Review of the Linq Hotel!!
When planning my last trip to Las Vegas, with my friend Nick who was a Vegas virgin, I wanted him to experience all that Vegas had to offer, at a reasonable price, without losing that hip, modern, fun feel that Vegas is famous for .
This is the main reason why I chose to stay at the Linq; for a brand new hotel the cost simply couldn’t be beat. I knew going into it that it wasn’t going to have the appeal of the Bellagio-- but for 2 friends in their mid 20s we didn’t need anything too extravagant. Another great thing (for us anyway) was their most economical room type comes with 2 double beds, whereas some hotels charge up to $100 more per night for a room with two beds.
The first thing I want to touch on is the atmosphere of the hotel, and how lively and friendly it is. When you walk down the halls the average age is probably mid 20s - 30s, everyone smiles and says “hi”. This is something you don’t normally experience in Las Vegas. I found a lot of the people staying in the hotel were blue-collar guys and gals, just like ourselves - looking to have fun in Vegas! I found at previous hotels that I’ve stayed at in (name hotels) most people just kept to themselves.
One day I headed to the pool (I believe it was on the 6th floor) which offered great views of the High Roller and the Las Vegas strip. They were blasting pop and hip-hop music and there was even a dance off, which made for a great, fun pool party atmosphere.
We had some friends that happened to be in Vegas at the same time as us, staying at the New York New York and they were super jealous of our hotel! Don’t get me wrong, the New York New York is a great hotel and the rooms are much nicer, but it doesn’t have that young, fun atmosphere to it.
The rooms
The rooms were nothing fancy; however, they were clean, modern, and a good size. We ended up getting upgraded to a room with a view of the High Roller, which was nice. The rooms have everything you need; the beds are in the middle of the room and are comfortable. In front of the beds is the TV and a nice long shelf, which was super handy!
It had a large closet area with lots of space to hang up clothes and a few shelves as well; it is also where you found your safe and mini fridge. The safe was one that you programmed your own code into so you didn’t have to worry about leaving your valuables while you were out exploring. I also loved having an empty mini fridge! I know this doesn’t seem like a huge deal but it’s a great bonus. Most hotels have fridges in the room but they are stocked with their room service items which you can’t move without getting charged for. The empty fridge was handy as we went to Walgreens and grabbed a couple bottles of water and some alcohol and we were set. We also picked up a couple breakfast items, so we weren’t paying $15.00 US a day for breakfast. Which allowed for more shopping money!!
The bathroom was decently large and had enough space for 2 people to get ready at the same time. They also had a makeup mirror and back light which is perfect for getting ready. Our room didn’t have a bath tub - just your average standard shower. A neat thing I noticed is that they had re-fillable shampoo, conditioner, and body wash in the showers, compared to hotels that give you the small bottles which isn’t great for the environment. The downside is that our conditioner was out for the 6 days we were there. We didn’t call down to the front desk to ask it to be filled; we both have shorter hair so it didn’t really matter. The door to the bathroom was a pocket door and it had a huge mirror on it - this is every woman’s dream while getting ready!
The cleaning staff was really good and cleaned our room every day - the only thing they didn’t do is fill the conditioner, but again, we didn’t request it to be filled.
One thing to note is that sometimes you could smell a “skunky odour” (…if you know what I mean) which was no fault to the hotel, just some fellow Vegas visitors having a good time. This was noticed when walking down the halls but we could never smell it in our room.
Location
The location was great and had its advantages and disadvantage. One downside was the distance to the bus stops. We took the bus a fair bit since our friends were staying at the New York New York, and to go down to Fremont Street, as well as the outlet malls. The nearest stops were at the Bellagio or Paris which was a 10-15 minute walk from the LINQ. Not a huge deal but would have been nice to have a stop right outside the hotel especially after a day of shopping.
There were advantages to our location as well. You are right on the promenade to the High Roller, with tons of shops and restaurants in the area. They have also expanded in front of Ballys with tons of shops and bars which was nice!
Restaurants and Bars onsite
O’Sheas
So, I will be honest, I didn’t make it into O’Sheas, but it always seemed to be filled with people having a great time and enjoying themselves; definitely a great place to go if you are looking for that fun party atmosphere . They even had beer pong going one day.
Hash a Go Go
This is the go to place for breakfast! Huge portions, great food, and excellent service. The place was even featured on the Man vs Food TV Show. There is usually a long wait to get in, but it is worth it!
Off the Strip
This place was okay but nothing special. The only reason why we went there was because we wanted to go to Hash a Go Go but the wait was over an hour and we needed breakfast sooner than later .The service was okay but there was a gentleman at a table beside us that waited 15 minutes for a coffee. I just had the bacon and eggs and it which ran about $12 or so. Had we not been in a rush that day I probably would have looked for a place with better value for money.
The Nook
There are two “Nooks” in the hotel; one in the main area that has a quick grab and go menu and a second one tucked away in the back of the hotel that has a wider selection with a full kitchen. It is overpriced, as it is a grab and go venue, so you will pay an arm and leg for the convenience.
Casino
Nice, fun, hip, and really modern - which is perfect for a penny slot player like me.
High Roller
This is such an amazing experience and you get some great views of Las Vegas! I would highly recommend doing the night open bar option. It can be a bit crowded up there depending how many people you have in your pod. We had a great group in our pod so it made the experience that much better!
Overall I really recommend the LINQ to anyone that is young or young at heart and wants great value at a fun hip resort.