When I started coming to Vegas in the late-80s, the Imperial Palace was “that place owned by the Nazi sympathizer.” After it was bought out by Harrah’s, it became “the cheap hole where you can stay on the Strip.” Now it’s been renamed The Quad and is undergoing a major renovation. I’ve just arrived for a long stay over the International CES, so I’ll be updating this review as I come up with new things worth noting.
Aside: as a Penn grad, I love that when you type “the quad” into Google, the first two hits are “The Quad Las Vegas” and “The Quad UPenn”, after the dormitory on campus that’s been there since the undergrads could almost remember the real Ben Franklin wandering on campus. (Not really.)
If you remember the IP, The Quad makes its biggest impression when you arrive in the porte cochère or walking in off the Strip—both locations announce a very nice modernist decor, similar to the much more expensive Aria down the Strip. That impression goes away quickly; coming in from the airport shuttle dropoff, you pass by the same stores that are more Ocean City in the off-season than upscale mall, and by the time you get to the casino, it’s the same cramped and confusing layout as it used to be, but with far fewer tacky “Oriental” knick-knacks stolen from racist Sean Connery Bond films.
As before, the only real reason to stay here is Strip access for cheap. I’m in the lowest tier of Caesars premium player status, and my stay for 10 days is under $400; aside from the CES days, I’m getting a full comp. That same rated player status got me a quote of $200-300 a night at other Caesars properties on the Strip, and far higher across the street at Caesars Palace, where bog-standard CES rooms can cost $1,000 a night.
That’s exceedingly strange, because Vegas geography makes proximity look far closer than it actually is. The Quad is, in theory, “right on” the monorail system, and I’m one stop away from the convention center. In practice, I know from experience to budget a 30-minute walk to get to the monorail. Caesars Palace is “just across the street”, but that complex is so sprawling, and crossing the Strip during daytime so difficult, that it can easily be a 60-to-90 minute walk to the monorail from any casino on the other side of the Strip.
However, being on the monorail for CES is crucial. Despite a very frequent bus shuttle system, the traffic here is insane during CES, and the lines to board a shuttle at the end of a day can be a 30-45 minute wait even when the buses are arriving continually. Taking a shuttle to and from the convention center can take 90 minutes and up; the main reason I’m staying here is that I’m hoping (first time doing this, so we’ll see if I’m right) that the monorail will be traffic-immune, so commuting to and from the convention floor will minimize but not eliminate travel horror stories.
The hotel room is easily characterized as “Vegas motel”, which is not damning with faint praise because motels here, excluding the Downtown area, are surprisingly decent. Unlike a motel, the king bed has a good mattress, but otherwise the room is spartan; the only amenity I care about is a comfy chair from which to do my writing, and I don’t have one.
Surprising touches: an itty-bitty accessible balcony overlooking the pool. OTOH, AT&T reception here is touch-and-go, but I’ve got great Verizon Mifi signal. And the room has real mugs and glasses, while even the fancy rooms in Atlantic City get styrofoam.
Unpleasant surprises: I’m on the 6th floor, but even so the water pressure is mediocre, and I was ankle-deep in water after a shower. The room would be spacious, but it’s so underfurnished that the arrangement is deliberately inefficient. You could easily put a sitting area in here next to the dining table if you moved the bed.
From what I’m overhearing from the hotel staff, the rates here are still dirt cheap because it’s undergoing renovation through 2014. I assume that afterwards, this is going to be a standard Caesars Strip property with rates to match. That’s rather a shame, as the best thing about Imperial Palace was its availability for budget travel when everything else here was booked. I’d rather not see this place become just another interchangeable property in the mile-long Caesars block of the Strip.
Had a late dinner last night at Hash House a Go Go. The menu advertises the “Sage Fried Chicken Benedict” as featured on Man vs. Food, and I can believe it. Recommended for people who like their dinners served with a shovel; after a very stressful day of missed bus connections, flying, and nibbling on pretzels in lieu of actual meals, it was damned near perfect.