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Fake reviews by complex employees, the proof is here....STAY AWAY....
From:
diesel55_1998
Date posted:
6/27/2007
Years at this apartment:
2007
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2007
4 responses
I am posting this to warn everyone Stay away from the ISLES of GATEWAY and COVES of BRIGHTON BAY !!! Below is a comparison between two 'reviews' of the two apartments. They are almost identical. Not only that, both complexes are owned by the same parent company. To top it off, both have the highest rating in the 33716 zip code. After seeing something like this, doesn't it make you really suspicious' It makes you wonder how many are real reviews and how many are employees of the two complexes posting completely falsified reviews to boost their ratings. After seeing something like this, I would never rent from either place. I was actually considering them before reading the two reviews.
Does no one else smell the BS' Even the word SURPRISED is mispelled SUPRISED in both reviews, wtf'
COVES of BRIGHTON BAY REVIEW:
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We have been here for about 1 year.I was suprised to read some of the comments. I guess you take them for what they are.
We currently live in a 1bedroom apartment . We enjoy our neighboors and the staff. The office staff have breakfast once a month for the residents and the maintenance team always try to take care of our problems.
The girls in the office have always been kind and helpful. The only thing that I am not happy with the property is the parking problem in building 8th. Other than that I will live here until I buy. If you are not happy here move.
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ISLES OF GATEWAY REVIEW:
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I have been here for approx 3yrs and I have had really good serice .I was suprised to read some of the comments. I guess you take them for what they are.
We currently live in a 3-bedroom apartment at the Isles. We hope to find a in the next year. However, the Isles is our home and we enjoy our neighbors and the staff at the Isles.
We have made several friends here and most have them have been here as long as we have. My children enjoy the facilities and the parties the apartments host. They always have fun games and prizes for the childern.
Frank and his guys are very knowledgable and are willing to help. The girls in the office have always been kind and helpful. I can not even begin to imagine how hard their jobs are taking care and making sure everyone is happy. I would want to be in their shoes.
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User Responses
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From:
Anonymous
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Date:
06/27/2007
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Actually, I work for the company that The Coves is managed by and that company nor the owners are the same as Isles of Gateway at all. They are actually a huge competition to each other. So what if some of the reviews are “fake”? You don't even live here and you give this place a bad score. So why can't other people that don't live here say good things?
As a true testament to The Coves, like I said I work for the management company and I do live here, but I work at a community in Largo. The reason I drive 30 minutes each way to work when I could get a cheap apartment in Largo is because I absolutely love my apartment. I have been here since December 2004, and until I finally bite the bullet and buy something I honestly would never rent anywhere else. It's nice and new, I have great neighbors, and it's quiet. If I didn't like it, I wouldn't have renewed my lease twice.
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From:
kidnos1
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Date:
07/01/2007
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The Coves is a great place to live. I know that some of the reviews on apartmentratings could be fake, but hey they are still helpful. Actually, I am being relocated to DC for work so I am using apartment ratings to try to help me find another apartment and while I find the responses useful, I take them with a grain of salt.
Now, in terms of what I think about the coves, here we go:
RENT PRICES:
I have been here since March 2004 in a 2 bedroom apartment where my initial rent was about $860. When my year lease was up I basically went month to month for over a year, simply b/c I had no idea of where I was going to be working and due to the appreciation of the market during that time my rent was about $1,060 or so (and I think climbed higher, I dont remember), which includes the month to month fee. Anyways, when I resigned my leased in July'06 I resigned at like $1060 which was obviously higher than my original lease. Now, the expected increase this year is very very minimal, most likely due to the market cooling off. So the overall conclusion on rent prices and increases is that they went up during the explosion in the market and now it appears they have subsided. So, the question is, is it worth it? Yes. I would definitely resign if I was staying in FL. The location and apartments are great.
APARTMENT (inside):
I have a 2 BR on the second floor and the apartment itself is great. It has plenty of room at about 945 sq ft and has vaulted ceilings and crown molding. It is really a very nice place. The cabinets are a modern clean white and the garden bath tub is key. Counter tops, while not granite are very modern.
