What's going on at Elara?

[Rpun]

I just spoke to a rep at Elara and they said with the "unseccessulness" of the wristbands this last weekend (aka ppl getting angry) they are not sure they will continue them. They are not using the Wristbands today according to the Rep.

Will keep updated.

[boags]

thanks for the update. Makes sense. Dumb initiative, not surprised it died quickly. So Elara partying at mayod is potentially back on the agenda!

[It was all a dream]

I just spoke to a rep at Elara and they said with the "unseccessulness" of the wristbands this last weekend (aka ppl getting angry) they are not sure they will continue them. They are not using the Wristbands today according to the Rep.

Will keep updated.

When i was there i had to show my room card to get up to the room. I could accompany as many people as i wanted but if they are going to limit access i would rather just have a wristband that i can flash or something. Taking the card out was such a pain in the dick. Even if i came down, met my friend right in front of the guy then turned around to go back to the elevator i still had to show my card. Pretty lame.

[nighthawk06si]

I just spoke to a rep at Elara and they said with the "unseccessulness" of the wristbands this last weekend (aka ppl getting angry) they are not sure they will continue them. They are not using the Wristbands today according to the Rep.

Will keep updated.

When i was there i had to show my room card to get up to the room. I could accompany as many people as i wanted but if they are going to limit access i would rather just have a wristband that i can flash or something. Taking the card out was such a pain in the dick. Even if i came down, met my friend right in front of the guy then turned around to go back to the elevator i still had to show my card. Pretty lame.

i think that's better than having to go all the way to the front desk and registering his name to your room as a invited guest. You'll have to pull out your ID and room key. Makes it worse too if the reception desk is backed up on checking people in..

[hipnado]

Re:

I stayed there April 1-4 and no one ever mentioned wristbands to me. Yes, I had to show my card to get to the elevators but I also had to do this at the Bellagio last time I stayed there and I see it as a minor inconvenience.

I never stayed at this hotel before it was owned by Hilton but I can say that my stay was excellent and I didn't have any issues that others have been complaining about. My room was cleaned and restocked daily and I even left a note asking for more coffee and they complied.

For those of you wondering what a $20 sandwich will get you, I didn't get a room upgrade (I booked when the deal was studio->1 bedroom) but it did get me on the 35th floor.

All in all, great hotel experience and I will be going back.

[eelimonadee]

Vegas trip planning for April 28-May 1st has been a pain in my ass since I heard about this wristband policy.

I called on Tuesday, they said that for a 2 bedroom suite, you get 8 wristbands. Only people who have wristbands can access the hotel's elevators.

With a group of 11 people, this is obviously going to be a problem. Sigh.

I just called again and I explained to her that my group is planning a birthday trip and we have friends who arent staying in the room but would still like to come visit and take pictures etc. and asked her to tell me more about the wristband policy.

she basically said that the wristband policy is hilton's strategy to keep the number of people staying in the rooms within the fire safety standards because in the past guests have tried to jam-pack 10-15, even 20 people in a 2 bedroom suite which is meant for 8 people.

me: so you're telling me that we cant have visitors to come celebrate in our rooms. because if that's the case then i need to consider booking somewhere else.

her: ehh... umm... i understand that your friends arent planning to stay but its because we have hilton gold members now that complain about the noise blah blah.... so if you guys arent disturbing anyone it should be fine...

me: so we dont need the wristbands to get in? how strictly are you guys enforcing this? (Lol yes i asked that)

her: well as of right now, we arent strict about it anymore.

me: are you still passing out wristbands?

her: as of right now no.

SO..... maybe i'll consider booking here instead even though we already booked 2 rooms at vdara on hotels.com (10% off with coupon code Choose106)

[darksideofjae]

Sounds like you're taking a gamble..and how fitting for it to be in Vegas. I personally didn't want to deal with the BS so I cancelled my reservation here.

[BSM]

because in the past guests have tried to jam-pack 10-15, even 20 people in a 2 bedroom suite which is meant for 8 people.

Remember that their "past" consists of the last 2 months in which Hilton has taken over the property.

And as well, if their Hilton Gold members are already complaining and influencing Guest Policy, I'd expect that place to get tight as a snare drum in no time.

[fordan]

And as well, if their Hilton Gold members are already complaining and influencing Guest Policy, I'd expect that place to get tight as a snare drum in no time.

Cosmo isn't doing the same thing for their Marriott Platinums; seems like a BS excuse to me. I could believe fire marshal issues though.

(And I suppose that while Elara looks like it's a "real" Hilton, Cosmo isn't a "real" Marriott.)

[WT661]

The old PH Towers was totally known as a party hotel. haha. Its still going to be that way. We used to bring 10-15 bottles up with us on a trip on its own suitcase. Pre-gaming at the 2br or 1br suites at PH is the best. Loved it there!

[Rescuediver]

Also not a gamble I was willing to take (even though it is Vegas) so I have dropped my reservation and re booked a suite at Cosmo.

[Augustine]

I think I'm going to have to stick it out at Elara...just cant get rates anywhere near that anywhere else good right now. I'm sure it will be fine and there will be enough AOD folks still there during the invastion that you will probably not have to look far to find a pre-game room.

That is untill they force you to wear explosive necklaces with proximity detectors that explode if you got to a floor other than your own or beyond the ice maching and elevator on your own floor. Cool thing is after your head literally explodes from partying, sounds like the Elara management will be good enough to hand deliver the bill for the carpet and wall cleaning to your family

JK>>>sure it will be just fine

[defcon]

Just got back from a weekend stay at Elara. I'm happy to report that they did not require wristbands for entry at the elevators. Key cards were required, but we had no problems showing 1 key card for the entire group.

Here's a tip- when you leave your room for a night out, greet the security guard in the lobby. Every time we did this, we were able walk right past them on our way back to our room with no key card and a simple nod. Absolutely zero problems bringing guests back into the room.

[MAYO2]

Thanks for reporting back. It's looking like me and my group will be sticking with Elara for May, I'm glad they got rid of the wristbands. Hopefully they wont have any problems with all the pre-partying that'll be going on.

[WT661]

Just keep on a low profile. Pre-party but not to the point where someones calling up security. I had a friend that partied there and they had 15 people in the room. They didnt even last 4 hours and was kicked out due to excessive noise.

We've successfully partied there a couple times. Just be conscious of your noise level and you'll be ok.