Deluxe Room At Linq Las Vegas Hotel

Even though I live in Las Vegas now I still take my annual winter vacation on the Vegas Strip. This vacation usually means minimal work and lots of fun. This vacation was once again a success. The original plans for this vacation had half of the group staying at The Palazzo and the other half at The Linq. Hotel choices changed as the price of rooms at The Linq were just too inexpensive for anyone to pass up.

I was able to get two “comp” nights while I paid about $100 for the weekend nights during NFR (National Finals Rodeo). Comp is in quotes because I still had to pay the resort fee ($32.48) for each night regardless of the room rates since I’m only Platinum at Total Rewards. Diamond and Seven Stars members have their resort fees waived. This was still a good price for four nights, but those fees are just annoying.

While checking into the hotel, I remembered that The Linq was a hotel “designed with the millennial in mind.” The topic of millennials has been on my mind a lot lately and I was curious if the hotel and casino would really be different. The millennial experience would be noticeable with check in where you’re asked to check in via kiosk. Remember, millennials would rather speed through a line by using a kiosk instead of waiting.

The millennial-style experience was noticeable as soon as I entered the hotel. There was a hotel employee recommending that everyone with luggage check in via kiosk instead of heading to the main desk. Remember, millennials would rather speed through a line by using a kiosk instead of waiting.

There was no line so I shunned the kiosk to see if I could charm my way into a room upgrade. Nope. The desk agent wasn’t helpful in any manner or even friendly. In fact, I’m sure he hated me. Check out this view he gave me.

Excuse the reflection, I was taken aback and just snapped away. Who gives someone this view when checking in on a Wednesday afternoon? Views aren’t that important to me since there isn’t much time spent in the room so this wasn’t a big deal. The room was on the 6th floor which is the same as the spa. Unlike most other floors a room key wasn’t needed to access the room. This was convenient when carrying coffee back to the room every morning. For what it’s worth the rest of the desk agents were all smiling, but this guy seems like he works at The Linq to encourage kiosk check in the next time.

The entry level “Deluxe Room” is about 250-350 square feet which sounds appropriate for the period that the original structure, Imperial Palace, was built. If designed properly this could also be a room perfect for millennial travelers. These rooms could be small but useful.

Upon entry, it was easy to see that the room was small. However, the room didn’t feel small because of its design. Unlike older hotel rooms there’s no clutter in the room. The large TV is mounted on the wall and there isn’t a dresser, credenza or desk taking up space beneath it. The minimalist wall rail with has a bump-out for a laptop workspace worked perfectly.

The rail was a little wider than the (sanitized for your protection?) remote control for the TV. It was a good place to leave a wallet, keys and any other pocket junk. The desk area had multiple USB inputs and an outlet and enough room to set up a laptop and work for a little while. This is a very smart use of space and it really saved the room from feeling small.

There was an intelligently designed closet to maximize space. This would come in handy if you’re the kind of person that unpacks folded clothes. I pack for vacation with everything on hangars and the closet was wide enough for 2 shirts and a pair of pants per day for 4 days and 3 nights to hang. The suitcase stand was off to the side of the clothes and never got in the way. There isn’t a door on the closet, but everything hides nicely behind the curtain. The two free bottles of water was a nice touch and came in handy after a night of beer at Yard House.

The worst part of the room is probably the most important for many people. The beds are the same at all Caesars Entertainment properties and after less than comfortable visits to Paris Las Vegas and Rio, I wasn’t expecting much comfort. The Linq has the same odd pillow densities and hard beds as the other properties. There was so much partying at night that a full night of sleep wasn’t a problem. Caesars beds are good enough to make you want to leave the and spend time in the casino or restaurants. Maybe that’s their plan.

One of the best features of the room is that there are plenty of accessible USB connections and outlets. In addition to the desk with multiple places to charge your devices, the table sitting in between the two beds has a lamp with outlets for two devices. These are only 120-volt outlets and meant for laptops and cell phones. This is a feature that all hotels should have by now – especially the older hotel rooms. Lamps with an outlet can be found for under $20 retail. The room was noticeably missing an alarm clock, but a mobile phone should suffice for most people.

In previous renovations, Caesars might have chosen to skip the bathroom when renovating their entry level hotel rooms (see Flamingo Fab room). They didn’t take that position with The Linq bathrooms which were renovated completely from when the hotel was the Imperial Palace. The small but functional bathrooms were almost perfect for a budget hotel room. The one miss was the lack of an actual door. This seems to be a trend with small modern hotel rooms and I don’t like it.

The other thing that took away from the bathroom at The Linq was the high toilet. Caesars might want to include a Squatty Potty in The Linq bathrooms for shorter people. The bathroom was otherwise comfortable and functional. As you’d imagine in a room between 250 and 350 square feet the bathroom is small but it didn’t feel small (notice the trend?). Since the bathroom is so small there is only a shower and not a tub. The shower has tall rainfall shower head with medium water pressure that’s strong enough to remove the filth from the previous night.

The controversial item in the bathroom when the renovations were revealed were dispensers for shampoo, conditioner and body wash instead of little bottles. To my surprise, I didn’t hate the dispensers. I found it easier than fumbling with mini bottles.

Overall the Deluxe Room at The Linq was one of the nicer budget hotel rooms I’ve stayed in. The design of the was crisp, clean, functional and modern. The modern design was nice but not too modern to scare off the older Caesars customer. The Linq hotel room is designed so well functionally that the small space never felt claustrophobic.

Since the rooms were recently renovated nothing was broken, rusted or appeared used and abused. The only real negative in the room was the hard bed and odd pillow configurations, but that’s a Caesars property-wide issue for me. If you’re comfortable with other Caesars hotel beds in Las Vegas then you shouldn’t have a problem.

I can see how The Linq hotel rooms were designed with the millennial customer in mind. The designers did a good job of also appealing to the typical Caesars customer who may not be the most cutting-edge person. The room should satisfy both younger millennials and older customers looking for an inexpensive hotel room with a great center strip location.