Las Vegas Hotels

Location, location, location. And price, price, price. That's what the IP has going for it -- don't think anything else. It's smack in the middle of the Strip -- it doesn't get any more centrally located than this, and now there's even a monorail stop right out back -- and on a weekend night when rooms at nicer hotels are running $400 (that's for a regular room), lodgings can be had here for under $60. What you get in exchange is an older, darker hotel that looks sort of sleazy in spots but really isn't. Not much, anyway. It just seems like it in comparison to the gleaming hulks across and down the street. We actually know types who prefer this, a more classic Vegas feel, to the airy new upstarts. We aren't among those, we have to admit, and you may not be as well. The standard rooms are just that, but they all have balconies, which is exceedingly rare in Vegas. A perfect Vegas hoot, the "luv tub" rooms are some of the best deals on the Strip, especially if you can get them for the cheapest end of the price range; you'll get a larger bedroom (with a mirror over the bed!) and a larger-than-usual bathroom that features a 300-gallon sunken "luv tub" (with still more mirrors).

From April to October, the hotel holds "luaus" at the pool, with a Polynesian revue and buffet. Expect Tiki torches.

The hotel is also home to the long-running Legends in Concert impersonator show. The casino has relatively low (for the Strip) table limits.

A unique feature is the Auto Collections at Imperial Palace, displaying more than 800 antique, classic, and special-interest vehicles spanning a century of automotive history.

Facilities: Casino; showrooms; wedding chapel; 10 restaurants; outdoor pool; health club and spa; video arcade; concierge; tour desk; car-rental desk; shopping arcade; 24-hr. room service; laundry service; dry cleaning; nonsmoking rooms; executive-level rooms.

- Frommer's