Viewing 2023 Formula 1 races from Elara - November, 16-18th

[HuskerATL]

We had a nice view from our 02 room. And regarding a previous posting - there weren't lights directed at any of the buildings that overlooked the course to try and block views from the rooms.

I would also advise avoiding Rosa Mexicano in the Miracle Miles shops. They had one of the absolutely worst margaritas I have ever had. Tragically bad especially for a Mexican restaurant.

Well, you can't throw a rock without hitting another place there that sells margaritas.... Heck, even the Taco Bell on the corner does.

 

[dioxide45]

I would also advise avoiding Rosa Mexicano in the Miracle Miles shops. They had one of the absolutely worst margaritas I have ever had. Tragically bad especially for a Mexican restaurant.

Certainly one could still go there and not have the margarita. What was the food like?

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Agree with @raddoc on Rosa Mexican. The service was terrible - I never got my margarita. Charged $16 for a cheese quesadilla and didn't bring sides of guac, pico di gallo, and crema and had to wait a long time after asking and food was getting cold. Nothing special. Will not go back.

Unexpectedly good was the Korean BBQ next to the Pampas Brazilian Steakhouse at Miracle Mile. They offered sushi/sashimi in addition to the regular Korean BBQ fare which was good. The salmon and tuna carpachio (sashimi with carpacio spices) was excellent and you can order with every round. They also had California rolls and Spicy Tuna rolls (not my favs). Excellent service. Changed the grill frequently so the place wasn't smoky.

Despite the hype, Cabo Wabo has a fantastic beef fajita and I like the blood orange marg with a fun view of the strip. We used both the Grand Experiences card and the Miracle Mile $20 discount gift card to reduce the price. Recommend.

 

[brp]

Thanks for the recommendations. We're not margarita folks, so that part matters less. But the food suggestions are nice to hear. We did look at the Korean BBQ place and nice to know that it's good.

Definitely get the Grand Experience card and the Gift Card. No-brainer if one is going to spend money in Miracle Mile.

Cheers.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

@brp Thanks for the reco on the $20 off $100 gift card with the Grand Experiences card. We were able to get 2 because we had 2 rooms at Elara. My son was able to buy new sneakers at Foot Locker with $20 off.

PSA: The Mall office to buy the GCs is on the second floor now and you have to take an elevator via the sign to the security office across from the ABC store on the North side of the mall. It was hard to find. We also got coupon books for the mall which paid 2:1 lattes at Coffee Bean store

 

[dayooper]

@brp You probably know this, but La Salsa Cantina had a good $5 breakfast with $0.99 Bloody Mary’s in the the morning. The Bloody Mary’s are very small, but for $0.99, you can’t beat the price. Blondie’s gad a $5 breakfast burrito and they have introduce an all you can drink option during certain times of the day. Both are in MM.

 

[brp]

@brp You probably know this, but La Salsa Cantina had a good $5 breakfast with $0.99 Bloody Mary’s in the the morning. The Bloody Mary’s are very small, but for $0.99, you can’t beat the price. Blondie’s gad a $5 breakfast burrito and they have introduce an all you can drink option during certain times of the day. Both are in MM.

We have been to both, multiple times, and the breakfast is a nice touch and good value.

mrs. brp does not drink, I don't do morning drinks, and I despise tomato juice, so Bloody Marys are out anyway

But thanks for the suggestions, and I had seen the ads many times as we walk those halls incessantly in our comings and goings.

Cheers.

 

[Ypk0921]

anyone here signed contract at ELARA during Formula 1 event ??? I need the RESCIND information as soon as possible please

 

[brp]

anyone here signed contract at ELARA during Formula 1 event ??? I need the RESCIND information as soon as possible please

See the other thread you started on the topic as there are suggestions there. And keeping this focused will help, I think.

Cheers.

 

[Ypk0921]

See the other thread you started on the topic as there are suggestions there. And keeping this focused will help, I think.

Cheers.

Thanks will do

 

[ernststarhemberg]

Cabo Wabo is our default Mexican stop in MM. Very decent food, decent drinks, and 20% off with the HGV card helps! Breakfast also tends to be pretty good.

 

[PigsDad]

Agree with @raddoc on Rosa Mexican. The service was terrible - I never got my margarita. Charged $16 for a cheese quesadilla and didn't bring sides of guac, pico di gallo, and crema and had to wait a long time after asking and food was getting cold. Nothing special. Will not go back.

Unexpectedly good was the Korean BBQ next to the Pampas Brazilian Steakhouse at Miracle Mile. They offered sushi/sashimi in addition to the regular Korean BBQ fare which was good. The salmon and tuna carpachio (sashimi with carpacio spices) was excellent and you can order with every round. They also had California rolls and Spicy Tuna rolls (not my favs). Excellent service. Changed the grill frequently so the place wasn't smoky.

