In the past 2+ years I have lived in 4 different rental buildings in the Denver metro area. I could be described as...picky...when it comes to residential living expectations. Let me cut to the chase: Moving to Elan Union Station has been my best decision so far in Colorado. I am hard to please, and happy with Elan. Important highlights: - Good floorplans. - Nice design amenities. Little things matter here. The kitchen cabinets do not have the standard building grad door pulls. I know, who notices things like that? (whoops, I do.) - Nice enough pool (but I haven't actually tried it yet) - Great Location. I love this location, and it will only get better as more retail/bar/restaurants open, which will happen since all the buildings near here (and including here) have commercial spaces in them. - Great staff. This has been a deal-breaker for me at buildings in the past. The staff is competent here. I honestly like all them. Carmen, Kip, Luisa, Ashley, Jamie, Ryan, Xavier. Seriously, The staff is what sealed the deal here. - Parking spots are reasonably priced (especially compared to some of the buildings downtown). - There's a King Soopers IN the building. Oh yeah, convenient to shop in shorts and a t-shirt in January by taking our own grocery store elevator right to the inner door, oh yeah indeed!! Side story of relevance: I had a couple issues within the apartment upon first move-in, and I went to the office to report it/request fixes. Turns out, while I was speaking to Ashley (who showed me units when I was looking for an apartment) about it, Ryan (head of maintenance) was nearby and overheard my issue. Within 5 minutes of speaking to him, I realized he not only understood the problem, but clearly knew the best way to fix it. Ryan has been great. I have met a few neighbors, and no one seems crazy or rude, and all have been friendly enough, so there's another bonus. I have no second thoughts about moving here 3 months ago, and frankly, I wonder if I should have signed a longer lease. Gripes? Hmm...trying to be fair here. I don't want this review to be looked at as a biased one, even though I have no ties to the building other then living here. - Lounge/pool hours. I guess I can understand the possible noise coming from the pool if someone were making a bunch of noise in the middle of the night. And I suppose the same could be said for noise coming from the lounge. But honestly, I dislike being prevented from behaving responsibly. Methinks the lounge and pool should be 24/7 access, with the caveat that people not behaving properly should have their access limited. - It would be nice if the last commercial space were taken by a bar/restaurant with some good food. - I wish second parking spots were less expensive, for the smaller units. I'd rent a second one if they were. - I'd rather pay less for the trash/recycling service, or have composting as an option if I'm paying this much for trash/recycling - Sometimes I do hear my neighbor stomping around above me. But I honestly believe this to be limited to me having a super-heavy-footed idiot above me. And he never seems to sit down, which is weird. - I want trash cans at the both elevator bays. The elevator that goes to the King Soopers does not have trash cans on the P1 & P2 levels, unlike the main elevator lobbies. This is an actual gripe I have and want rectified. Come to think of it, I'd like one on the G level where the entrance to the King Soopers is too. Or maybe King Soopers could put one inside of their door near the exit to our elevators? That might be a better solution. But those gripes are seriously me to reaching for things to provide factual counterpoints. They're weak gripes, and I know it (other than the trash cans; that's legit. well, and maybe the lounge/pool not being 24/7). Overall, I love this building. (This review appears on another review site, and was posted there originally. I figured someone else might benefit from me taking the time to place my review on multiple sites.) read more

I'm sad to be writing this review because I really want to love this place. We moved here about 6 months ago. We were hesitant to even look at the building because of the high rent prices. Once I saw the model apartment and amenities I was sold. I reasoned that we were paying for convenience of a gym with fitness on demand and little luxuries like cold towels and sports drinks, pool, bocce ball court, guest suite, helpful office staff, etc. (Please note: the management has changed since this first incident.) I'll spare all of the details, but when we arrived on move-in day after a 15 hour cross country drive our apartment wasn't ready. I understand mistakes happen, but what really made this an issue was being pressured by certain staff members to not say anything to management. This made me extremely uncomfortable to say the least. I did not mention the incident for fear of starting off on the wrong foot with the staff. The building then began going through some management changes and residents have been kept in the dark about the whole process. This would be okay if the transition was a smooth one but unfortunately that's not the case. I would go out to the pool to find all of the cushions missing for 2+ weeks without any notification, have our rent price fluctuate due to errors in the office, and when I would send an email or call I would get no response. Currently, there are temps working in the office who (by no fault of their own) do not know how to answer questions. From fitness center equipment being broken for weeks, the "secure" entrance opening if you press the handicap button, trash rooms overflowing, double booking of the guest suite, etc., things have been a bit of a mess. Living above King Soopers has turned out to be a more of an inconvenience than anything, since renovations at the store have caused fire alarms to go off in the middle of the night several times. This leads to running outside in PJs and waiting for the fire department to give the "all clear". On a positive note, the finishes in the apartment are beautiful and we never hear our neighbors. The staff does plan resident events and I appreciate the effort. All of the temp staff and current staff in the office are kind and try to be helpful. I realize that some of this is out of their hands, but when you're paying this much for rent you expect a certain amount of service that Elan (or Alara?) Union Station just has not been able to provide up to this point. Hoping they can turn things around before renewal time. read more

