The Linq to Downtown, 4/2 to 4/6

On this, our 16th trip to Las Vegas and the 10th year since the first trip my wife and I took together, I debated whether or not to post a trip report. It is tough, because I stay pretty busy, but I like a) passing information along and b) being able to return a few years later and remember the experience. So here it is!


THURSDAY


Our flight was Delta, which is unusual. We usually do Southwest, but I had some credit card points to cash in so Delta it was. I’ve had some bad experiences with Delta in the past, but things went pretty smooth this time around. We had a layover in Salt Lake City, and I was happy to find that this airport had my bank’s ATM’s handy, so I extracted a little more “safety cash” without paying a fee.



We arrived and took the rental car shuttle to pick up our car from Dollar Express. We like the freedom a rental car provides, and we can usually get them pretty cheap. I cannot think of an easier way to rent and pick up your car. We walked in, down the escalator, to the garage, looked at the screen to see which stall was marked for us, walked to that stall and plopped into our rental. Then through the shack where we were verified and we were done. A five minute process. We got a Kia; not very sexy, but it works.


Took the drive up the Strip toward our hotel. We wanted to try something new, so we decided to book Linq on a CET comp. We’ve stayed at most of their other properties with a few exceptions, so we thought we’d give the new one a try. It is always great to see the city’s neon greet you as you drive north toward your destination.





Upon our arrival, we had to guess a bit how to get to our hotel. The parking garage was a bit confusing; not clearly marked. We guessed access was through Harrah’s, and we were right, but the signs were difficult to follow and they had the self-parking access blocked off. We eventually took the valet entrance and this worked. True to CET properties, the parking garage elevator was pretty dirty, and once out of the garage you pass two sketchy alleys to get to the hotel entrance.


The wife grabs us a couple of drinks from the bar by check in as I wait in line. *After a little wait I greet the receptionist, who tells me that they don’t have a king room available. I told her that I had a reservation for such, and she advises that reservations are “requests,” and can’t be guaranteed. Oh boy. *We get a room with two doubles. We’re told we can come back tomorrow to see if the room we requested is available. Not a good start.


Oh well, let’s roll with it. Gotta have fun.


Next, the elevators. Here’s how they work. You have to swipe your room card (actually a proximity reader) to get to your floor. A nice security feature for sure, but it sounds better than it is. Here is how it really goes: pack 12 people in, then it is a mix of bodies and confusion as each tries to swipe their card across the single reader to access their floor. Terrible design. I appreciate the security but it doesn’t work; at a minimum another card reader is needed on the opposite panel (providing two). This is all worsened by the slowness of the elevators; a real problem. One guest on an elevator ride commented that she would not stay here again simply because of this flaw.


But hey, we get there. It is a neat room, but with some quirks. It isn’t very big; the same old IP room size. *CET had to try to make it work; it is tough to do much with the size of the room. The room is more about looks than function, though.





There is an interesting shelf/desk along one wall. Also a cool mirror that I noted was identical to one used in Cromwell from photos. An exposed “closet” and safe. The safe did work well and stows a 15” laptop.


Some things intended to be cute are not necessarily practical. For example, there is a pocket sliding door to the bathroom. It is a little heavy and noisy; your standard door would have been just fine. The desk/wall shelf also doesn’t seem that useful.


The beds were fairly comfortable, and I guess I had one all to myself!


The curtains do little to block out the light in the morning, so I was up at 7am each day. The worst thing, though, was the positioning of the wall unit air conditioner. You had to have it; this is the desert after all. *I’m from the Midwest so I prefer a bit of coolness to sleep at night. But here, take your pick: either hot or in your face cold. The unit is positioned just a couple feet away from one of the beds. It has no adjustable vents to reposition air flow. It has a powerful motor and it works well, but blows directly in your face at night (or your feet if you flip flop). I tried to put a Linq bag over it, and a towel, but eventually both fall off. The thing works great, but is also a hindrance because it works great.




We had a nice view of the High Roller, but if you have that view, you don’t have much else to look at.



Time to gamble. The standard CET poor VP pay tables and 6:5 blackjack (yes, 3:2 is available if you want to bet $25 a hand, but I don’t), but we didn’t feel like leaving. The casino is nice and fresh, everything works. A bit small, though. O’Shea’s sounds tend to bleed over, but the band was fun so I didn’t mind. This casino definitely skews toward a 20 to early 30 something demographic.

We're in Vegas, so we're having fun!

We dumped all of our money for the evening and headed up to get some interrupted sleep. Friday was to include Elton John.

 

FRIDAY


Up at 7am; partially due to the time zone and partially due to sunlight and cold winds.

Out by 9am, and we explored the Linq promenade. Most storefronts were closed, though. Too early.



We made our way to the Flamingo, where we played some VP and some penny slots, including Goldfish 3. We still like the original best, and there are plenty of those machines still around. But it was fairly fun.