Despite the hype, Cabo Wabo has a fantastic beef fajita and I like the blood orange marg with a fun view of the strip. We used both the Grand Experiences card and the Miracle Mile $20 discount gift card to reduce the price. Recommend.

When we were at Elara in July, we found a nice, little gem a couple doors down from that Korean BBQ place: Nacho Daddy. Of course a large selection of nacho plates, but also a good selection of other Mexican fare and everything we had was very good. We actually went there twice during our week stay; once for dinner and once for brunch (their brunch items were excellent!). Very reasonable prices was the icing on the cake.

Thanks for mentioning the Korean BBQ place -- I will put it on our list for our next stay.

Kurt

 

[CalGalTraveler]

@PigsDad if you like beer, they also serve Terra Beer which is a popular beer in S. Korea. I am a very picky beer drinker and only like a few beers. I really liked this one.

I saw Nacho Daddy, and assumed from the name it only had nachos. Will try that next time. I think the Grand Experience card works there too.

 

[dioxide45]

When we were at Elara in July, we found a nice, little gem a couple doors down from that Korean BBQ place: Nacho Daddy. Of course a large selection of nacho plates, but also a good selection of other Mexican fare and everything we had was very good. We actually went there twice during our week stay; once for dinner and once for brunch (their brunch items were excellent!). Very reasonable prices was the icing on the cake.

Thanks for mentioning the Korean BBQ place -- I will put it on our list for our next stay.

Kurt

We went to Nacho Daddy on our first trip to Vegas. It was pretty good and prices were reasonable by Vegas standards. The place in the mall. Ocean something is cheap. We walked away from it twice. Once because the host staff really didn't seem all that engaged to help anyone actually get a seat and the other time because the kitchen was closing in 5 minutes yet the restaurant was still open for another half hour. Something quite common in Vegas. The restaurant is still open, but you can't sit down. Most restaurants here in Florida and Ohio where we used to live wold take a seating right up till closing time.

 

[brp]

The place in the mall. Ocean something is cheap. We walked away from it twice. Once because the host staff really didn't seem all that engaged to help anyone actually get a seat and the other time because the kitchen was closing in 5 minutes yet the restaurant was still open for another half hour. Something quite common in Vegas. The restaurant is still open, but you can't sit down. Most restaurants here in Florida and Ohio where we used to live wold take a seating right up till closing time.

We've gone to Ocean One a couple of times and it was nice. And especially good with the 20% off gift card.

Cheers.

 

[ernststarhemberg]

Ocean One seems to have hellacious deals and is always slammed for breakfast. I want to say we were there for dinner once many many years ago, $8 burger special? It was nothing to write home about, and I don't like the feeling of being herded in and out like pigs to the troth. Regardless, the place maintains a 4+ star rating on Google so there must be something to it other than low prices (by Strip standards).

 

[Janann]

Nacho Daddy. Of course a large selection of nacho plates, but also a good selection of other Mexican fare and everything we had was very good. We actually went there twice during our week stay; once for dinner and once for brunch (their brunch items were excellent!). Very reasonable prices was the icing on the cake.

We didn't like Nacho Daddy very much. It is fine for nachos and margaritas, but we thought the entrees were not very good. However, we're from California and Texas, so we are somewhat particular about our Mexican food.

Ocean One seems to have hellacious deals and is always slammed for breakfast. I want to say we were there for dinner once many many years ago, $8 burger special? It was nothing to write home about, and I don't like the feeling of being herded in and out like pigs to the troth. Regardless, the place maintains a 4+ star rating on Google so there must be something to it other than low prices (by Strip standards).

We always go here a couple times for breakfast. It is a great deal for morning drinks and entrees. Drinks are 2 for 1, and you can get the second one to go!

 

[jabberwocky]

So just for fun, I did go to a presentation while there (I countered their HH points offer with a ridiculous ask I didn't think they could do - but they did). Got to tour the 60th floor 2BR unit at the end. I can just imagine watching the race from here!

The offer was actually much better than I expected - they said it was special "F1 pricing" - but think they may be hurting on the sales side - no mention of Max until I asked about it. They were willing to even buy back my other Blvd deed at the original owner cost to trade into Elara - something I didn't think they did.

I tried to get them to confirm the actual unit type I was being offered was one of the 2BR Club units as I'd heard higher figures (it was a gold unit - the points did match up). The pressure was pretty low, and I enjoyed listening to the bs (for example, "now we're not supposed to tell you that you can rent these out, but I know some owners were getting $10k/night for F1".

 

[ernststarhemberg]

"now we're not supposed to tell you that you can rent these out, but I know some owners were getting $10k/night for F1".

Funny they say that, I was rambling about this a few months back. The bHC club rules do not explicitly forbid renting out units like the HGV club rules do (outside of home week).

