First off, let me say I am not a super-picky or high-maintenance girl. Though I would not want to live in an insanely cruddy-place, per say, I'm pretty open if the location is good.

That being said, Prado apartments are horrible, just say no. My decision to move in here was basically forced (my old lease was up and no better prospect had been found) and I thought it looked like an ALRIGHT place.

I was wrong.

At first glance, Prado apartments are pretty cute with their outdoor courtyard and pool area, but DO NOT LET IT FOOL YOU. The halls are terrifying to say the least, they look like something out of the SHINING. They are not well lit and incredibly stuffy. The elevators leak water when it isn't raining. Their "AC" is basically just a fan. Now, all of these things I could deal with....but then there is....

THE PARKING. Ok, they claim there is "plenty of street parking" but trust me, there is not. You are LUCKY if you find a spot on Rancho Mission after 4:00pm (I usaully park all the way down the road, almost half a mile away). And your apartment will only get ONE reserved spot. So if you like to have friends over, forget about it...plus you don't want their car to get stolen (see below). Sidenote: they will also tow your car without so much as a phone call from ANYWHERE on the premises (besides your spot, obviously). I'm pretty sure they make a certain amount of $$ off this otherwise they wouldn't be so crazy about it. They towed my dad's rental car from an "office visitor spot" after he had been parked there for 20 minutes (there were other office guests spots open). The office-woman told me they have the towing company patrol those spots EVERY HALF HOUR and they tow anyone, regardless if other spots are open for their office visitors or not.

THE CRIME. I've lived here about 2 months now and my car has gotten stolen. You can attribute it to bad luck if you'd like, but I've talked to some people and heard some things, and the conclusion is it is REALLY common. The police officer who took my report said this is the one of the worst places in SD for auto theft. Also there are ALWAYS shady individuals around and I've actually been approached by one before. I stood my ground and told him I was calling the cops, which scared him away, but still it was NOT comforting.

LOCATION. You can find better for the price. I've heard some people say "you get what you pay for" regarding these apartments, but I KNOW you can find better if you give yourself enough time and look hard enough. It's just not a fun/safe/nice area. Kinda close to grocery store, but thats the only perk, unless you like being stuck in stadium traffic.

I can see some people having an OK experience here if they lived by themselves and thusly only needed one parking spot....and had no problem dealing with the living-in-a-crud-hole atmosphere, but seriously STAY AWAY.

User Responses
From: Anonymous	Date: 07/01/2008
Mission Valley in and of itself is a car theft trap, maybe you should have done a little more research before signing the lease. Every single place in that area gets hit by thieves, Promenade, La Mirage, River Run, Escala, Portofino, etc. Too many freeways means to many ways to escape...Just my 2 cents.
From: Anonymous	Date: 07/02/2008
I don't disagree. Though I'd like to note that West Mission Valley is not so bad at all (that is where I lived previously). Even without the theft/crime, however, Prado is a way below average apartment complex. They do not treat their tenants respectfully nor do they keep the place in good condition. When I moved in the toilets looked like they had NEVER been cleaned and the kitchen was filthy.
From: Anonymous	Date: 09/11/2008
Ok... whoever you are, that's commenting and saying that this person should've done research first must be part of the management team, which sucks by the way, so if in fact you are part of the team, then you suck. First of all, this person is not only complaining about their car being stolen but obviously many other things. I can say the same, I'm not super-picky nor high-maintenance either. My car has been broken into, three times. I dealt with it because I KNEW of the risk. I've dealt with a rat. I've dealt with bugs. I've dealt with trash outside of the elevators, near the dumpster. I've dealt with the nasty halls. I've dealt with it. As I'm typing, I'M starting to question why I even did. You would think that all of that would've made me move already, but it didn't. WHY??? Because I could deal with it. I lived here knowing that this was just temporary and that's why I dealt with it. Another reason I dealt with it was because... the previous manager responded to things WAY better. MANAGEMENT now sucks! We all know that with the building being decades old that you're going to run into things here and there... the problem isn't always THE problem. The REAL problem is when there's a team (compensated by the way, not doing this on a voluntary basis) specifically assigned to TAKE CARE of these problems... that not only responds poorly slash DOESN'T take care of it BUT they ------- leave early. Irresponsible. Get a ------- real job and stop moochin off of Prado for housing. They are the reason I'm leaving. So, to anyone even considering to live here... save yourself the trouble... DON'T live here.

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