I looked at all the high-end apartment complexes in New Haven and chose the Eli, which charges a premium over the rest of the market. The building -- a converted telephone company office -- is a thing of beauty both inside and out. The units themselves look great, and the management and staff are wonderful: friendly, capable, and responsive. I've had absolutely no pest problems.

Overall, I'm happy with the Eli. But I paid a premium to avoid headaches, and unfortunately, that gamble didn't quite pay off. Judging from the other reviews on this site, however, it does seem that other New Haven apartment complexes have it much worse.

The #1 problem is the utter lack of sound insulation between adjacent units. I can hear the ringing of my neighbor's telephone, her TV, and her stereo (currently playing a violin concerto as I type). The dishwasher in the apartment is a recent model, but it often leaves dishes dirty that the early-80s model in my prior apartment had no problem with. In the earlier years, the climate control system had had a days-long building-wide failure at least once a year, although this hasn't been a problem for the last two summers (2006 and 2007).

Potential renters researching buildings from out of town should also be aware of the parking situation. There is an uncovered lot behind the building, but I was told that there were no monthly spots available when I moved in. So I park a block away, which isn't a huge deal but not as nice as having an underground garage in the building.

As for the awful negative reviews that some people have posted here, as far as I can tell, they have no connection to reality. They must be posted either by rival building managers or by kids in the building looking for a cheap thrill. Kudos to the building management for not stooping so low as to post counterfeit positive reviews, as I've seen happen in some other apartment complexes.

A specific response to the 1/31/2006 post by Prof1955, which really irked me because (s)he complained about the management not giving him/her information about the area. They're here to manage and lease out the building, not to act as hotel concierges, and they do a great job of it. And while I'm sure they're always eager to rent out apartments, I doubt they're desperate to fill units, as I've heard there is now a waiting list to get into the some of the building's units.

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