Yes, "le" isn't usually elided even in speech, i.e. the "e" is usually pronounced; then again, it could become l' in some literary contexts, e.g. poetry.
Why is not l'ora as l'orso, l'orologio, etc.? I believe that every time the word begins with vowel the article becomes " l' ". In this sentence I write "gli ore..." since I thought it was l'ora