High quality apartment, especially if you live on the upper floors. Other tenants were pretty low quality though. Additionally, most of the staff was nice but the complex was owned by a large conglomerate that obviously cared very little about the tenants. read more

Management and the maintenance department are on top of fulfilling requests and repair orders. Thank you for the good work!

I have lived at the Alara for about 3 months now and I have loved it. They do a really great job of keeping everything clean and management is super friendly and do their best to respond to your needs. I enjoy all of the amenities and it is in an awesome location between LoHi and LODO/RiNo. You can get anywhere you need to go on the bus or light rail! Plan on resigning! read more

Elan Union Station is an apartment complex, but they also rent out rooms, which is what we did during our stay on 8/20/16. We found the Elan Union Station (Elan) on the web and were impressed by the room photos and the facility amenities. The price that was shown (about $180) was fantastic for Denver and for the room but once we placed our reservation there was a room cleaning fee of $90, so the total was about $270. This is an apartment building (not a hotel) where some rooms are rented out. The location is great, right by Union Station and Coors Field, and a short walk to 16th Street. We walked to the Pepsi Center in about 17 minutes. The room was smaller than I expected, but fine. It had a nice couch, a full kitchen, a divided room for the bed and a normal bath. Pros: Location is great; Price is good for Denver; Pool area was very nice; There's a Lounge (not staffed); Washing machine and dryer in the room; Free Parking; Free WiFi; There is a workout room (didn't visit it); There's a King Soopers and Star Bucks on the bottom floor; The staff (I met one and spoke with another) were very accommodating, even for an early check-in and late check-out; Full-size refrigerator, stove, and microwave; Excellent kitchen sink. Cons: We checked in early and didn't find any towels-they were in the dryer, which was still running; There were no hand towels or wash cloths; No wastebasket in the bathroom; No Kleenex; No soap for the shower (liquid soap by the sink), no shampoo, no blow dryer, no extra toilet paper; No napkins in the kitchen, nor paper towels; There were 4 bowls, 4 plates, 6 glasses, and silverware for 3; The cork screw had been broken and all 3 pieces hidden in the silverware tray; There's a great looking coffee maker on the first floor (none in the room), but it wasn't working. read more

I've been living here for a month and I honestly think things have changed since the negative reviews in the last few years. I've had a great experience so far and would definitely recommend this building. Melanie was my leasing agent and was very kind and personable. Dana and Alex in the office are absolutely amazing! They are both so kind and helpful with any issues that I've had. I have absolutely no noise complaints. The only thing I hear from my neighbors is the flushing of toilets which is completely normal in a building like this. Everyone I've run into in the building have been extremely nice and helpful (people have helped me carry groceries and helped me carry items during move in). I had to put in a maintenance order for a broken ice machine and the gentleman was so nice and helpful as well. Homelessness is an issue everywhere in Denver and not the fault of the staff of this building. I feel extremely safe in my building due to the security and have had very few issues. I hope this continues as I am very happy living here. The location is absolutely amazing and living on top of King Soopers could not be more convenient. I am so happy here! Thank you Melanie, Dana, and Alex. read more

Alara's management team is the best. I moved a long way to Denver and they were extremely helpful throughout the whole process. Very easy going. I had a critical issue needing some documents while out of town on a business trip...the manager willingly went up to my apartment, located the documents and overnight shipped them to me. I have lived in a lot of apartments around the country and cannot name ONE that would have done this for me. They are fantastic. The building is brand new with great amenities and surrounding restaurants/grocery. read more

We moved into Elan last July. We accepted the growing pains of choosing a new building (amenities not being close to open on time and still paying for them, or unit not being ready in time, the movers they promised us not showing up...). At the end of the day, the amenities here are nice, can't beat convenience, and the apartments are high quality. The maintenance team here is the best people working in the place. We liked living on the 2nd floor, but you can hear King Soopers when there are no other noises. Elan/Greystar will get you in every way they can. Be aware you will pay $35 a month for a valet trash service you do not want. We recently purchased a home and the closing meant we needed to move 2.5 months before the end of our lease. Greystar charges you so much to get out of lease, that we have needed to continue to pay rent instead of breaking it. They still require that you pay for the trash service, renters insurance, and utilities(run the fridge) even though the unit is empty. On top of this, when I asked that they at least remove the additional space we were paying for, they refused. I asked where in the lease I signed to agree to this, and they admitted they could not show me. They show so little understanding and respect for residents through these choices. Be aware that a majority of the leasing office is now new, and while nice, they truly have no idea what is going on. My fiancés dad moved into the building and was given no support or information on his move in date. read more

