The Linq is a property with a long history, most of the history being before it was called “The Linq”. Originally, the property opened in 1979 as Imperial Palace and operated under this name until 2012, and the theme of the property was an Asian Pagoda. Then, the property was renovated into the Quad. This lasted a very short time, as the property was renamed to The Linq in 2014. Here is my Linq Las Vegas review:
Going into my stay, I wasn’t sure what to expect as this particular property has a bit of a colorful past. Many like me who remember the Imperial Palace remember it as a dirty and cheap place to stay. I do recall the Impersonator Dealers from a previous visit, which I thought was a cool feature, but they are long gone. Also, Mike had stayed a night in August and was not overly impressed. Nevertheless, as with any Vegas visit, I was curious for the experience. I arrived to Las Vegas early on Monday morning, and caught a cab to the property.
Location
One huge advantage most of the Caesars properties have is their location right in the middle of the strip, and the Linq sits pretty much in the middle of all the Caesars properties. The location is hard to beat. You are just steps from the Linq Promenade, the High Roller, Caesars Palace, the Bellagio Fountains, and so much more! And the room elevators are a very short walk from a monorail station. From there, you can get from the MGM Grand to the Sahara and anywhere in between in a very short time.
Since I can be a cheap bastard at times, I told the cabbie to take me to the closest property to the Linq on the strip that was in the cheaper zone, which happened to be the Horseshoe. You can certainly mock me for it, and Mike will, but I don’t give a shit. Being that we are “Strip Walking”, I knew that I easily and quickly could navigate through backways to the property in about 6 minutes.
Arrival
When I arrived at the property around 8:30 am, I knew it was extremely unlikely that I would have a room ready. I stopped at the desk and my hunch proved to be correct. Since official check-in time was 3:30 pm, I dropped my bags at the bell desk and headed out. That giant A-Hole Mike already had sent me a very long list of locations to film.
Fifteen miles, 30,000 steps, and 6 hours later, I arrived back at the registration desk in hopes that I could check-in an hour or so early. Again, I was greeted with a “NO”, so I decided to kill some time at the casino.
The Casino
In the past, the casino in the Linq had not been one of my favorites. It did have a Roll to Win craps table that provided some lower minimums, but that is long gone now. However with the recent reimagining of the casino layout, I really like how the table games sit now. All of the table games moved to the area just north of the current O’Shea’s interior entrance. The layout does seems to be more cozy than before.
On my first visit to the casino area I decided to sit down at an Ultimate Texas Hold Em’ table with a $10 minimum. This is something I would never have done until I became a casino dealer and started dealing the game. I bought in for $200 and was able to fairly quickly lose about $150 of it. But then lightning struck and I pulled a straight flush, winning about $700 in one hand! I pushed my winnings up to $900 at one point, then slowly began to lose it and cashed out at $680. I was plenty happy with that!
All that excitement took about an hour, and then I once again went to see if my room was ready. On my third trip to the registration desk, I was informed that I could check-in, but was directed to use a kiosk. I don’t have a problem with using a kiosk, but I found it a little stupid that there were four people directing guests to the kiosks, so maybe one or two of them could have just worked the desk. Anyway, I got checked in, received my key, stopped at the bell desk to get my bags, and made my way to the 18th floor room.
The Room
The bell desk was very busy but they got my bags extremely quickly, so they earned the $10 tip. The Linq hotel is divided into 4 “districts”. I was lucky enough to be in District 1, so my elevators were right next to the Bell Desk and very close to the registration desk. I had a one queen bed standard room and my first impression was that while the room is not big, it was extremely clean and comfortable. The room has a built in smaller desk area right away when you walk in, and is outfitted with a small lounge chair, bed, and multiple lighting options. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the room also had a room fridge that wasn’t already jammed full of overpriced drinks and snacks. so I could actually procure my own from Walgreens.
The bathroom matched the rest of the room as far as size. It was smaller but still more than adequate. The only other thing that I would point out is that the décor of the room is what I would call modern and trendy on a budget. I am not a huge fan of the wall dispensers that some of the lower end Caesar’s Entertainment properties use for their soaps, shampoos and conditioner. They often don’t work adequately. The shower setup would have been great otherwise, although there was not much water pressure in the shower.
Final Thoughts
I was very pleasantly surprised with what I experienced from this property. My only complaints with the room were what I experienced in the bathroom. It was not a big room, but from a functional standpoint was fantastically designed. The built in closet had space for hanging clothes if you had them and housed the refrigerator and safe in a way that was not obtrusive. The bed was comfortable and housekeeping did a nice job of cleaning in an efficient fashion. While the view from the room was partially obstructed by other parts of the hotel, I could see the top of the High Roller, so I was not disappointed.
I did really enjoy the vibe of the property. Mark from 360 Vegas Podcast says The Linq tries to be a budget version of the Cosmopolitan. I think that’s very accurate. I would definitely stay at the Linq again based upon my experience this trip. If you are looking for the highest levels of luxury, this property is not for you. However, for a fun and inexpensive property with a great location, I would say it is an excellent choice!
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