My boyfriend and I lived at the Laurels for three months when we moved to San Jose last year. We originally decided on this place because they offered an odd 3 month lease to us at the time, and because it is walking distance to where he works at Cisco.

I was overall happy with the place. It looks very nice inside and out.

INSIDE THE UNIT:
I didn't much care for the layout (you walk RIGHT INTO the kitchen, no separation at all), but the bathroom was very nice and spacious with a closet for washer and dryer, a very large mirror, sliding doors on the shower. The apartments there are generally a bit on the small side.

The kitchen had a lot of counter space. An odd thing, though, was that the insides of the cabinets both in the kitchen and the bathroom had a funny smell, and bath towels would pick up the smell. The burners on the stove top would get black splotches on them after cooking that were pretty much impossible to get off, which didn't bother me until I was trying to clean for move-out. Beware--like most places they will charge you for everything they can think of when you leave so they don't have to give any deposit back. Take the initial move-out inspection! I thought we wouldn't have to because we only spent 3 months ("how dirty can it be'"), but that was a rookie mistake.

There were two closets in the bedroom--good amount of space. One of the closets had sliding mirrored doors, which was nice.

In the winter the apartment was always nice and warm. You heat it and it keeps the heat in. Central air conditioning was something I took for granted in Texas, but Laurels have it.

One thing that bothered me about the place is that I got very poor cell phone reception in my apartment. I had to go out on the balcony to make sure it didn't go out.

Also, when I lived there they were constructing another complex across the side street and it was very loud--but I think they're done now.
I could hear my neighbours to the side when they were watching their TV, but it wasn't too bad. The thing is built like a bunker, so it's really not as loud as other places.

GROUNDS:
The grounds are very nice and pretty, and I could walk to a Starbucks that was attached to a sister complex. There is also food there (sub place) and a little grocery shop (expensive but had some good stuff).

The area where the pool is has good seating and tables. Nice to go out with a laptop or a book. In the Laurels there is only a small hot tub and a lap pool, but in the Redwoods (where my friend lived) they have a HUGE hot tub and it is very nice. We would always go there. There could be nine people in that hot tub and it would still feel spacious! In the Laurels you don't want more than three...
There are grills outside as well, which were a lot of fun. We only used them over at our friends place (Redwoods), but I know Laurels had some, too.

I lived on the 3rd floor. There's a garbage and recycling chute which is convenient. There are also computers with printers in a little office for residents, though sometimes the computers or printers wouldn't work. The office staff was always willing to help in that situation, though, even if it meant printing something for you on their computer! Be friendly and you'll get friendliness in return.

The place seemed safe. Never had anything broken into or stolen.

You get an assigned parking space in the garage, but there's not much outside parking for visitors (another thing that's better at the Redwoods).

OOPS--almost forgot one thing:

This property is located off of Zanker rd, which is where sewage lines go... in the Summer you can smell sewage outside the apartment.

PRICE:
The price seemed outrageous to me, coming from Texas, but now through California experience I think it's pretty reasonable. Maybe a little bit high considering the relatively small size of the units.

User Responses
From: biggeek	Date: 11/12/2008
I liked the largish bathroom/laundry...But the single piece plastic bathtub/shower made too much noise when I'd elbow the faux-tile during a late-night shower. Sorry, neighbors! The rubber-like burners got stuff baked-on that seemed impossible to completely remove. I don't think I was charged for the tiny bits left on though. And yes, when the wind was right, I would get a light whiff of garbage, but that was from the Zanker Road Landfill 2 miles away across the ???237. The pooh smell was probably from the occasional fertilizer dump on the farmland just south of The Pines.

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