Being in the apartment for over two years at the time I beat up my carpet pretty bad and I asked one of the girls in the office, when I renewed my lease if I could get it replaced. She said yes b/c they replace it every two or three years, I dont remember. Anyways, if I left in the next year and I damaged the carpet that would be my fault so she offered to have them cleaned for free and see if that would work instead. I got them cleaned and now they look like new and I dont have to worry about destroying them and getting hit for it when I move out. With that being said, they would have happily replaced the carpet. Whoever gets my apartment next will have nice new carpet.
The A/C works great and all that good stuff. We did have an issue during heavy storms in 2005 when some water was leaking in through the second bedroom window and maintenance came and fixed it. The last issues we had was with the A/C run off or something in the bathroom, it was dripping water and maintenance came out the following day and fixed it. Actually they recaulked the bath tub and replaced the faucet thing. It looks brand new. So as you can see I have no issue with the apartment itself. Now, in terms of noise, I can hear my upstairs neighbors sometimes. It isnt that bad, and I am currently in a temporary aptmt in VA and it is nothing compared to what I can hear here. You wont hear your neighbors much. I have had three sets of upstairs neighbors and I have only heard them when they have been arguing or stomping across the floor, and late at night when its completely quiet and they decide to make very loud "whoopie"- Hey, be considerate!!! So not much of an issue there, hopefully you get neighbors that understand they are living in a multifamily community.
APARTMENT (outside):
The outside of the apartments, specifically the paint is starting to show its age somewhat and from what I have seen with the measurements on the walls it looks like they may be getting ready to redo them? There has been an issue with some hornets building nest here and there and its looks kinda ugly b/c they build nests out of mud (during the summer) so maintenance has to pressure wash them off every now and again. The hallway floors get a little dirty b/c of the trash pickup ppl dragging the bags and what not but they pressure wash those every so often to clean them up. On the topic of trash, I actually dont care for it b/c I am near the dumpster and I will actually walk over there and throw my trash away but b/c some residents dont bother actually putting it inside the dumpster, they just let it sit outside, blocking it, which starts a big pile so the apartment started using trash service. You basically put your trash in box outside your door which has a latch to prevent animals from getting in. Keep in mind you are near weedon island reserve so yes there are animals around, you'll see rabbits, racoons, crabs, snakes and what not. So, sometimes the racoons actually get smart and figure out how to unlatch the trash box and then get into the trash (amazing). Anyways, the recommendation I would give you is to put your trash out as late as possible before the trash pickup comes and for the day they dont come (saturday, I beleive), just walk it over. Hopefully you dont go through that much trash.
About parking, I have never had an issue finding a parking a spot so you will be fine. If parking is an issue and you can stand walking more than 50 ft to your apartment then I would recommend a garage, my girlfriend has one and they cost about $90 month.
AMENITIES:
The pool is awesome, I am really going to miss going out there. There is no lifeguard, which some communities have and thats fine with me, I think I know how to swim and I dont need anybody hassling me if I want to drink a beer at the pool (which they currently do at some of my friends aptmts). My friends all like the setup of the pool and the deck. I wish they had some gas grills instead of the charcoal ones. Also, you cant grill on your porch, I guess you could but you're not supposed to so you pretty much have to go outside, just an FYI.
The gym is pretty decent, has your basic things to get your fitness on. I dont use it much b/c the complex is right near the friendship trail and weedon island preserve where I can kayak, run and cycle. For those of you new to this area and think swimming at gandy is a good idea, I would encourage you to think again, just give it a tour on a saturday afternoon and look at the power plant directly across from it. Gandy beach is not really a beach but sometimes its cool to go out there and just watch the bay and whatnot. Also, you MUST kayak weedon island if you move to the coves, even those that currently live there. It is awesome and you feel completely detached, like you are 100 miles away.
Lots of cyclists, runners, skaters, etc go to the friendship trail (bridge parallel to gandy) just a few miles down the road and its good training for those workout peeps. Also you can fish of the sides, I am not a big fisher so I only did that once and can't really say what kind of fish you could catch.