I have lived at Elan for 7 months now and feel it's a good time to review this place. First, i read previous reviews and was actually taken back as I have not had any similar experiences. Management (esp. Ashley Pearson)is always helpful and takes time to chat when they can. Maintenance team (esp. Ryan Straub) are very helpful, courteous and totally on top of it. I've asked for extra paint for touch ups and they have me some right away. The location is perfect, I walk to Union Station all the time and live all the options for food! There's just so much to offer on this side of town. The neighborhood is great (if you can look past normal city things like homeless - I'm from SanFran so it's really mild) and soon even more dining options as most parts are under construction. Very nice hotels coming soon. I love the direct access into the grocery. The amenities in the building are great, valet trash pick up service for the lazy, awesome gym, snacks and coffee machine as well as organized community events in clubhouse. I can't say enough, I enjoy thus building, staff and location!! read more

Elan has gotten a bad reputation on here, but my experiences have been very positive since moving here February last year. I love the floorplans more than any other complex I looked at, and I toured about 15 different places downtown. The complex is kept extremely clean and there are always snacks/drinks out in the lobby. The staff that I have worked with has been extremely helpful - I was up for renewal recently and although rent prices are going up around us, they were willing to negotiate with me for the same rate I've been paying this past year. Another staff member went out of her way to get a package into my apartment when I was out of town to make sure it was secure. There are a few things that I'm not crazy about, like being required to pay for valet garbage collection and a previous package being stolen from my doorstep, but the same is said for most apartment complexes in this area. Overall I've been really happy living here and plan to for the foreseeable future. read more

This is the worst apartment building I have ever lived!I actually opened the building in 2015 which was called 'Elan ' then changed name to 'Alara in May of 2016.Location is simply amazing & building itself is great product however management made it very hustle living environment, & violated every possible single policy & law !Cameron ass. manager , Suzanne property manager including Dana & Melanie are the worst most unprofessional & outrageously horrible people! Alex is polite & nice.I can't explain damage that they done to me & how they bully & discriminated me , just outrageous. I never received 4 residents referrals for living 3 years there! They damaged my vehicle & never paid for ! My sofa was stolen by leasing agent & signature is the proof.My packages were stolen numerous times.I was charged rent twice for May of2016 & never got reimbursed.On New Year's Eve 2016 carbon monoxide was reading level 19 residents were placed at local hotels & I was not , Carmen manager at that time told me in writing ' they had internal employee miscommunication ' Fire alarm going off was regular thing .They purposely leased units that I wanted & when asked them ' why would you do so ~ their response was ~ because we can ' it is beyond discrimination! Their former employee Kenneth leasing agent secretly lived in a vacant unit because it was to far for him to go home & after 7 days he got caught & fired . Also , maintenance had trouble with some residents including inappropriate behavior.Property manager Suzanne hides in her corner room & will never follow up on complaints or issues, she would called in sick on Fridays scamming Greystar employer , often late or leave early but yet still get paid in full . Staff working at Alara Greystar will lie to you even if truth would serve them good ! I could share more on here but I think this will help general public to make decisions where about to live & my advice is stay away from these horrible people working at Alara Union Station managed by Greystar .Good luck . May 5th ~ there is no misrepresentation just simple facts & I have evidence which will be used in Court of Law ! read more

I do not know where to start . This place is a disaster starting with management , very unprofessional and rude, all they care is money and the new owner is from CA .He does not respond to e-mails or phone calls. So luxury word does not apply here. Trash is all over hallways valet people don't care and you will pay fix trash rate $35 . Parking is no longer free .Airbnb people are staying in to many apartments causing violence and trashing elan at all times. Regular residents can not enjoy this place and they want us to call it HOME, really ? Fire alarm goes off on regular basis every night few times and elan /alara grey star people don't care , they will apologize but it is becoming very annoying-instead they should deduct from rent , but wait no , what they do is giving people off street one month free rent, unexcusable . If you refer someone you will never get credit as they claim . Their office employees changes every few weeks . Your packages will be stolen .There was a african american employee at elan -grey star who lived on the property and he was fired after only few weeks working for the company , he told me " hey dude do not say anything to management " etc....Wow , unbelievable . I could go on and on but my suggestion is stay away from this ridiculous overpriced apt. property , you can find much better place for less . good luck ! read more