Let me start by saying that after travelling the world and staying at many rented places, this is the first negative review I’ve written.
Starting with the positives; location is fantastic, instructions to get in/out were clear and communications were timely. The space is large and gave ample space for our family of 4 to stretch out. Convenient grocery store and cafés/Starbucks very close, and about a block from the Lake.
We learned from the Property Manager that the A/C had broken about a week prior to our arrival, unfortunate given the heat wave but understood that things happen. Although unable to get it fixed within the week, the PM had installed 2 fans that made it bearable. The PM also mentioned that the wood floors had been damaged by the AC, again unfortunate but stuff happens.
What we found at the apartment showed that perhaps this was not just an unfortunate case of timing yet rather a consistent theme of broken/not fixed things throughout the apartment.
The A/C indeed was not working, and the wood floors were so damaged that it was easy to trip over the mounds of warped flooring going in/out of bedroom/sitting area. In the same room, the couch was severely damaged on the right side and difficult to sit on without sinking or falling off the front. The bed has also seen better days, having to be careful getting in/out as to not wake up the house with the noise of old springs/structure. While nice to have a TV in that room, we had to go purchase new batteries to get the remote to work.
The kitchen is certainly small (as referenced in many other reviews) but we didn’t care as we eat most meals outside. However, we did decide to purchase meals from the grocery store and thought we could heat in the microwave but of course it wouldn’t work. It has a cord but is impossible to plug in without some sort of extension cord that would have to be run to the nearest plug above the counter, as the Microwave cord is jammed through the faucet hole and unable to move without tools. If we had tools, I would’ve also rehung the picture behind the living room couch that was simply sitting on the floor behind the couch instead of hanging on the faulty hooks above.
The main bathroom (attached to the bedroom) was a disaster. Aside from the damaged walls near the sink, the shower head is not attached properly to the wall so it is difficult to shower without risking pulling the shower/holder bar out of the tiles.
I understand that things can & will go wrong in these rented units but I struggle to understand why we had to pay full price for a place that was clearly below basic standards. In reading other reviews, it seems that these damaged items are not just coincidental, rather they are consistent issues and the place is not being kept up, despite the threatening agreements required prior, saying fees will be charged for any damages by the tenants. If they’ve ever collected fees for damages, they’ve never put them towards the fixes. This review/place is sad as it has great potential.