I live in the S1 model (studio) on the 2nd floor of the 'E' building so almost everything in this review is based on my experience in the E building. I have been living here since May 2008. I pay $885 per month including taxes, pet rent, water, sewer & trash. Pet rent is $20 per month after you pay a ridiculous $400 pet deposit (half of which is refundable). Taxes for me run about $15 per month and water, sewer and trash are about $20 per month all together. Electric is through APS, I pay between $40 - $80 per month for my studio depending on the time of year.

I enjoy everything about my apartment. The layout is great and there is a lot of space. The walk-in closet and bathroom are larger than the closet and master bathroom I had at my old house. There is a good sized storage closet on the patio. There is also additional storage available to rent in the underground garages but I m not sure what those run per month. I enjoy the double arcadia doors leading to the patio, it makes the apartment seem very open and light. The little fireplace is a nice touch as well. It turns on with the flip of a switch and you can adjust the heat level at the panel on the bottom. I feel like I should mention for those who may not know, this isn t a real fireplace. Not sure how to describe it but the flames you see aren t real flames which I actually liked a lot since I didn t have to worry about accidentally starting a real fire.

This apartment complex itself is divided by Center Parkway with the E building on the east side of Center Parkway and the rest of the buildings and the office and gym on the west side of Center Parkway.

The type of people that live here all seem to be college students or young professionals. I don't know of any families living here which is great because there aren't a ton of kids running around.



-Parking-

Each building has a gated, underground parking lot with assigned parking. Each apartment is allotted one underground parking spot. You can rent additional parking underground for $50 per month. In March they ran a special where the underground spaces were $25 per month. I imagine they only do that when they have an abundance of parking available down there.
The parking outside is open to anyone. There is always plenty of parking available although the parking near the elevators by the pool seems to be a bit tight. If you don't mind walking a tiny bit you will never have a problem with finding space to park.



-Maintenance-

I have only had to call maintenance two times for a non-routine issue. Both of which were regarding my dryer which was taking about 2 - 2.5 hours to dry each load. To this day I still have to run my dryer twice per load to get anything dry. Maintenance stated that my dryer was running at specification and there was nothing they could do about it. Not sure how I feel about that answer. Drying my clothes is a time consuming and expensive pain.

Both times I requested maintenance for my dryer I used the online request system and they showed up within 24 hours. Everyone on the maintenance staff seems very friendly. Whenever any of them drive past me in the parking lot they smile and wave. One person in particular often reminds me to put in a request to change my air filter every month, which I do, and it is changed within 24 hours.



-Construction-

There are a lot of complaints that the walls are thin. I don't necessarily agree. I have not heard a sound from the neighbors to my left the entire time I've lived there. I do know they have two very young dogs but I have not heard a single bark from them. I couldn't even tell you if there is anyone living next to me on my right, I have never heard a noise coming from that apartment since I've lived here. The girl above me is the only person I hear, the only thing I hear from her apartment is her walking around, that's it. She occasionally has people on her patio which I can hear but that is rare. I know people live below me but I have not seen or heard from them either.

This place touts itself to be luxury living. I'd have to disagree. This is a very nice apartment complex, yes, but I don't necessarily consider the cheap appliances and faux granite countertops to be luxury. Not sure exactly what the counter top is made of but I would compare it to laminate with a granite pattern. I will say this is the nicest complex I have ever lived in but if you are looking for major luxury look elsewhere.



-Noise-

I rated noise four stars because the question was referring to neighbors, not air traffic, trains, cars etc.

The other reviews are pretty accurate when they say this is a very noisy complex. It is under the flight path of Sky Harbor Airport so when planes are landing they come in pretty low over the complex and can be very loud. On the south side of the complex is a train. On the north side of the complex is the light rail which can be pretty noisy itself (especially when it passes by every 10 minutes). Also on the north side of the complex is Washington Street and on the west side of the 'E' building is Center Parkway. The traffic from both streets can be extremely noisy even though they aren't the busiest of streets. My apartment faces Washington St. and the light rail and it is quite loud although I've become accustomed to it and can tune it out now. I don't even hear the planes overhead anymore. The only time I notice the sound these days is when I have my windows open and am trying to watch TV, otherwise, the noise is pretty easy to ignore once you get used to it.

I do not have any noise complaints in regards to my neighbors (which I explained above). I have only noticed two loud parties since I lived here, one over Labor Day weekend and one over another holiday weekend, and even then it was only loud where there were people out on the patio. When they were inside I didn't hear much but the faint sound of music. Again, this is the 'E' building, I can't attest to the noise levels at the other buildings.

One recommendation I'd make is to not choose an apartment that faces the interior as sound really travels up between the buildings. I'd also be careful not to choose an apartment near a gate as they can be pretty loud opening and closing all day & night.



-Grounds-

The grounds are always kept neat. I really don't have much else to say about it. The maintenance staff and the landscapers (which come on Fridays) do a good job taking care of the place.



-Safety-

I have never felt unsafe here. It is true that the gates are often broken and left wide open. Luckily, I did not move to this place because of the gates so it doesn't bother me as much as it bothers others. I walk my dog down Washington and Mill Ave in the afternoon/evenings and have never felt unsafe. This complex is surrounded mostly by nice office buildings. The closest apartment complexes/homes are the Mandarina Apartments on Washington and 52nd Street and a few complexes/neighborhoods on Washington east of Mill Ave closer to Rural.

I have never had an issue with my car. In fact, I often leave it in the underground garage with the top down during the day with no problem. I've seen other convertible owners leave their tops down for days at a time but I am not brave enough for that. I know of two cars that have been broken in to in the 'E' building garage. One was an old Ford Escort and the other was a Mazda Protege wagon. Not sure why the thieves chose these cars over the endless amounts of Infinities, BMWs, Mercedes in that garage but the best advice I can give is to not leave valuables or anything tempting laying in plain view to entice others to break-in.

They do have courtesy patrol in the complex.



-Office Staff-

I really don't see how some people can have so many interactions with the staff. I have only had to go to the office two times outside of paying my rent each month. Once was to resign my lease after adding a pet and the second was to pick up a package. Justin was very helpful and nice when it came to adding the pet portion to my lease. The new manager, Michael seems to be eager to get involved with our community, he's sent out numerous letters and updates since he's been here. They have added a Social Director who puts together events such as catered lunches at the pool. Every third Tuesday of the month a member of the staff is waiting at the main gate to hand you a breakfast on-the-go bag which I think is neat and personally look forward to. There is only one person on the staff that I don't particularly care for, initials being M.B. I wish a member of management would speak to her about the way she presents herself and interacts with residents and future residents. She comes across as being unfriendly and seems to have an attitude. If I had to have based my decision to move here solely on my interaction with her when I first toured, I would have not have moved here.



-Likes-

-Elevators (they do not get nearly as hot as others make out, at least not in the 'E' building)
-Trash chutes (so convenient)
-Pools (love the cabanas and lounge areas)
-Gym (modern equipment, clean)
-Social events (catered lunches at the pool, etc)
-New dry cleaning service
-Proximity to the new light rail
-I also like the fact that it is in a somewhat open area and not jammed between other complexes or buildings




-Dislikes-

-Because of the light rail, it's difficult to make left turns out of the complex (and the light at Parkside Dr. is sloooow) or get into the 'E' building when you're heading west. In order to get to the freeway from the 'E' building you need to go through the whole complex, circle around and it feels like a whole lot of backtracking.
-My annoying dryer
-Slighty overpriced


Overall, I would recommend the Lofts at Rio Salado. It is nicer than a lot of other places out there and it's in a convenient location.

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