For a king’s ransom of $20,000 per night, the Westgate will offer you the Imperial Sky Villa. That’s the recently renamed penthouse of the former International Hotel, where Elvis Presley resided during his performances in Las Vegas. 

“The new brand is a relaunch of the 13,200-square-foot fortress that has topped the tower since it opened as the International Hotel 1969,” John Katsilometes of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported on June 9.

Except that's a chunk of smoldering garbage. 

The Structure That Abandoned Elvis 

The Imperial Suite (also known as Room 3000) was where Elvis resided during his biannual performances in the hotel’s showroom from 1969 to 1976. Its size was just 5,000 square feet. 

In the 1980s, the Hilton — which acquired the International from founder Kirk Kerkorian in 1971 — started calling Room 3000 “The Elvis Suite,” a title it engraved on a brass plaque at its entrance. For the first time, loyal patrons were permitted to reserve it — not just main acts and big spenders. 

In 1994, the hotel chain chose to fully tear down the 30th-floor residence for the same motive behind every regrettable choice ever made in Las Vegas — the allure of greater profit. 

It was substituted, at a price of $60 million, with three luxurious “sky villas” that boosted the resort’s rental penthouse area by over eight times. 

The Tuscany (named for its decor) overlapped nearly entirely with Elvis' original suite. On June 9, it was renamed the Imperial and adorned for the first time with Elvis images to leverage its historical significance. 

However, there is none. 

If the walls of the Imperial Sky Villa could speak, they would reveal they were constructed 17 years following Elvis's death — along with its ceilings, floors, and windows. 

Top: A 1968 blueprint, with north facing upwards, shows the penthouse that would become Elvis’ in yellow. In blue is a former lounge, the Skyroom, part of which has been absorbed into the Imperial Sky Villa. (Click here for the full-sized blueprint.) Bottom: This aerial photo shows the three sky villas that were built over the demolished Elvis suite, whose footprint is again shaded yellow, most of which corresponds to the Imperial. (Images: Vintage Vegas/Martin Stern Jr. Architect & Assoc. and Google Earth)

Recollections 

The original Imperial Suite — with windows facing northeast and southeast — boasted luxurious decor, incorporating rich jewel tones, golden accents, soft carpeting, a majestic white piano, and a spacious dining area. 

Elvis hosted post-concert parties here with celebrity pals such as Tom Jones, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and Liberace. 

He hosted a well-known meeting in February 1973 with Muhammad Ali, during which he presented the champion with a custom-made, jeweled boxing robe. Ali responded by gifting Elvis a pair of boxing gloves inscribed: “Elvis, You are the Greatest." From Muhammad Ali,” and by refraining from knocking out his new friend when he showcased his karate moves for a photo opportunity. 

Several reports have also indicated that at least one of Elvis’ notorious TV performances took place within the suite. The event was reportedly a 1974 Robert Goulet show on “The Mike Douglas Show” that failed to impress Elvis. 

The suite was also the place where he devoted several weeks over the years to his daughter, Lisa Marie. 

We prefer to believe that none of those weeks coincided with a TV shoot. 

Muhammad Ali, wearing the boxing robe Elvis had just gifted him, tries his hardest not to knock out his new friend in the Imperial Suite. (Image: X)

Heartbreak Inn 

Unfortunately, no distinct part of the Imperial Suite's design is preserved or recognizable. 

The area that used to be Elvis’ bedroom now features the living room of the Imperial Sky Villa. 

And 8,200 square feet of new suites encircle a pool that Elvis never had either. 

Due to Hilton Hotels' choice to turn this historic residence into rubble rather than an Elvis museum like Graceland, today's affluent time travelers must rely more on their imagination than on visual experiences. 

Regardless of how many Elvis pictures adorn the wall. 

Jutting toward the camera in this 1978 photograph, underneath the rooftop sign, are the windows of the Skyroom lounge and its restrooms. The windows of Elvis’ former bedroom and living room line the longer tower at right. The suite dead-ends where the sign does, into the empty space where most of today’s Imperial Sky Villa — including its pool — would be added 17 years after Elvis’ death.  (Image: Las Vegas News Bureau)