Review History for anonymous

Wouldn't recommend

I think whether you like this place or not depends entirely on how much you can afford. And perhaps where you are in your life. Don't worry, I'll explain... This place definitely has some nice features, but has a few key draw backs as well. Parking: This has never been a problem for me, but I live in the VERY back of the apartment complex, which seems to have ample parking. Things may be different elsewhere in the complex, but it's fine where I am. Noise: This has not been a problem for me per se, as I have pretty quiet neighbors. HOWEVER, the wall ARE as thin as other reviewers have mentioned. I am constantly hearing garage doors open, and on two different occasions I have actually heard neighbors peeing. Sorry if that's gross, but if you can hear THAT, I think you can safely come to the conclusion that the walls are a bit too thin. Grounds: This is a tough one. The obvious complaint is that there is dog poop everywhere. And I do mean everywhere. Grass, sidewalks, in the complex, and even in front of the main office building. Despite what management might say, I think the main onus on keeping clean grounds is on them. While there are trash cans and bags provided sporadically around the complex, it should be the management who ENFORCES the policy. Stepping in dog poop is like a punishment. Sure, there are bags and cans, but where is the DETERRENT for dog-owners not to leave their pets' fecal matter on the ground? There should be some sort of fine or something if caught. My other complaint would be that the steps leading up the the breezeways are usually pretty filthy. I don't know if this is from tenants exactly, or from the valet trash service, but they definitely need to be cleaned. Other than that, the grounds are pretty decently maintained, and the pool is a great example of this. The pool is truly resort worthy. There are privacy bushes, scenic palm trees and it is kept clean. I've also seen dead flower beds be re-planted with new flowers which is nice... unfortunately the Texas heat (it's June) killed them in about two days and they were removed altogether. The grounds definitely look better the closer you get to the main office. Safety: I feel pretty safe here. Saw a police car in the lot a few weeks ago, but I'm not sure what the disturbance was. Everything is not well lit, but I have to say that I'm not really worried about crime here at all. Construction: Beside the walls (ceilings, floors, whatever) which I mentioned earlier, the apartments seem to be constructed fairly well, with and emphasis on the kitchens and bathrooms. This is, of course, very smart, as kitchens and bathrooms are two of the main selling points when it comes to homes and apartments. I give Haven a thumbs up for that. Maintenance: Never had any apartment issues so far, so I've never had a reason to call. The main complex gates seem to break down once a week or so, but thankfully there are two entrances and this seems to get fixed fairly quickly. The only other experience I've had with anything broken is EVERY DAY IN THE FITNESS CENTER. The ellipticals are falling apart and the treadmills plain don't work (I've never used their bike). I'd estimate that 2 out of 3 treadmills have been flat out unusable for 5 weeks now, and every time I say something I get the same story: their contractor looked at them and they are waiting for parts and waiting to see what can be done. There is nothing more they can do about it. This particular issue really gets to me as I used to be the manager of a small 4-diamond hotel fitness center, very similar to the one in the Haven at Blanco. We also had treadmills that broke down, but unlike the Haven, we had them up and running in 5 days or less. Why have a fitness center if none of your equipment works? At least then the tenants would be complaining about an amenity that you say that you offer but in reality don't. At the very least Haven should be putting signs on their machines, letting people know that they are out of service. By not even doing this, it SEEMS as though they are ignoring the problem, or that they don't know about it, or perhaps they don't even care. I'm not saying this is their attitude, but without SOME sort of communication, who knows? Tenants like myself come back day after day only to find that the machines are still broken and only 1 person can run at a time...even though it seems like there are two other treadmills available. Very frustrating. Staff: Here we go... my biggest complaint. The staff. Unfriendly, unhelpful = bad experience no matter how good the amenities are. I have more than a couple stories about how bored, disinterested and borderline rude the office staff is with the tenants of the Haven at Blanco. Every time I've talked to one I feel as though I'm being talked down to, as though my problem or request is only a problem because I brought it to their attention and they now have to talk to me. Even waiting in their small lobby, it often takes staff 10 minutes to acknowledge your presence, even though I've waited while two staff members are just chatting with each other. I feel pretty confident that it wasn't about anything work related, unless sitting on the backs of chairs is what the management considers professional. I once had what I thought was going to be a good experience with one of the staff members. She noticed me almost immediately, came out of her office to say hi, and then turned to two other talking staff members in another office and told them to help me. Sheesh. At least they know how to delegate here. I've had staff ignore my requests and also just forget to do them. Treadmills = I FEEL ignored. They offered to set up my TV and two days later when no one from the cable company called to schedule a time for installation I called the office only to find that they hadn't called the cable company about setting up my cable at all. They just forgot. Same thing happened with setting up my phone number with the call box by the gate. They asked me for my phone number, said they were going to take care of it, but never did. Two weeks later I had to go to the office and watch while a staff member typed my number into a computer. It took about 2 minutes. Overall: While SOME amenities are quite nice, you may find yourself paying too much for broken equipment and poor/unfriendly customer service. If I were a college student and my parents were paying my rent I'm sure I would LOVE this place with it's great pool, tanning bed and sometimes working sometimes not fitness center. I probably wouldn't care that there is dog poop everywhere or that the staff is unfriendly or that the walls are as thin as a fly's wing. But I'm not. I'm paying $1,000 a month to live in a premium apartment complex, and unfortunately for tenants, premium is just not what you're getting. Poor and Extremely Unfriendly/Inattentive Service by Complex Staff Advertisement of Amenities and Services Not Really Provided/Lacking (Except for the pool): 2 Star