Linq Hotel & Casino Suite Review
Although I live in Las Vegas, from time to time I do stay in the hotels here. Sometimes I review them and others I just do it to be more in tune with the city. A couple of weeks ago my wife and I had reservations to eat at the amazing Sterling Brunch at Bally’s on a Sunday morning (review to come later). We also had plans to be on the Strip with friends Saturday night. Thus, it only made sense to try to get a hotel room.
Unfortunately Las Vegas hotel rooms get quite expensive on the weekends and this particular weekend seemed worse than normal. Hotels like Bally’s and Harrah’s were going for almost $200 per night and The Linq was $150. As the day wore on nothing was changing, but then it happened. At about 2pm I pulled up the Total Rewards site and found that The Linq had briefly dropped to $24.65 for the night. I immediately booked it! Shortly afterwards the priced jumped back up.
Founderscard Total Rewards Diamond Pays Off
I tried to focus on Total Rewards properties, since I have Diamond status through my Founderscard membership. Diamond status gives me a number of perks including Diamond Lounge Access, VIP check-in and no resort fees! Considering the resort fee at The Linq is $34.01 by itself, it was quite the savings.
Since I was meeting my wife down on the Strip and to avoid us having two cars, I used a flat fare Uber ride to reach The Linq. Once inside, I noticed a check-in line of about 30 people and only two agents. Luckily I was able to stroll right on by into the VIP check-in area where I was greeted, given a water and checked-in.
A Surprise Upgrade
During check-in the agent at first gave me a couple of choices of basic room locations and then changed her mind. She said since I was there for only one night, that she would give me a suite! I hadn’t planned to be in the room much so I wasn’t going to ask for an upgrade (or try the $20 trick) so this was a pleasant surprise.
The Linq has an interesting past over the last few years. It spent most of its life as the lower-end Imperial Palace. Then, when Caesars Entertainment built The Linq Mall and High Roller Ferris Wheel, they renovated the casino (but not the hotel) and called it The Quad. Finally, after realizing that the very very dated hotel wasn’t cutting it, they renovated the hotel as well and aligned the branding with the nearby mall.
I am ashamed to say I stayed at the Imperial Palace quite a few years ago. It was not very nice and looked to not have been renovated since the late 1970’s. Cheap laminate furniture, paper thin sheets and hard beds are just some of the things that I remember. I was excited to see if they really did a good job renovating into The Linq or if they just put lipstick on a pig.
The Room
My suite was basically the size of two rooms side by side. It contained a nice bar/living room area (stocked with jelly bellys!) with a half bath and a separate bedroom with a small closet and full size bath. The decor in the suite was identical to what you will find in the normal rooms at The Linq. This hotel is very much designed for Millennials with a modern look using light woods and grays. The Hyatt Centric of Caesars Entertainment properties if you will.
I was impressed with how thorough the renovation was. Sure, you still have the circa 1980 wall mounted air conditioning units, but beyond that everything was new. They even replaced the old bathtub/shower combination in the bathroom with a roomy shower. That is something that not even the MGM Grand did when they recently renovated.
The bed was fantastic as well. Not too soft or too hard, I really slept well and the bedside power/USB ports were much appreciated. Gone are the paper thin sheets of the Imperial Palace too which is definitely a good thing. Overall I found the room to be a true surprise given the bones they were working with. They did a fantastic job with this renovation.
Conclusion
The Linq Hotel & Casino probably isn’t the ideal property for everyone. It is still loud and the clientele is young, but it is a clean, fun and comfortable place to stay. The casino has been renovated, you have a great outdoor mall next door and you can even play beer pong at O’Sheas. What more could you expect for $25 on a Saturday night? 😉
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Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Is the sports book same as the Imperial Palace days? I remember it was the only place to bet on less mainstream sports, like Formula 1.
I usually end up gambling and hanging out in the Linq a lot but stay at the Cromwell – I will have to try out the linq sometime though. Their tiny pool area hurts them some though imo.
I assume the $20 trick is a $20 “tip” for an upgrade?
yes, but i dont know why people call it a trick. its NOT a “trick”. its a YMMV tip. thats like calling the tip you give your restaurant waitress a 15% “trick”. does that produce any results? not really. and neither would the $20 tip to the front desk staff if they suck. sometimes they would do nothing. other times, they would “upgrade” you to a better room which costs $20 more had you booked it yourself anyway so its a wash. its YMMV.
The LINQ for $25? Nice brah!$
nice bro! damn dude! I am going to visit you soon! so was this a mistake fare or what? sounds like it.
really happy to hear you went to the LEGENDARY Sterling Brunch at Bally’s. that place is no joke. i am very ashamed to not have known about it until recently via youtube reviews. its only open for one day a week. crazy talk!