? Undercooked corned beef hash?

There was also a salad section which included sushi. I like sushi, but decided to pass on raw fish at this place. It looked average.

The dessert station had a variety of items. I took chocolate cake, chocolate ice cream, and a cookie. The cake was great, but the ice cream tasted funny. How do you screw up soft-serve ice cream? It comes in a gallon sized milk carton, that you pour it into the machine. How hard is that?

I also had fresh brewed iced tea, which also tasted funny. It took me forever to figure out why. It was Chinese tea. I'm not used to having Chinese tea iced.

Here's the photo from their webpage:

What does it say about a restaurant, when the one photo they show, doesn't even show any food?

Bottom line: As I put on the comment card, the fresh made omelette was excellent but did not make up for the other food, which was far below average.


Burger Palace

This can be compared to a snack bar you might find at a bowling alley. You order at the counter like fast food. The one time I was there was at 8:30pm. Just a couple other patrons were there. They have about 40 booths with chairs that turn but don't move, positioned way too close to the table. There were just a couple tables with real chairs. All the patrons were at those tables. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who thought the booths were tight. Fortunately, there was one available. I thought I ordered my burger medium, but it came out well done. It was good anyway. And it came with unsalted fries which were good.

And they did the photo right!



Hash House A Go-Go.

This is located on the second floor. If you're looking at the property map PDF, it's shown on the first floor, labeled "Tea House." Apparently, the PDF hasn't been changed in years.

I did not eat there, or even go in. However, I DID eat at their sister location about 4 miles west of The Strip. There the food and service were excellent. Assuming the location in the IP is run and overseen by the restaurant's own management and not the IP management, then I'd recommend it.



Bars

There are several bars in the casino area, and another which is only accessible from the Strip. Inside the Strip bar is an escalator going up to the third floor, and none coming down. It lets you off near the sports book and Karaoke Bar.

I'm not a drinker, so I never patronized the bars. However, I did sit and watch several singers at the karaoke bar. There was a Two Drink Minimum sign on the table, but in the 1/2 hour I sat there, no waitress came by. I assume I have to go to the bar for a drink, and, unless it's busy or I want to sing, that they wouldn't care about the minimum.

Since I am a DJ with bar / night club experience, I can't help but to analyze what this DJ is doing. The are about 30 people in the audience. Most are in their 40s and 50s, some are Asian. The singers are generally singing classic rock, oldies and country. Most of them are doing a good job singing. In between singers, while introducing the next singer, the DJ is playing newer high-energy dance and trance type music. It's totally wrong for the crowd. After about 7 fairly good singers and one crappy DJ, I call it a night.



Overall

With the name of Imperial Palace, as well as Asian sounding names of some of the restaurants, you'd expect more Asian influences in the internal decor. The most overwhelming thing about the decor was its apparent need to be cleaned, or painted, or in some other manner, updated.




Summary

Like I said, you can't beat its cheap room rates, and center Strip location.

The initial thought that jumps into your head when you think of a Las Vegas Casino / Hotel would be that of a luxury resort - and be far more expensive than IP's rates. Just remember: There's a reason it's so cheap.

Bottom line: If you go with low expectations, you won't be disappointed, and might even be pleasantly surprised.

Great review, thanks! I now want to try the IP next time I am in Vegas. I like places like that. A little character goes a long way, and you can't beat the price and location. Weird that they would have Ric Ocasek as a Dealertainer, though -- I don't think many people would know who he is, let alone what he looks like.

I would also add that IP has the only Korean restaurant in a casino that I know of: Ginseng 3. You can use your Total Rewards comps there. It's very good.

The problem is that low expectations are rarely present in a tourist, even a lone male tourist. That cigarette filled empty bottle on the balcony is an utter deal killer for a female, even one who smokes. It was okay for you because of your lowered expectations and the freedom of your being a "guy on his own" for that trip but I rather doubt that ordinary tourists ever have such lowered expectations.

Signage, maps, guides... sure its a help. Furniture can be old and perhaps shabby but it should be clean. Just look at your reaction to one cigarette butt in the pool.

Did you have any indications that the property is on a flood drainage channel?

Quote: teddys

Weird that they would have Ric Ocasek as a Dealertainer, though -- I don't think many people would know who he is, let alone what he looks like.

I didn't hear him sing, and I had no idea who he was supposed to be, until I read his nameplate. And I was only 99% sure I was right that he's the singer from The Cars. I actually looked it up before posting this.

Quote: FleaStiff

The problem is that low expectations are rarely present in a tourist, even a lone male tourist. That cigarette filled empty bottle on the balcony is an utter deal killer for a female, even one who smokes. It was okay for you because of your lowered expectations and the freedom of your being a "guy on his own" for that trip but I rather doubt that ordinary tourists ever have such lowered expectations.

