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| - My original feeling was to give the IP 3 stars - neither here nor there - until I ended up bleeding all over their escalator and floor and their great treatment of dumbass me merited another star. More on that later.
I was in Vegas for my first time for my first Roller Con, the international roller derby convention. Yes, that exists. Naturally, we needed someplace cheap, and IP fit the bill. They dealt with 1000+ drunk and rowdy rollergirls/crew pretty well; of course some of the security was freaking out, but overall, I've heard few complaints from attendees. You have to look at the hotel for what it is, guys. I went over to the Bellagio and hadn't apparently comprehended before the trip that some hotels are palaces; the IP is utilitarian, generic brand.
Do I have complaints? PLENTY. The layout of the hotel is unforgivable; nothing connects, some areas are incredibly far from the main part of the hotel and having a room there is like staying in the boonies. You can't get from one end of the hotel to the other in any simple manner. You're constantly going up and down elevators and escalators and getting lost. Speaking of elevators, there need to be at least a dozen more; huge crowds would form around the bank of elevators next to the casino (which, yes, smells like an ashtray, but I'm also from CA where I'm not used to indoor smoking), and one time I waited for at least five minutes before an elevator stopped at my floor to go down. Prepare to get snuggly with your fellow riders because people WILL pack in. Friday/Saturday night enormous crowds formed around the elevators, a mix of skanked-out girls and drunken loud derby players, plus some unfortunate families whose children will never recover. Karaoke bar is ok, I guess, but everything is more fun when you pack a couple hundred rollergirls in. The pool is far too chlorinated, smelled funny, and hurt my eyes. You have to pay for wifi. The self-parking garage is way too small for weekend crowds. Public restrooms aren't great. Considering I was there for a convention, I spent a lot of time in the conference rooms, and those were pretty much what you'd expect in a cheap hotel: large rooms with no frills. I appreciated that every conference room consistently had coolers of ice water and a stack of cups. Apparently the IP is supposed to be Asian-themed, but they carry through so poorly that it was hardly noticeable.
Deluxe, no, workable, absolutely. My friends ended up in a room with a love tub - a big tub IN the room, with a mirror over it and a mirror over the bed. It was the kind of crap I'd seen on TV and I loved it. FYI: having all your friends lie on the bed and take pictures in the mirror is fun. I didn't find the regular rooms, showers, or closets as unsavory as some yelpers have, although I am still unclear why packets of butter were smeared all over my friend's room door/outside wall.
They've already been mentioned by others, but: DEALERTAINERS. I laughed at the billboards on the way into town, but oh man, it is awesome to go into the casino and see someone who vaguely resembles Michael Jackson on the roulette wheel. Other celebs I saw: Billy Idol, Britney Spears, Stevie Wonder, Madonna, Gwen Stefani, Freddie Mercury (that guy was great), Pat Benetar, etc. And they take turns getting up on the little platform and lip syncing a song by their likenesses. So great. And the Dealertainers POSE if you point a camera at 'em! LOVE IT.
As I mentioned in the first sentence of this review, I ate it on an escalator (600% my fault, had nothing to do with the escalator/hotel, no I am not suing) and ended up with a large, deep gash in my knee that left me bleeding everywhere. As an aside, keep in mind that a friend had stuck a large fake mustache on me immediately before the incident, so I extra looked like a dumb and potentially drunk rollergirl who had been running around for days annoying people. The cleaning people saw my predicament and said they had to call security, then waited what seemed like a while to give me a paper towel or something, and security and an EMT showed up startlingly fast. And they were all VERY nice to me. The EMT cleaned me up and taped gauze on me, the security guard got all my info, they spoke to the lucky friend who got to take me to urgent care - hell, they knew where an urgent care was, not just an ER - and I never got the feeling I was being judged or condescended to. Even the cleaning people who got stuck cleaning up the blood were nice, and coincidentally, one ended up cleaning the room I'd stayed in and randomly telling my roommate about the accident; my friend said yep, she knew me, and the woman asked my friend to send along a "hope you're doing ok." THAT'S SERVICE.
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