Elara with RCI exchange

[funtime2]

Good Morning Tuggers,
Our challenged daughter (we have court ordered guardianship). is turning 21 in 2024. I have exchanged through RCI for a 2 bedroom at Elara to celebrate. I called Elara to see what was assigned and was told RCI doesn't deposit that into their sysytem until July (I find that hard to believe, but possible). Since it is a two bedroom, I would like a corner room so she can sit and gaze at the action on the strip. Any tips or tricks to go about making this possible? A unit with the rooster tail would be awesome. Haven't made flight reservations yet, but the plan is to fly in that morning and we are willing to wait as we will have a car and can do other things until checkin time.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Sounds like a nice trip for your daughter.

1) Check the Sightings board for Elara and see if that indicates when there are deposits.

2) Although you can request, it is highly unlikely you would get a corner room for an RCI exchange since those are premium units that can be reserved by HGVC mini-system owners. Those units also are part of the 3 and 4 bdrm configs. However you can see the strip from your room (albeit at an angle) if you request a high floor on the south or north side of the building. Tell them about your daughter's disability and her 21st birthday to see if you can get priority for her to see the strip from the room when you call the hotel to confirm your reservation.

 

[Janann]

Although you can request, it is highly unlikely you would get a corner room for an RCI exchange since those are premium units that can be reserved by HGVC mini-system owners.

Happy early birthday to your daughter!

I think a good strategy would be to request an upper floor facing north. The south facing rooms (which includes half of the corner units) have street noise from sirens and high speed cars. Being in the middle of the hallway doesn't make much difference with the view quality. I've stayed at the Elara several times, and have been on both sides of the building in a one bedroom unit.

Less than a month ago I was in a dedicated two bedroom unit at a corner (end of the hall), and I don't think the corner makes that much difference. What's kind of cool is that the bedrooms and living rooms throughout the building have mirrors on the wall next to the window, so you get an interesting optical illusion of being able to see a further distance. You won't feel boxed in.

The right half of the picture is looking out the window facing north from a one bedroom unit, and the left half is the mirror. The windows are huge and floor to ceiling. The night picture is from the same room.