It is my understanding that Oakwood is intended as short term corporate housing though some stay as a regular apartment residence and others using Oakwood as a hotel. My company arranged my housing here for 3 months. I am moving out in about a week. When I first arrived, I noticed the congested entrance and exit to the parking garage - not a big deal but it can get tricky when 3 or 4 cars are trying to squeeze in and out of the garage off of Via Marina at once. Parking gate is good about being closed but does not close after each car so cars can line up and go in without the key card. Next was the stains in the hallways on the carpet. Again, not a big deal - and I will say that the hallway of the A building had some of their carpet replaced. The C building is still an awful green color probably original from the 70s. The doors do not use keys, they use little plastic electronic keys. The doors have the option of "privacy" if you do not want maintenance etc coming in while you are not home. The buildings are old. I hated the smell of my unit - like a musty molding old building smell. The office was nice and offered to clean my carpets (which were not very clean and are an awful darker beige brownish color) which they did so promptly but did not help the smell. All the air freshners in the world wont help either. The kitchen appliances are old. The stove still has a manual turn clock thingy and the refrigerator is probably 20 years old. Both work however. The kitchen is a nice size. A GREAT deal of space for storage in the apartment. The fireplace was nice though not working when I moved in - maintenance relit the pilot light for me and it was good to go. Thankfully, too, because the only other heat in the unit is provided by two small floorboard heaters (eye sores) - one in the corner of living area and one in the bedroom. It takes quite a long time to warm up in the unit and is difficult to control the temperature. Luckily LA doesn't get too cold in the winter. However, the same issue with the A/C - it is a wall unit that does not have settings by degrees but rather High Low etc. Not to mention the backside of the AC unit pokes out to my patio which looks like hell and may not be safe for small children. My company used the furniture here from Oakwood for my apartment - decent condition but certainly not the most modern stuff. Darker fake wood color reminiscent of older hotels. Couch is a pinstripe giving it an overall darker olive green color with purple throw pillows. Again - sounds maybe a little worse than it is. The two tone paint means one wall in each room is painted an ugly brownish beige color - if I had known I would have just asked to have all the rooms just the slightly off white color. Lamps are older style but they work. The light they emit is a yellowish color - does not really light up the room. Came with dining table set and computer desk - both the dark fake wood color with older style. Matching bedroom furniture. I was supposed to have a queen size bed - Oakwood had a King size. They provided a couple sets of sheets for me to use as I did not have King size sheets, only a comforter. (My company did not provide housewares or linens in the package) Sink is in the hall between bedroom and bathroom but no door to close bedroom seperately so overnight guests have to open the door to the bedroom/bathroom to use it. Not so much a problem if you will not be having overnight guests. The sink counter is large with many drawers and cupboards for storage. The paint has been layered with many coats but still looks decent. The bathroom is not the "Dream Shower" they describe ('''') but rather very basic with sliding glass door. Heat lamp. When I stand in my shower and look up at the fan I can see sunlight. Is that bad' Also bathroom tends to be a bit cooler especially if the door is kept closed. Bed was basic - nothing too comfortable but sufficient. Huge dresser for clothes and two closets in the bedroom, both of which are mirrored. Ugly lamp on each side of the bed.

Soooo in summary. I did not care for living at Oakwood although its grown on me a little.
The things I really hated: the smell of the building, the color of the carpet and accent walls, the old style furniture, the old kitchen appliances, the heating/cooling situation, the BANG BANG I heard everytime someone drove over the metal slats of the parking garage (my unit faced the parking garage). Shortly after moving in they began construction on the parking garage that kept me up all day (Working nights for my company) which was worsened by the fact the window in the bedroom does just about nothing to block out sound as it is an old window on a thin metal frame.
The things I thought were great: the grounds are well manicured (except the grass in the courtyard was always sopping wet), the pool/hot tub/barbeque area was really beautiful, pool is heated year round, small convenience store on site, dry cleaners on site, free Sunday brunch from 11-12 with basic items, the location was amazing, the staff were very eager to help when things were not right and usually did so very quickly, they take dogs and never had an issue with feces, etc from pets.

I wouldnt recommend it as a place to live - if it is between this Oakwood or having to live further away from this area, I would deal with the oldness and ugliness to be able to stay in Marina del Rey. Very close to the beach.

Your thoughts? Post a response to this review. Display my response: with my username anonymously Responses appear below reviews and one response per user is permitted.

   Free estimates on moving trucks      Find apartment share/roommates