Elara Las Vegas: A Rare Strip Hotel With Kitchens

In a city where you’re more likely to find a high-limit blackjack table than a free in-room coffee maker, Elara, a Hilton Grand Vacations Club, stands out. This stylish resort offers something rare on the Las Vegas Strip: full kitchens and spacious condo-style accommodations.

Whether you’re meal-prepping before a night out or just craving a late-night snack without the resort markups, these well-equipped properties make it easy to feel at home — without straying too far from the action.

Elara includes two hotels within the same tower.

• Hilton Grand Vacations Club Elara Center Strip Las Vegas spans 52 floors and is generally the cheaper of the two.

• Hilton Club Elara Las Vegas is more modern and features more upscale finishes. Located on floors 58 to 61 of the same building, these rooms have newer finishes, better views and a higher-end experience (such as a private check-in desk).

Elara is part of Hilton Grand Vacations' timeshare program, meaning many people staying there have bought into the program and are now members who use timeshare points to stay there. But you don’t need to buy a timeshare to stay at these properties. Rooms are also bookable with Hilton Honors points or cash.

Elara invited NerdWallet for a two-night stay at the property and a tour of both Hilton Club Elara Las Vegas and Hilton Grand Vacations Club Elara Center Strip Las Vegas. While the hotel covered the cost of our stay, the opinions in this review are our own.

» Learn more: How to save on your next trip to Vegas

Elara is about a 10-minute drive from Harry Reid International Airport, but getting there isn’t as easy as you’d hope. There’s no free hotel shuttle, and public transport is inconvenient. The bus runs just once an hour and still leaves you with a mile-long walk. If you’re renting a car, self-parking costs $18 per day, so most visitors opt for rideshares instead.

The hotel is located near Las Vegas Boulevard, at the back corner of the Miracle Mile Shops, a shopping mall on the Strip. You can access the hotel directly from the mall through a dedicated entrance. Planet Hollywood Las Vegas Resort & Casino also sits within the same mall, making Elara particularly attractive for travelers who want to have easy access to Planet Hollywood’s offerings, including a casino, sportsbook, shows and special events.

Walking through the mall onto the Strip puts you just in front of the Fountains of Bellagio (one of the most iconic features of the Bellagio Las Vegas) and The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. The Bellagio and The Cosmopolitan are two of the best Marriott hotels in Las Vegas.

Elara is adjacent to the Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino, which is famous for its replicas of the Arc de Triomphe and Eiffel Tower.

The lobby has a contemporary design with a relatively quiet atmosphere compared to the bustling casino hotels on the Strip. There is a lobby bar overlooking the pool, but it’s generally pretty relaxed. You won’t get sensory overload when checking in here as you might at some of the other Strip hotels with opulent lobbies that attract tourists.

Because Elara is part of the Hilton portfolio, guests can take advantage of a digital check-in process available to members of Hilton Honors, which is Hilton’s free-to-join loyalty program. That includes digital check-in (with the ability to choose your exact room) and a digital key.

Vegas check-in lines can often get long — especially on peak check-in days like Fridays — so it's a convenient way to skip the line and save time.

Hilton Club Elara Las Vegas guests who want to check in with a human can do so in a separate room with generally no wait, which feels pretty exclusive.

Elara’s rooms are spacious compared to other hotel rooms on the Strip, featuring modern decor and practical amenities. All rooms have at least a kitchenette, and many rooms have full kitchens.

Some even have fancy extras like jetted tubs, massage chairs and projection TVs that transform the window shades into a massive movie screen. Rooms vary in size, and the aesthetic is noticeably different depending on whether you’re at Hilton Grand Vacations Club Elara Center Strip or Hilton Club Elara Las Vegas.

Here’s an overview of rooms at the two different hotels within the Elara building.

Hilton Grand Vacations Club Elara Center Strip rooms

These are the rooms on floors one through 52. They're slightly older (and generally cheaper) than the rooms at Hilton Club Elara Las Vegas.

Studios: The smallest rooms at Hilton Grand Vacations Club Elara Center Strip are studios, which are ideal for solo travelers or couples and sleep two adults. Studios also come with kitchenettes, including a mini refrigerator, microwave, coffeemaker, toaster, dishes and utensils.

Suites: Suites offer more space, including a separate living area from the bedroom. Junior suites have just a kitchenette, while all other suites come with a full kitchen, including a full refrigerator, convection oven microwave, dishwasher, stove, toaster, coffeemaker and utensils.

There are multiple options of suite configurations, ranging from a junior suite that sleeps three adults to a four-bedroom suite that sleeps 10.

Hilton Club Elara Las Vegas rooms

These are the newer rooms on higher floors.

Rooms in Hilton Club Elara Las Vegas, which are on the higher floors of the building, offer superior views. Depending on which side of the hotel you’re on, your view might overlook the Las Vegas Strip or the airport, making Hilton Club Elara one of the best Vegas hotels for plane spotting.

Like the Hilton Grand Vacations Club Elara Center Strip rooms, rooms range from studios to suites with multiple bedrooms.

Studios: The Hilton Club Elara studios are between 412 and 446 square feet. That's larger than the Hilton Grand Vacations Club Elara Center Strip studios on the lower floors, which come in under 400 square feet. These studios sleep up to four adults if you use the sofa bed.

Finishes here are more luxurious, such as a bidet seat in the bathroom.

