Hotel Review: The Imperial Palace, Las Vegas

Las Vegas is an over-the top city, and if you're not careful, your budget can go over the top as well. Hotels along the strip, even regular rooms, can run as high as $400 per night. You could choose a hotel that's a little farther off the strip, or even out of Las Vegas to save a few bucks, but there's actually a hidden gem in Sin City.

The Imperial Palace Hotel is located right in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip and part of the Harrah's group of hotels. For the same location as the Paris Hotel, Caesar's Palace and Flamingo, you can have a centrally located hotel room without breaking the bank. It has 2,640 rooms in the main hotel and a 2-storey motel-type structure in the rear area called the Capri rooms. The hotel features a casino floor with over 800 games and Dealertainers, which are celebrity impersonators who perform on a main stage on the floor, as well as deal cards at the tables. It also has 8 restaurants and a pool area for hotel guests.

My parents were going to Las Vegas for a high school reunion and their organizing committee had booked this hotel. They had a special rate of $89 per night, which I thought was excellent for the location. After their trip, I asked them how the hotel was and they said it was ok. They hardly stayed in the room because of all the activities they did and they were able to visit other casinos nearby.

I had a chance to go to Las Vegas for an all-girl weekend with my friends. We had all agreed that we didn't need a luxury suite, but somewhere centrally located on the Strip where we could go to all the restaurants and clubs without having to walk too far. I immediately thought of the Imperial Palace. I checked the rates on the websites and found a room in the main hotel for $114 per night. There was a cheaper room, which was in Capri motel structure, but in my initial research, I had read some reviews online that it was inconveniently located. I booked the reservation online and immediately received a confirmation.

We arrived on a Thursday night, and it was quite busy. It took about 20 minutes to get to the front of the line and get checked-in. Unfortunately they only had a smoking room for that night. They promised that we would get a non-smoking room the next day. We took the smoking room, as we were quite tired and had no choice anyway. The location of this room was quite inconvenient. We had to go up to the 2nd floor, go out, walk around the corner and take another set of elevators down to the 1st floor before we got to the room.

The room itself was clean, albeit smelling slightly of smoke. The beds were motel quality and were firm. The carpets and décor were slightly outdated and worn. It was definitely not a 5-star hotel, but it was clean and comfortable. The bathroom was spotless, which is very important when staying at a hotel room.

The following day, we had breakfast at the Emperor's Buffet upstairs. It was inexpensive and had a good selection of breakfast meats, eggs, pancakes, breads, Chinese and Mexican dishes, as well as teas, coffees and juices. The food quality was ordinary, but it was filling. We stopped by the front desk to check if they had a room ready. As promised, they did have one ready and they would take care of moving our things to the new room, which was also more conveniently located on the fourth floor.

The pool area is a typical Las Vegas style pool lounge with cabanas and beach chairs as well as a bar area. We were seated right by the pool, were there was plenty of sun. The place was relaxing and their pool was large. Unfortunately, it was poorly placed the shadow of the main hotel room. This meant that by 3 or 4 in the afternoon, the lounging area was covered in the shade.

The gambling floor is not too big and has a good selection of table games and slots. Only some of the tables have Dealertainers, and they can be quite amusing, though some may find them cheesy.

While the Imperial Palace is certainly not as lavish as the newer hotels on the Las Vegas Strip, the location is fantastic. Going out during the day or night was convenient and the hottest Vegas clubs are walkable or just a short cab ride away. There's also a Monorail station behind the hotel, which makes going far north and south of the strip a snap. The service is excellent and the staff will do their best to cater to your needs. This is a great hotel for those looking for a bargain Las Vegas hotel, without sacrificing convenience, quality or great service.