Instead bHC rules use vague language about bHC units not being leased out in a manner that creates a pattern resembling commercial activity. To wit, very vague, with the implication being that owners can lease out their bHC suites anytime (bHC suites don't have 'home weeks' like HGV units) as long as it's not done to the point that it becomes a problem.

Pertinent section bolded below:

As far as I can tell HGV Elara and bHC Elara are two separate entities, with HGV Elara having floors 56 and below, and bHC Elara ("Elara HC Vacation Suites") having floors 57-61 (current phase of the project is floors 58-59) (with the entire building being owned by LV Tower 52, LLC).

HGV Elara and bHC Elara maintain separate books, have separate owners associations (a Nevada nonprofit corporation), have separate operating budgets, separate Boards, separate agreements with LV Tower 52, LLC to use their respective spaces within the building.

ALSO regarding the Elara Owners Lounge, according to the bHC project documents I just read that it will be on Floor 61.

Also the Elara bHC project document contains a section entitled 'Leasing of Suites' wherein there is a solid implication of an owner's ability to lease/rent out their owned space, as long as it doesn't create a pattern deemed commercial activity. The Project Rules don't appear to be as cut and dry about only being able to rent out home week as the HGV Club Rules. The Project Rules state that the suites can't be used for 'commercial purposes,' defined as a 'pattern of rental activity by an Owner that the Association' reasonably deems to be a commercial activity. There's also a whole section talking about the ability to rent/lease a suite so long as the agreement is in writing, with the obvious statement that Owners are responsible for the actions of their lessees/renters occupying the suites.

Sounds like a lot of wiggle room there!

 

[ernststarhemberg]

Appears to me that they intentionally worded it broadly enough to make leasing of units something that is accessible to owners, while leaving it authoritative enough to be able to crack down on people/entities that may be trying to purchase bHC deeds to use them exclusively as short term rentals on a for-profit basis.

 

[brp]

bHC suites don't have 'home weeks' like HGV units

Not sure what you mean by "bHC suites" here, but I have a bHC ownership and I have the same Home Week rules as my other HGVC contracts. Also, AFAIK, the same rental rules and restrictions.

Cheers.

 

[ernststarhemberg]

Not sure what you mean by "bHC suites" here, but I have a bHC ownership and I have the same Home Week rules as my other HGVC contracts. Also, AFAIK, the same rental rules and restrictions.

Cheers.

I assumed all bHC units across the portfolio had the same structure, but perhaps they don't. You can see the leasing language in the Elara bHC documents in my quoted post above to compare to the club documents for your bHC units.

Re: leasing of units, the language is different from the HGV club documents, which are explicit that HGV units can't be rented out except for the deeded home week. At Elara bHC the deeds do not include home weeks (e.g., week 13, 44, 52) so they can't have the same leasing language as the HGV units. Instead, Elara bHC units include language (bolded above) that implies leasing is acceptable as long as it doesn't look like the owner is doing it all the time.

 

[brp]

Re: leasing of units, the language is different from the HGV club documents, which are explicit that HGV units can't be rented out except for the deeded home week. At Elara bHC the deeds do not include home weeks (e.g., week 13, 44, 52) so they can't have the same leasing language as the HGV units. Instead, Elara bHC units include language (bolded above) that implies leasing is acceptable as long as it doesn't look like the owner is doing it all the time.

OK, to be more clear about Home Week. I'm not talking about a fixed, numbered week. All of our deeds (HGVC and bHC) have the Home Week option. This is the option to book as early as 12 months out (I think that's right; never done it) and before Club bookings. This has to be for a full week in the unit type owned and in the season owned. This is the Home Week for those deeds. And that is rentable within HGV rules.

Not sure if Elara is structured differently from this, but I believe that all the other bHC (with the exception of HCNY, which is a separate beast) are.

But no fixed week number.

Cheers.

 

[ernststarhemberg]

OK, to be more clear about Home Week. I'm not talking about a fixed, numbered week. All of our deeds (HGVC and bHC) have the Home Week option. This is the option to book as early as 12 months out (I think that's right; never done it) and before Club bookings. This has to be for a full week in the unit type owned and in the season owned. This is the Home Week for those deeds. And that is rentable within HGV rules.

Not sure if Elara is structured differently from this, but I believe that all the other bHC (with the exception of HCNY, which is a separate beast) are.

But no fixed week number.

Cheers.

Elara bHC units do not have a Home Week, and no 12-month booking window. All Elara bHC units are subject to the same nine-month club season booking.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Elara bHC units do not have a Home Week, and no 12-month booking window. All Elara bHC units are subject to the same nine-month club season booking.

So you can only book Elara bHC 9 months in advance? How do owners get booking preference? Does it give an owner resort reservation window preference like NYC?