Lark Austin

This was a deeply distressing housing experience. I waited several weeks before writing this review, hoping the property would take accountability for what happened. Unfortunately, they did not. I paid an application fee for a room that was advertised as available and was subsequently offered a contract for that exact room. I signed the contract in good faith. All terms matched what was advertised, and at that point I believed everything was properly secured. When I later called to confirm next steps and move-in logistics, I was suddenly informed, almost casually, that the room was actually part of a male only unit and therefore not available for me. I was then offered a different room that did not meet my preferences and was priced higher. Because the original room was no longer available, I requested a refund of the application fee. I was told it was non-refundable, despite the fact that the room I applied and signed for could not be provided. To be clear, none of this information male only designation, approval requirements, or potential unavailability was disclosed in the advertisement, before payment, or anywhere in the contract, including fine print. As a student, this experience was financially and emotionally exhausting. Paying fees for housing that ultimately could not be honored felt deeply unfair and entirely avoidable. If this happened to me before move-in, I can only imagine the difficulty for someone further along in the process. I strongly encourage future renters, especially students, to verify availability and approval requirements in writing before paying any fees. Transparency matters.

Why do I pay 65 dollars a month in a compulsory amenity fee, if half of the amenities are not functioning and hardly maintained? Half of the TVs in the lounge do not have remotes. None of the TVs in the upstairs lounge have remotes. If you want to use them, you have to download an app, a different one for the numerous brands of TV, and then some of the TVs just don't turn on. I am not technically illiterate either, trouble shooting and changing the plugs and sockets does not result in any success. Additionally, the large outdoor cinema does not work, and has not since I moved here. Only one of the propane grills has propane at a time, and even then there is a knob missing from the working grill. The sky lounge and lobby areas are rarely cleaned, unless its a weekday. If you are hoping to use an unsticky lounge from alcohol spills or not walk through a miscellaneous puddle on the way to the elevator, you will be disappointed. The main couch in the sky lounge is also filthy and has substantial tears in it. AND there is only one pool cue at the pool table. Last thing- only one of the TVs in the TWO study rooms in the lobby actually work right now. Paying a premium, like all residents here do, for subpar amenities is unacceptable. That being said, I love the maintenance guys as they are speedy and generally helpful, but whoever is in charge of maintaining the amenities and pushing for those things to get done, is not doing a good job, and is costing residents money for services we are not getting.

Decent apartment but they keep raising the prices when the apartment isn't worth that high of a rate. Maintenance was always helpful and pretty quick. Living without a window in those rooms were depressing. The amenities were nothing special and there is barely any study space. Also walls are so thin you can hear anything happening next to you, above you, below you. Elevators were constantly broken and there would be lines of people waiting forever for the one working elevator to come which is annoying when you live on the top floors. The windows in the living room were just facing another apartment. However it's definitely not the worst apartment in west campus and I didn't hate living here.

It was a mid experience. I lived here for two years, and in my first year, the dishwasher barely worked, we had problems with the grinder, and we had mold in our vents. In my second year, I still had problems with the dishwasher and never used it, and my washer smelled like mildew even when the plastic lining was changed, and I left it open so no mold would happen. On the maintenance part, they would come into my apartment without my knowledge, and I got so fed up with it by the end. Lastly, they charged me $70 for a "partial paint" job because I had two pencil scratches on my wall, mind you, they are supposed to paint every single time a new tenant comes into the bedroom space. Like any other West Campus apartments, be wary of where you are signing. ps. maintenance was pretty chill, so no hate to them, it wasn't their fault for the lack of communication with the leasing team.

I lived at Lark for the past year. I had a good time but I'm pretty sure I would have at any apartment. Problems: -You will get charged a cleaning fee no matter what 😔. -Elevators were constantly broken, at times we'd only have 1 working for weeks. -Elevators and lobby not cleaned during weekends. -Gym sucks. The upstairs lounge and outside area with the pool are pretty nice though, and I had no issues with my room. The WiFi was solid as well.