Suites: Suites are bigger than studios, with a kitchen and a separate bedroom from the living area. The kitchen is fully stocked with a full-size refrigerator and icemaker, electric range, microwave oven, dishwasher and Keurig coffeemaker.

These suites have fancier finishes than their counterparts on lower floors. For example, these kitchens have a wine cooler. The bathrooms are spa-like with a chandelier and soaking tub.

Some rooms even have balconies, which again is a rarity for the Las Vegas Strip.

Entertainment suites: These are typically the most memorable (and most expensive) suites you can book in the Elara. Entertainment suites vary in their design, but they all come with funky lighting and more open space in the living room. In some of these suites, an area enclosed by windows is coated in red or blue wrapping, bathing the atrium-style room in tinted light. Other entertainment suites come with private balconies and panoramic views.

Elara is pretty light on amenities relative to other Vegas hotels, and — for many travelers — that’s a good thing. There are no throngs of tourists taking selfies in the lobby, and there’s no casino maze to wander through just to get to your room. Amenities pretty much boil down to a gym and pool.

There’s also EV charging and free use of laundry machines. You can log on to in-room and lobby Wi-Fi, and there’s also a business center. Additionally, guests receive either two cups of drip coffee from the Starbucks in the lobby or two bottles of water per day.

The Elara pool

Elara’s heated outdoor pool is usually one of the hotel’s best features, though we didn’t get to try it out as we visited in December. The pool usually closes at the end of October and reopens in early spring, as winter temperatures can drop below freezing, especially at night.

But in spring and summer, Elara’s 40,000-square-foot pool offers a tropical atmosphere with private cabanas (available for an additional fee) and lounge chairs. There are two hot tubs. The pool bar serves drinks and typical pool food like burgers, fries and quesadillas.

The Elara fitness center

The gym is pretty standard for a hotel gym with cardio machines, free weights and weight machines. With minimal windows, it’s fairly uninspiring, but it does the job. It is open 24 hours.

Although Elara lacks a full-service restaurant, its lobby has a bar, quick-service market for grab-and-go items and a Starbucks. There's also a poolside bar that's open seasonally and also serves food. Because it’s attached to Miracle Mile Shops, there are also plenty of dining options just steps from the hotel.

There’s a Panda Express right next to the hotel’s Miracle Mile Shops entrance, and other mall classics including Wetzel’s Pretzels and Sbarro are steps away.

For guests who prefer to use the in-room kitchens, there is a Target about a half-mile away on Las Vegas Boulevard.

Elara is run by Hilton Grand Vacations, which is Hilton’s timeshare partner. That provides multiple avenues for booking a stay at Elara.

Join HGV: Many guests own a share in the Hilton Grand Vacations timeshare program. With that program, people buy into a contract, which gives them an annual allotment of points, which can be used to book stays at properties worldwide (including Elara). More on this in a bit.

Note that timeshare points are different from Hilton Honors points (though it’s possible to convert timeshare points to Hilton Honors points).

Use Hilton Honors points: For those who want to stay without joining HGV, you can also book using Hilton Honors points, which are available to the general public. Earn Hilton points through stays at other Hilton hotels or through spending on Hilton-branded credit cards.

Pay cash: You can also book with cash. Prices swing wildly depending on when you visit. We found weeknights during slow seasons going for about $200 for a studio, or about $1,000 on the same night for a four-bedroom suite.

But Vegas prices vary widely. During summer weekends, the cheapest room we found still cost more than $500 for a studio (and nearly $3,000 for a four-bedroom suite).

HGV is not for everyone. Although some people love the program and praise its benefits, including the ability to book rooms for less than advertised cash rates, others strongly advise against the high commitment that HGV (and many other timeshare programs) require. Many customers cite getting “duped” into buying by pushy salespeople who weren’t totally clear about what was being offered.

The average purchase price of joining HGV is about $22,000 according to Hilton Grand Vacations, but actual costs vary depending on factors including how many points you want each year. That figure doesn’t include closing costs, annual dues (which typically increase every year) or extra fees.

HGV pitches buying a timeshare as a way to prepay for trips at today’s prices. And certainly, for some who continuously travel to HGV properties, there’s value to be had. Plenty of travelers say that HGV is worth it.

But if life circumstances change (perhaps you’ve separated from your partner who you signed a contract with, or you lost your income source and can no longer afford annual dues), being saddled with an HGV contract can be painful. And indeed, there’s no shortage of people trying to sell their timeshare contracts — usually at a loss.

If you’ve got Hilton Grand Vacations points and want to head to Vegas, this is one of your best bets. HGV has a few properties on the Las Vegas Strip including Hilton Grand Vacations Club Flamingo Las Vegas and Hilton Vacation Club Polo Towers Las Vegas, but this is definitely the fanciest of them all.

Even without being an HGV member, Elara is an excellent choice for families who want multiple rooms within one suite. The full kitchens can end up saving you money if you use them to cook rather than dine out.

It’s also ideal for travelers seeking a quieter stay but still want to be on the Strip. Elara offers proximity to the action without the overwhelming casino noise and crowds.

Elara isn’t your typical Vegas hotel. It's quieter, more spacious and ideal for travelers who prefer a condo-style stay. If you want to be near the action but still have space to unwind (and maybe even cook a meal), Elara is a solid choice. But if you’re looking for casino floors, wild nightlife or ultra-luxe perks, you might be better off elsewhere.

All information about Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card has been collected independently by NerdWallet. Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card is no longer available through NerdWallet.