You're absolutely right. A typical tourist may think that it's a casino with a center-strip location, and assume it's a 4-star, without ever stopping to think about how cheap the nightly rate is. Hopefully, anyone who reads the review will be prepared, should they choose the IP. For the record, I wouldn't mind staying there again.

There's a couple more details about the balcony I didn't mention:

Although built when practically everyone was a smoker, smoking is just about the only thing it's good for. It's the width of the room, but only about two feet deep. Barely big enough for a chair. It wouldn't surprise me if most people use it only to smoke - even back in the day when everyone smoked. The next day, the bottle was on the balcony floor. I guess the wind knocked it over. It was still there on my last day, so I put it in the trash.

You have to look closely in the photo with the cigaratte butts in the bottle: There's some pigeon shit on the balcony railing. That also doesn't bother me much - it IS outdoors, and the balcony isn't much use except to smoke...

Quote:

Did you have any indications that the property is on a flood drainage channel?

No. Then again, I'm not sure I would have noticed.

Quote: FleaStiff

Did you have any indications that the property is on a flood drainage channel?

One time we visited there the heavens had opened over the strip, and there was full on white water river coming out of the Car Park into the drainage channel behind the property. It would have got any extreme Kayaker's salivating.

I've parked there after some wet weather and the ground floor of the parking garage can be awash, but not flooded.

Great Review DJT. Gives me some indication of what I have to expect next year.

I must admit that I agree with your perception of most peoples high expectations. TripAdvisor proves it. My Wife and I are very aware of cost, and tailor our expectations to suit. I dont know what some people expect for the money they are paying.

Quote: thecesspit

One time we visited there the heavens had opened over the strip, and there was full on white water river coming out of the Car Park into the drainage channel behind the property. It would have got any extreme Kayaker's salivating.

Oh. I suppose I would have noticed that! It didn't even drizzle when I was there.

Quote: Croupier

Great Review DJT. Gives me some indication of what I have to expect next year.

I must admit that I agree with your perception of most peopels high expectations. TripAdvisor proves it. My Wife and I are very aware of cost, and tailor our expectations to suit. I dont know what some people expect for the money they are paying.

I completely agree with that. Some of the reviews on TA are just ridiculous.

I love the mid-priced casinos on the strip. They're extremely nice, and yet don't cost a ton. A hotel like PH is much higher quality than something like a Hampton Inn for way less money.

IP opened in the 70's and it looks it. Harrah's bought it in 2005, what else do you need to know.

I agree, that was an overall excellent review. I have a question.

I've never been there and have tickets to see Human Nature this month. Is there any comment or info on that show you can supply?

Can't help ya. I didn't see ANY shows. I didn't bump into anyone who saw it either.

Quote: JerryLogan

I agree, that was an overall excellent review. I have a question.

I've never been there and have tickets to see Human Nature this month. Is there any comment or info on that show you can supply?

i've never seen the show but heard lots of good reviews about it. seems like the venue isn't that great but the show has lots of energy. some say they like it better than Jersey Boys. i want to see it. good price too! maybe you can let us know how it is if you go.

.

DJ, don't EVER leave cash or valuables unattended in your room. Even if the housekeeping staff is 100% honest, it's not that uncommon for thieves to get into rooms opened for housekeeping, sometiems while the maid is inside (maid is doing the bathroom, thief walks in and grabs something).

IP doesn't have safes in its rooms, but they have safe-deposit boxes in the casino cage. You may have noticed three or four small cubicles with doors next to the cage. That's where you sign up for and access a safe-deposit box. I did that when I stayed there in May '09 without any trouble (except you can't hear anything when the dealtertainers perform). If you stay there again I strongly suggest you do that.

I don't know if they have boxes big enough for a laptop, but at least you can keep your money and documents safe. I always leave my cash, travel checks (if any), checkbook and passport there.

I thought your review was excellent. Thank you for sharing it with us.

I stayed at IP for two nights in February '09 (comped, during one of HET's sillier moments) and basically agreed with Mr. DJTeddyBear's impressions, except my room was clear of junk. I actually figured my way around relatively quickly - since the casino sucked, the dining options sucked, and the entertainment didn't appeal to me, the only place I needed to go from my room was OUT.

I said at the time that if they were willing to give me the room I had for free every time out, I would take it. Well, HET came to their senses and are no longer giving me free rooms, but I decided to take them up on a $22/night offer next month for a couple of nights. We'll see how that goes. Don't expect a long review.