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For good or ill (depending on your point of view, I suppose), most of the kitschy glitz is gone due to ongoing facelifts and expansions. Don't get me wrong, the look these days is truly elegant, light, and airy with expanses of marble and detail work done to continue the Roman theme. But Caesars really was the last place on The Strip where you could get a taste of old Las Vegas evoking images of the Rat Pack era.

Okay, I'm done complaining because once I get over those nostalgia pains Caesars is one of the most beautiful hotels in town. Inside and out you'll find ornate columns, colonnades, statuary, paintings, and toga-clad models walking around to give you that perfect photo opportunity (okay, so they didn't get rid of all the tacky stuff... Thank God!).

If you're driving in, you'll have plenty of time to admire the Caesars scenery as you hike from the parking garage to the registration desk. The fact that they don't have sherpas standing by to help you make the ridiculously long trek through the casino laden down with luggage seems like a missed opportunity.

The lobby is huge and gorgeous, a rotunda with gleaming statuary and frescos. Even better, they have a single line check-in queue, eschewing the multi-line check-in that has become increasingly more popular for reasons that escape me.

The older rooms in the Forum Tower have gotten a rehab, turning them into simple but sleek charmers. Rooms in the Palace Tower (completed in '97) are more palatial - many have his and her baths connected by a dual shower stall. All are generously appointed and larger than average.

If you can, though, you should try to get a room in the Augustus Tower (completed in 2005). These giant 600 square-feet digs feature plush couches, a table and chairs, a writing desk, a sleek dark wood wall unit with a mini-bar, a flat panel television, and a bathroom big enough for the Gods complete with a whirlpool tub, separate shower, and plenty of marble. The beds are silly comfortable and the entire room gives you a feeling that you are staying someplace special.

And one other request you might want to ask for as you are checking in: try to get a room on the south side of the Augustus Tower so you can have an unparalleled view of the Fountains at Bellagio.

By the way, the rooms in the older Roman and Centurian Towers are pretty basic and you can find better accommodations for less money.

Another tower called Octavius is built but not completed and won't be until sometime in 2011 most likely.

The casino and the rest of the public areas encompass what seems like more square-footage than it actually does. The years of adding on to the property have made this one of the most rambling, most confusing gaming areas in town - I can't tell you how many times I was sure I was heading for the room only to find myself going in the complete opposite direction. Watch the signs is all I'm saying.

The good news about that rambling layout is that there are lots of options for gaming spaces. The main table area is under a dome that dates back to the very early days of the hotel. Adjacent on both sides are some slots and video poker.

Then you're off to another land through the Pussycat Dolls casino area which features tables and pole dancers (fully, albeit skimpily clothed). It had to happen.

Next is the big sports book and then more casino with more table games and slots and video poker. You want choices, you got choices.

Of course, I'd be remiss in not mentioning the Colosseum - a 4,000-seat showroom currently featuring Cher with Celine Dion coming back in March of 2011. It's a nice room but not quite like being in Rome.

There are nightclubs, the adjacent Roman Themed "shopping experience" The Forum Shops, and about a bazillion restaurants. Check the related reviews section of Caesars Palace page for more things to see, do, and eat at Caesars.

The pool area is among the most beautiful in town. Newly expanded in 2010, the Garden of the Gods features eight pools, each with their own style and attitude. One is just for VIPs and overlook all the others, another gets a lot of sun, a third doesn't get much, one features swim-up blackjack, and one has a covered colonnade in the center for cooling off. It's good to have options. Adjacent to this is a spa, which among the usual suspects like massages and workout equipment, has a full-service salon, Zen meditation garden, and a rock-climbing wall.

Caesars Palace of yore and of recent is truly a glorious place but what price glory? A lot. I suppose the planets may align themselves in such a way that you might be able to swing a room here for around $100 a night on a very slow weekday but only if they are truly desperate for boarders. Normally you'll be forking over at least $150 a night on weekdays and a minimum of $200 on the weekends sometimes well over $300.

