When you first step into one of the "newly renovated" apartments at Canterwood, you're amazed. "It looks so nice!" you think. Add on the amenities (a lackluster 24 hour fitness center, ancient pool, volleyball court, washer/dryer and fireplace in unit) and you can almost justify the astronomical price of rent. Then, you're told you have to pay $15 a month for each of your cars. To park in your own lot. Again, this might be justified if you were living near the CU campus, Pearl Street, or another area with limited parking. But you are not. You're nearly out in the boondocks of Boulder, and there isn't even a major busline nearby. Oh, and you also have to pay for all of your utilities. Yes, even water. If you have a pet (dogs are allowed in 2 buildings, cats in all buildings) be prepared to fork over at least $300 for a pet deposit, regardless of the fact that there's absolutely nothing in these apartments that would easily be destroyed by most animals.

Originally you will shrug all this off, but then you spend a few months living here. You discover that your apartment, while "renovated" was renovated very half-assedly - obviously someone was in a hurry for an excuse to jack up the prices. In my apartment, every single wall has multiple "smudges" which are actually mismatched paint touch-ups. The window in the master bedroom didn't close all the way for months. The stove and oven are a joke. Our dishwasher breaks our dishes all the time; in less than 6 months of living here I've lost at least 5 drinking glasses, and who knows what else.

You will learn, if god forbid you have a problem with your neighbours, or probably anything else for that matter, that most of the staff is utterly incompetent and the landlord is extremely rude and unprofessional. I moved into my apartment in June 2008. In July 2008, some people moved in above my apartment and proceeded to make noise at all hours of the day. From August on, my roommates and I complained multiple times, for months on end, and kept careful detailed logs of the noise. In early November, after multiple empty promises that they would deal with the noise, the landlord called us for a meeting. During that meeting she backhandedly accused us of lying about the noise, was unbelievably condescending, and completely dismissed all of our careful documentation of the problem. Then, she suggested that WE move to another apartment, across the complex. That's right, we, the people who caused them no trouble at all beyond asking them to uphold their lease, should move because they couldn't be bothered to do anything about the noise, despite the fact that we have no complaints against us, pay our rent on time, and we lived here first. Unbelievable. The only good thing I can think to say about the staff is that the maintenance guys are incredibly nice and helpful. It's too bad they aren't the landlords.

In mid-November 2008, there were signs posted around the complex that a former resident had been videotaping tenants in their apartments, with a warning for people to keep their shades and blinds closed. A few weeks later, it came out that it was some creepy guy who was videotaping women getting out of their showers, breaking in and stealing women's underwear. We were not notified of this creepiness at all, and they also kept from us the fact that this guy lives right across the street from one side of the complex. That makes you feel safe, doesn't it' So much for a secure apartment. The locks on the sliding doors to the balconies are seedy at best, and you only get one deadbolt on your front door. There isn't even a chain. Nighttime lighting is fairly poor and I'm always nervous about walking alone through the complex at night.


In the winter, don't expect them to do ANYTHING to move snow or get rid of ice. Our first storm of the year, where we got like 1/2" of snow they used such an obscene amount of salt on the stairs that they were more dangerous than they would've been if the snow hadn't already melted. Then when we got several inches, they did absolutely nothing. Sidewalks were a massive ice slick, the stairs were a death trap (they didn't even bother to shovel or salt them or the sidewalks), and the parking lot is full of black ice. I'm not sure why I'm paying $30 a month to park in my own damn lot if they won't even do anything to keep it from being a huge slippery sheet of ice.

Every day, I regret moving to this apartment complex and I am counting down the days until my lease ends. Before the landlord proved herself to be the absolute worst person you could possibly hope to deal with, I almost considered continuing to pay exorbitant prices to continue living here. Now, I wouldn't recommend this place to my worst enemy. If you can afford to pay a fortune for rent, find some place that's actually nice, with helpful staff, where you don't have to pay to park in your own freaking lot. They might even pay for your water for you. There is absolutely nothing upscale about this place beyond the ridiculous price which, by the way, they are going to be raising soon.

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