Serena Shores

I lived in three separate apartments several years ago - the 2-bedroom and the 1-bedroom. I'll list the pros and cons.

Pros:
- Large bedrooms
- Good-sized kitchens
- Top floor has high vaulted ceilings
- Large closets (Overall everything is quite roomy)
- Lots of windows and and natural light if you open the shades
- Reasonably quiet
- Overall, management was pretty good
- Bashas and Fry's close by, along with quick access to the 60, and now the center with AJ's Fine Foods and other retailers nearby


Cons:
- From my time there, the complex went through several management changes. They were always quick to deal with most work orders, but some things never did get fixed, such as the carpet tacks we kept stepping on because the carpet was frayed and pulling away. (Though I'm willing to chalk that up to the management that was there at that time, and they weren't the most professional.)
- Had my car broken into. Was quite disappointed because I found out afterwards from management that nearly every car on the row I parked on had been broken into, yet they refused to notify residents. (Felt that if they notified residents to be aware, these people would have been caught. Again, that same management group.)
- Scorpions and roaches. Due to the water nearby, there were a fair amount of roaches outside in the areas with rocks, and some of them can fly. While it wasn't a common occurrance, it is a little disconcerting to have a roach fly by your head on a second floor apartment! (Note, the further from the lake you are, the less roaches I noticed.) Scorpions - in each apartment managed to only have two run-ins, but other neighbors had some problems with this.
- 24-hour pool and hot tub. This is nice if you want to go relax late at night or have a swim, but at the time I was there, this resulted in everyone nearby somehow knowing about the pool and at times using it for less than respectable activities.

Other comments:
- For some reason in the wintertime, if you turn on the heat, the hot water is quite limited or lukewarm. Never did quite figure out why, but I would recommend to turn off the heat while taking a shower or running bath water.
- If you have a fireplace, management can turn on the pilot light for you (it's a gas fireplace). Not to be stingy, but I'd ask for the key. I found that leaving the pilot light on - not even turning on the fire - was increasing the bills by about $20-$25 a month. By having the key you can turn on the pilot light yourself whenever you want to turn on the fire, and then turn it off afterwards, saving yourself some cash.
- I'd recommend not living in one of the apartments right off of Baseline Road. I found the noise to be perfectly fine for sleeping short of motorcyles and police and ambulances, but loud enough that while watching tv I had to increase/decrease the volume to go along with the traffic flow from light changes. (It's a major road, so unfortunately it's going to be loud, especially if you get someone on a Harley going past.)

All in all, while there were some frustrations, it was a good experience. If it weren't for the fact that I'm trying to save money (ah travel and saving for grad school), I'd seriously consider getting another 1-bedroom there again. The neighbors I met generally were quite nice and considerate. aLKeoXpj3s4OSgrp1trb

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