Actually, Palpatine explodes around the bottom of the lift shaft. That is, after all, what the long tube running down is, the lift up to the throne room. So let's all amuse ourselves with the thought that Palpatine comes crashing down into the foyer and goes boom in front of the lifts. Just by the water cooler.

And Ghost, I don't think keeping Jabba's Palace secret would really achieve anything, seeing as we all know that's where he was taking him. I'd just keep it out of Empire all together; the Palace and everything there belongs in Jedi. I hate mixing up the movies, it ruins their individual aesthetics.