If you’re searching Las Vegas hotels on a budget it won’t take long before you find the Linq Las Vegas in your results. This center Strip property is right in the heart of the action and with several room types available there’s something for every traveler. But if you really want to keep costs down you’ll probably find yourself in a District 3 room. Is it worth it? Let’s have a look.
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I booked the Linq Las Vegas for Sunday through Thursday June 1-5. With tourism being down at the time of writing these were all comp nights with a $0 room rate.
Resort fees and taxes for the four nights came to $56.63 per night. It’s hard to vacation anywhere cheaper than that. The Linq Las Vegas has an Expedia rating of 7.6 which is relatively low, especially for a resort. Several downtown properties like the Downtown Grand and El Cortez have ratings above 8.0 Check the Expedia rates for your dates.
I chose this hotel because you can’t beat free. Also I want to stay in as many Las Vegas resorts as possible so no better time to knock this one off the list.
Linq Las Vegas Location
Nothing to complain about here. This hotel is right in the heart of the most walkable part of the Strip. It’s got its own monorail stop as well, which is easier than depending on the bus.
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Being on the east side of Las Vegas Boulevard it’s easy to get to and from the airport without too much traffic. The convention center is also easy to reach by monorail and if you’re traveling for an event at the Caesars Forum, it’s right on site.
Linq Las Vegas Property
The history of the property goes back to 1959 when the hotel opened as part of the Flamingo. Today the Linq Las Vegas is still very bound up with Flamingo and Harrah’s with the three of them forming one large Mega-resort similar to other connected properties on the Strip.
Before its acquisition by Caesars the property spent most of its life as the Imperial Palace. While it expanded over the years to keep pace with the rest of the Strip, it was never the newest, hottest or shiniest property in Las Vegas. Today it occupies a place in the lower tier of Caesars resorts, below the neighboring Flamingo and Planet Hollywood.
Property and Amenities
I faced a long line and crowded lobby when trying to check in at 3:30 (not 3:00) on Sunday. When booking Caesars will prompt you to check in online but this does almost nothing. You still have to visit a kiosk for “express” check in which is not faster than seeing an agent in person. MGM Can get you to your room with a digital key making it unnecessary to stop in the lobby. MGM also sends room ready notifications and it’s often possible to check into their rooms early for no additional cost. Caesars knows they have check-in problems here and at the Flamingo and they could match MGM’s tech but they don’t. Presumably because they care more about upselling than the guest experience.
Once you get into the property, it’s pretty nice. The fitness center has just about everything you could ask for and the attached spa is one of the more affordable options on the strip. The pool is not the fanciest but it’s a great atmosphere with a shaded bar and a decent amount of free loungers alongside the rental cabanas and daybeds. The pool is also open to the public. You don’t need to be a hotel guest but you do need to be 21.
The District 3 rooms are at the rear of the property and being back here has some advantages. You’re close to the monorail and ride share and can pop into Harrah’s via the back way. There’s also a Dunkin Donuts right next to the District 3 elevators. You can get your coffee ($8) and be sipping it in bed in less than 5 minutes. Lines don’t build up here the way they do at many resort Starbucks locations.
Linq Las Vegas Guest Rooms
This section is about the District 3 rooms specifically. These are among the cheapest in the hotel and again, were free for this stay. The King room I had was just all right. Adequate. It didn’t surprise or delight in any way and having stayed at a number of Strip resorts I prefer all of the others I’ve visited.
The room is clean and wear and tear is minimal, but design and comfort are a bit lacking. The desk is so small that it’s just functional and the bed, while comfortable, slides all over its faux-wood platform if you move around in it too much. The mattress can move downward allowing the pillows to slip between it and the headboard. The air conditioner is very loud and the view, while unimportant to me, is nonexistent.
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The storage is minimal. it’s enough for one person but a couple will find one person living out of their suitcase for the whole stay. On the other hand the bathroom is pretty nice. Not large but it feels like it’s been renovated more recently than the room and the shower produces a large volume of very hot water and doesn’t spill onto the floor at all. It’s a very nice shower.
About The Strip
Most Vegas visitors prefer the Strip to downtown. Virtually everyone prefers staying somewhere on the Strip vs at a hotel off-Strip. Moving up and down the Strip is fairly straightforward but going from a location on the Strip to just about anywhere else is a hassle, with Uber being the best option by far.
The Strip is a real melange of the high and the low. It’s got world class restaurants and nightlife, some of the most luxurious spas and hotels, and millionaires and celebrities sipping cocktails and hitting the tables. It’s also got the great unwashed masses, homeless street freaks and scam artists of every description. Along with some of the corniest and tackiest novelties and tourist traps this country ever conceived.
I think it’s fantastic. I wouldn’t have it any other way. The more you come back, the more you learn about the ins, outs and intricacies of the casinos, the industry and Las Vegas culture.
Bottom Line
Linq Las Vegas is Fine. It’s particularly nice having the Linq Promenade right outside. There’s a lot of restaurants to choose from there and it’s a very chill vibe on the street. Because it’s private property they keep homeless people and street performers off the promenade so it’s much more peaceful than Las Vegas Boulevard.
I would stay here again but probably only on a comp. If you’re comparing hotels the rooms at Luxor are much nicer and often comped or cheaper than here. Within the Caesars portfolio I strongly prefer Horseshoe, which has comfortable seating and views in their cheapest rooms and an even better location right on Flamingo Ave.
For some travelers it all comes down to price. Check the rates and if the Linq is significantly lower than the rest, go ahead and book it. It’s popular with a younger crowd who often have the mindset of “we’ll just be in the room to sleep anyway.”
