Venue On Guadalupe

Tonight, for at least the hundredth time, I was stuck waiting outside my apartment building's front door. This is because of the utterly unnecessary and foolish decision to replace residents' keys and fobs, including those of existing residents who were already under contract and had no notice of the impending change, with a faulty app for all doors and elevators that works at best 40-50% of the time. Management has valiantly (and repeatedly) shifted blame to the contractor instead of taking accountability or fixing the problem. If you think it's ridiculous that you could be locked outside the apartment you (over)pay for (and pay $150 a month for the privilege of parking at), don't live here.

I'd like to start by saying the maintenance staff is helpful, efficient, and friendly. The apartment itself was pretty solid, but I recommend touring the exact apartment you're going to be in before signing because the views of the alley aren't picturesque and it's nice to know that going in. My biggest complaint is that the place is overpriced. What I paid for one room in a 2 bed apartment at the venue is more expensive than what friends of mine paid for nicer one bedrooms. The proximity to campus is nice, but that means it gets very loud during the semester, especially because of the proximity to the giant frat house. I find it worth it to live further away for less money. Other good things to know: - The furniture that comes in the furnished apartments is cheap and uncomfortable. It's worth it to buy your own stuff. The mattresses are like those blue ones you get in dorms. - The package room is in the building across the alley which is not a safe place to go alone at night - If you consistently have issues with an appliance and they try to fix it but can't, they will buy you a new one (yay, thank you) - The hot water is great - The gym is well-equipped and never too busy - Parking passes are expensive - Visitor parking is NOT free - In your lease it states there is a mandatory carpet cleaning fee of $70 (per person) when you move out unless you get it professionally cleaned - also when you move in do a detailed damage report even of the inside of drawers to avoid being charged when you move out -Wifi is included - The front office hours are very limited - They are inflexible with move-in dates. Additionally, you pay full rent the first and last month even though they aren't full months because "its the cost of the year divided up" I hope this helps! I don't think this is a bad place to live at all, but I definitely thought I paid way, way too much for it.