We love to celebrate the increasingly rare historic hotels in Las Vegas, but usually those places are better in our memories than they are in modern-day reality. But Caesars has created a blueprint for how you can keep an older hotel not just alive, but thriving. These really are Caesars glory days.

For contact information and more details visit the Caesars Palace page on Vegas4Visitors.com.

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Yes, the hotel was purchased by Harrah's Entertainment in 2005 and they made quite a big deal about saying they were going to tear the joint down as part of a major overhaul of their center Strip properties. But then Harrah's Entertainment got bought by a private investment firm and that delayed things and then the economy kinda went in the toilet and that delayed things even more and so for now, the Imperial Palace thumbs its proverbial nose at all of those who thought it would be a pile of rubble by now. Including me.

So enough about what isn't, let's talk about what is...

The Vegas Strip is designed for people with a short attention span. “Hey, look over here!” “No, look over here!” With such grand, attention-getting places like Bellagio, Mirage, Caesars, Treasure Island, and The Venetian just feet away it is easy to understand why The Imperial Palace is often overlooked by Vegas visitors. That’s too bad because while it may not be as flashy or as posh as those hotels, it’s a perfectly respectable place to visit and you can usually save yourself a ton of dough in the process.

The I.P. has not received any serious remodeling since the bulk of it was built in the late ‘70s and ‘80s – at least not to the level of places like Harrah’s or The Flamingo where a series of overhauls has attempted to keep up with the Joneses. The result is the hotel feels old, something that can be both a good and not so good thing. Good because “old Vegas” is rare, especially on The Strip, and the I.P. gives off a comfy Downtown vibe like The Four Queens or the Fremont. Not so good because if you walk from the gleaming marble and muted earth tones of The Venetian for example into the I.P. it’s going to seem kind of dingy in comparison. Step out of the elevators into the hotel towers and the industrial vibe is almost shocking compared to the plush surroundings of other places.

But all you have to do is keep repeating this mantra in your head – “I’m saving hundreds of dollars a night. I’m saving hundreds of dollars a night.” Trust me, it’ll make you feel better about everything.

The Imperial Palace has an Asian theme running throughout from its pagoda style roof to the ornate dragon sculptures. The casino is long, narrow, and has a very low ceiling so it isn’t one of the bright and airy types of places that I prefer but it isn’t an awful place to lose your money. There certainly is no lack of gaming options – all of the table games (with lower limits than most Strip casinos), tons of slots (from penny to $25), a race and sports book, keno, and much more.

Around the edges of the casino are the front desk, a lounge offering live entertainment, a bar or two, and some shopping options. On the fifth floor (accessible by elevator or escalators) are several restaurants, nightclubs and lounges, some entertainment options (shows, etc.), a large pool deck where they host Hawaiian Luaus every summer, and more. Check the related reviews for a selection of the noteworthy things you can do at the Imperial Palace.

The biggest best news for the IP in a long time is the addition of a branch of the fabulous Hash House a Go Go. That's reason enough to visit the place right there.

The rooms are motel basic and not much more. Most of the standard accommodations come with two double beds (not queens) or one king, small televisions with pay-per-view movies and Nintendo style games, a hair dryer, an iron and board, and wireless Internet. The furnishings are fine but obviously cheap - just keeping repeating your mantra.

There are more expensive and larger suites, including the amusingly named “Luv-Tub” rooms, complete with a large Roman tub for… well, whatever you may choose to use such a tub for.

One cool note is that most of the rooms have very small but functioning balconies, something that is unheard of in this city.

Also similar to Downtown is the service. Everyone I ran into at the I.P. went out of their way to treat me with a great deal of care, even those that didn’t know I was there to review the hotel. Stories I have heard from other sources back up the assertion that this is one of the friendliest places in town.

If you can get over the not-as-nice-as-Bellagio surroundings you will rarely find this good of a deal anywhere in this neighborhood. There are lots of reasons to recommend this hotel but that price thing has to be at the top.

For contact information and more details visit the Imperial Palace page on Vegas4Visitors.com.

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