Botanic Waterside Apartments at Lakewood Ranch

Had a great experience touring Botanic Waterside. The community looks exactly as advertised—beautiful and modern. A huge thank you to the Assistant Manager, Melissa Carey, who was awesome and explained every feature in detail. Highly recommend!

Ever since new ownership took over, this place has gone downhill fast. What used to feel like an upscale apartment community now feels neglected and unsafe. Dog waste stations are constantly overflowing, broken glass is regularly scattered in the parking lots, and the hallways are no longer cleaned, they’re filled with clumps of hair, spider webs, and grime. I’ve even seen cockroaches in common areas. The elevators constantly have issues and are out of service causing me to haul up my wagon of groceries up the stairs. They also smell and are rarely cleaned anymore. We were given a replacement refrigerator after ours broke, and it reeked of cigarette smoke so badly that it made our entire apartment smell. The package situation is a disaster. All 10 buildings share one tiny Luxer package room that is completely overwhelmed. Boxes are piled on the floor, some sitting there for months. Residents have to dig through dozens of packages just to find their own. Package theft is common, including mine, and management does nothing about it. Security is also a major issue. Cars get broken into, yet there are no security cameras anywhere in the parking areas. For the amount of rent being charged, this is unacceptable. On top of all this, little amenities that once made this place feel premium, like the gift wrap station, have been quietly removed. This property is still priced like a luxury community, but it is no longer managed like one. The new owners clearly cut corners while raising or maintaining high rent, and residents are left dealing with the consequences. I would not recommend living here.

I’m giving 5 stars specifically thanks to the amazing maintenance team that runs this complex. Enoch, Victor, and Chip are a small team and they do the very best possible job they can to take care of each and every resident. They are friendly and helpful in every sense! They are my favorite part of living here at Botanic That said, the common spaces and amenities are dirty, broken down, and unkept. Would love to see management prioritizing resident experience much more!

Botanic Apartments at Waterside, Lakewood Ranch I have lived at the Botanic Apartments at Waterside for some time now, and it’s disappointing to see the steep decline in how the property is being maintained and managed. The hallways are consistently dirty, and at one point there were even bats in the building. The garbage areas are not only overflowing but also attract roaches, which is unacceptable for a community of this standard. Elevators are filthy and often smell strongly of disinfectant—not because they are truly cleaned, but because a strong chemical odor is used to mask the dirt. The outdoor areas are no better. Dog waste bins are not emptied in a timely manner, leaving them full and reeking of feces. The pool area is run-down, with moldy, stained cushions that have clearly not been replaced or cleaned in a long time. The gym is equally neglected, with broken equipment and ripped benches that make it unpleasant to use. On top of that, maintenance and repairs take an unreasonable amount of time. It’s clear the management company does not have enough staff, and the employees they do have seem stretched far too thin to keep up with the needs of the community. This property had so much potential, but the lack of care and attention to basic cleanliness and upkeep has made living here a frustrating experience. I truly hope the management company steps up, staffs appropriately, and restores the complex to the standard it should be.

One star. Chronic AC failures, unsafe humidity, and zero urgency. Central AC failed on Oct 12. Management dropped off one small portable unit on Oct 14 that cannot cool a three-bedroom. They promised a dehumidifier that never arrived. After multiple follow-ups, a second portable showed up on Oct 23. The apartment remained hot and damp. Today it failed again. Same problem, same runaround, still no permanent fix. I pay over $3,000 a month and have young children and a dog in the home. Sleeping in hot, humid rooms is not “livable,” it is unacceptable. Communication is slow, timelines slip, and the response is band-aids instead of repair. I have emails, dates, and photos documenting all of this. If you value habitability, basic maintenance, and honest updates, look elsewhere. This has been the worst housing experience I have had in Florida.