Sometimes they throw parties at the pool like halloween and most recently July 4th. They usually have a DJ, food, games for kids and usually give out prizes. I think thats pretty cool, but I think most places do that to get people out of their apartments and socializing. Take advantage of the free sodas and food, why not! Also, sometimes they have breakfast for you in the morning. I usually leave too early but when my girlfriend leaves they usually are out there giving out bagles and stuff. I thought that was pretty nice. Actually, the places I am looking in DC they usually charge you a $600 non-refundable amenity fee for that type of stuff.
MAINTENANCE:
I must admit, I think that maintenance has gotten better the more time has gone by. Actually, I complain quite a bit and they are always come out and get the job done. The last time we put in a request my girlfriend came home and found it wasnt done and it was close to 6:00. Apparently, the girl at the office forgot to give it to maintenance so the guy came right out, after he was supposed to be off of work, and fixed the problem. Now, about the girl that forgot to turn it in, it happens I understand, but the good thing is that they call you for a follow up to see if it was done and if you are ok with it and then you can give your opinion. To be honest, in the requests I have made they usually get turned in right away and are done that day. Like I said, I think that recently the maintenance has gotten better, the guy went above and beyond what he was supposed to do. Lastly, the apartments are still fairly new, as compared to some others on 4th street so its not often you have issues.
We dont get bugs very often but when we do we just call the office and they have the bug guy come to the apartment on thursday (I beleive) and spray. The guy is usually there every week doing the outside of the apartments but you have to tell him if you want him to do the inside, I didnt know that until after I had been living here for a while, so hopefully someone will find that useful.
About the girls in the front office, they are very friendly, it's their job so of course they're going to be. When you call up they get things done and yes on occassion you may get someone new who doesnt really know whats going on but hey that happens everywhere. If you ever have an issue talk to Morgan she has been there forever and knows that place inside and out. Overall, I really havent had an issue, the one time I did (when I first moved in), the lady ended up getting fired.
CRIME:
I have witnessed very little crime in the three plus years I have been there. My girlfriend has actually accidentally left our garage open, a number of times, in which I have a tools and my beloved mtn bike and nothing has happened. There was something recently where a guys boat got stolen. This is pretty strange. He apparently came home from boating and ran inside or something and when he came out he found his boat was gone. I was really shocked when I heard that, who steals a trailered boat? Especially in a short period of time. For those interested in this issue there are flyers up near the mail boxes describing what happened. I also have a friend that lives here and he has also never had a problem with crime or anything. The one time I got kind of freaked out was when someone was banging on my door late at night. I had no idea who it was and it was kinda intense but it went away and I had some friends come over just in case. I dont know who it was or why they did it but it could have been someone coming home from a late night out or something (it was saturday night). That is the only real incident I have had. Oh, I have never seen groups of kids loittering at night or anything like that, for what thats worth. There are alarms in the apartments that you can elect to have activated, but I think thats an extra charge.
Now, about the gates, sometimes they are broke, sometimes they work, but I dont know if it really prevents people from coming in. You can just tail someone in if you really wanted to or hop a fence. If someone wants to get into the coves or any other apartment complex, they are going to get in. I think a lot of other complexes have similar issues with the gates breaking. I dont think the gates should be relied upon as your sole secuity feature. For those concerned with saftey, i would say activiate your alarm and go to home depot and buy an additional lock.
Overall, brighton bay is a very quiet community, just take a jog around the houses in the back of the development and you will see. There are always people jogging and dog walking at many different hours. It is very clean, quiet, and friendly.
I think I have touched on just about everything possible and my conclusion is this. For the money the coves is a very nice apartment complex, I dont think you're are going to find anything better in the area for the money. It is in a very nice location (between tampa and st. pete) and if I were staying in FL would definitely renew my lease.
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From:
Anonymous
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Date:
08/02/2007
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One more comment to add to the one left above - at the time of this posting, there is a picture of the trash bin with trash setting on the breezeway next to it. THIS IS TRUE TO LIFE PEOPLE! THIS IS WHAT YOU SEE AND SMELL WHEN YOU COME HOME, LEAVE FOR WORK, ETC! HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE!
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From:
Anonymous
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Date:
07/24/2008
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To diesel55_1998 The Isles and the Coves are not owned by the same parent company I looked into both places and decided on the Coves been here a year and the only complaint I have is the raccoons. If you have never lived here you can't judge it so unless you know first hand keep your mouth shut cuase you sound like an iddiot.
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