We had brunch at Guy Fieri’s Vegas Kitchen and Bar. We tried to get to Hash House, but the place was packed and a long wait. At Fieri’s, the wife had “Guy’s Big Bite Burrito” (that doesn’t sound right) and I had the “Maple Bacon French Toast.” Both were pretty good, but not good enough for us to die to return. Both didn’t sit well with our stomachs later, but we could also blame that on the alcohol we consumed later.





Back to the casino, where our fortunes were not found for a while. I love Caesars for the fact that they consistently give us free rooms through Total Rewards. But I can’t stand the gambling choices they offer. *Full disclosure: we like Downtown a bit more than the Strip these days, particularly where gambling is concerned. So we pondered things a bit and decided that we’d head over to the Mirage, where we had a MyVegas comp for a buffet. We’d gamble a little, eat, and make our way down to the Palace for Elton John.


Did pretty well at the Mirage blackjack tables (more 6:5 for $10/hand). The drinks were flowing, the company was interesting, and we were stacking some chips. We eventually cashed out and did some video poker. The drinks kept flowing. Drink service was great, and the server started dishing out unsolicited (but appreciated) doubles. Things started to get hazy. *Dinner time (an early dinner) rolled around, and I knew it was important to get something in the stomach. We headed toward the MLife desk, found it busy, and just decided to hit the buffet and not worry about the comp.*It was a good meal and hit the spot.

Down to Caesars where we killed some time walking through the Forum Shops. We’ve been here before, but it has been a while since we strolled through the shops. Really a beautiful place. We did some more VP, and lost, before seeing Elton’s show.







We were both a bit concerned that he might not be what he used to be. He was fantastic. Really cool set changes, and he was terrific at engaging the crowd. (No walk offs tonight). Sure, he tempered his voice a little here and there (no falsetto on Tiny Dancer), but he still has a powerful voice and sounded great. Might be the best piano player I’ve seen live, too. Great band. We really enjoyed it and I’d recommend it. He lets the first three rows up for “Saturday Night” (we were in the top nose bleeds, so we didn’t participate), and apparently everyone knows this, so security had their hands full controlling that. Great show, and over an hour and a half. He sings all his hits; no covers. This was different than Celine, who didn’t sing much of her own stuff when we saw her and did a ton of covers. Both were good shows, though.









Back to The Linq and we pumped some of our Mirage winnings into CET VP to wish it away. I was exhausted after a long day of fun. Time to hit the bed before ditching The Linq to move Downtown to the El Cabana Suites, and a visit to the Neon Museum

 

Not sure why Tapatalk inserts asterisks; there will be no footnotes to refer to Sorry!

Ed.: I believe I've removed the asterisks. That was driving me crazy. I copied and pasted the narrative from Google Docs; might be why?

 

Awesome report! Loving the pics!!!

 

Enjoying your report.

 

Lunch at Nacho Daddy's. Street Tacos. They were ok.



Walk down Fremont East

 

Toured the Neon Museum. One hour long and Vegas geeks (me) will love it.

 

Little VP at El Cortez. We are definitely funding the Vegas light bill this trip. Not pretty.

 

enjoying your report . keep it coming, we are down to 3 weeks to go and are CET junkies. they treat us good and we get pretty nice rooms comped , staying at the Flamingo this time

 

Good stuff so far! How are those TAG lounge bartops looking? Praying for 8/5 DDB to still be there...going in a couple of weeks!!! And your right those AC units at the Linq can work well! Pull out the blankets if needed!

 

Didn't get to TAG, going those are still there for you. Thanks all!

 

Saturday we checked into the El Cortez Cabana Suites. Love the Room! Spacious, comfortable, and cool.





A night of gambling. Fortunes still haven't turned. Up and down with blackjack, and a handful of 4oaks at VP, but we played too long and gave much of it back.



Buffet for dinner at MSS.



Hopscotched casinos on the way back to the El, gambling at MSS, the Cal, and Binions.







Made the error of using the bathroom at Mermaids. Worse than most truck stops.



No pic of the John, trying to keep this tasteful.

Saw Derek Stevens at The D Long Bar, who seems to be okay after hedging his bets for Michigan State.



Back to the El, and gambled until the wee hours.

Wife enjoyed some free strawberry pie at the El.



Sunday is an open day.

 

Great pictures, tks...

 

Guess what we're having for lunch?

 

Meatballs followed by a delicious Detroit Red Top at Pizza Rock. Mmmmmm.

 

Cabana room looks cool...a nice change of pace when compared to cet rooms...may have to try those one trip

 

Really like the Cabana rooms! Comfortable and quiet.

 

Gambling has been pretty ugly. Things are winding down on the trip. Dinner at Cafe Cortez. Wish Siegel's was open, but not until May.

 

Nice pics, hope you can make a turnaround!