I don't think a detailed and drawn out list of each problem we experienced at this apartment complex is particularly helpful. No rental property (and no landlord or employee team) is perfect. Suffice to say, we did have problems. The negative review is a result of the way they were handled.
First, the maintenance crew is in fact wonderful. Each of them is friendly, courteous, and good with children. Moreover, they are fast and efficient when fixing things. The often impossible trick is getting the office staff to actually relay your service request to them. Second, many trusted friends have said positive things about other AMLI properties. I even know and trust one of the maintenance directors at another AMLI complex, and he expressed total bewilderment at the problems I am having at Spring Mill. Bottom line, I believe this place is aberrational, but the problems exist nonetheless.
Essentially, the office staff is sinking this ship. As I understand it, they went for a substantial period of time without a manager and apparently developed downright rotten attitudes during that time. I'm no psychologist, but it seems like any tenant feedback, be it a suggestion or complaint, is interpreted as a challenge to the way they do their job, and since they very clearly believe they do their job perfectly, they don't respond well (or at all) to that feedback. Specifically, they do not return phone calls. Ever. Whether you're attempting to schedule some outside contractor (i.e. the tub re-glazer or the kitchen tile people which AMLI themselves deemed necessary to call because they had not adequately prepared our apartment), report a problem with noise, or even ask about the status of your application, you can be sure that you will receive one of two things. 1) You will be smiled at, assured things are in the works, and then never contacted again or 2) You will be treated to looks, tones, and gestures telling you quite clearly that you are the biggest bother in the world. A number of times I specifically requested the staffer to please call me back, as I like to know when strangers will be in my home, but to no avail. At first I thought it was just me, but then I read the other reviews available and encourage anyone reading this review to do the same.
There was a brief 2 month period where AMLI had hired a new manager where I had some hope. She was (and as far as I know is) wonderful and she bent over backwards to satisfy every request or concern we had. Unfortunately, her staff undermined her efforts at every turn. For example, maintenance did not shovel the only walkway from our building to our cars one time during the winter. We called the office several times asking that it be done. The staffers followed the tried-and-true method of smiling and lying to us before we finally reached the new manager. She discovered the walk was not on the maintenance map and had someone over shoveling within 20 minutes. To make it up to us, she gave us a garage free of charge for the winter. That was wonderful, but when the garage door control was inoperable on a Sunday and we had no other way of getting to our car (there was no side door or handle on the outside of the garage door), the staffer on duty actually argued with us over the need to call the ON-CALL maintenance repair man. The lack of cooperation is so bad that the new manager apparently couldn't handle it either and her last day is this week.
Bottom line: these are nicely constructed apartments with a great maintenance staff. Unfortunately, the link to the customers, the office people, are a poison pill. If I'm going to pay the amounts AMLI charges, and if AMLI is going to hold themselves out as a luxury community, I expect better treatment than this. The other reviews are entirely accurate when they say the office staff is only concerned with bringing in new tenants at the expense of service to existing paying customers (as a matter of fact I was once explicitly told I would have to reschedule an appointment I made to speak with one of them because walk-ins, as potential clients, are more valuable).
One further note: I addressed my concerns to AMLI's regional management twice. The first time they seemed genuinely concerned and told me they were bringing the new manager in specifically because of the problems they were aware of. A second communication with a different executive after her departure, however, indicates the company has done all they are willing to do and would just assume existing tenants make their contractually obligated payments without having to worry about those nagging customer service issues. The staffing problem here at Spring Mill may be a temporary and unusual problem, but the attitude evidenced by the company's management will probably draw it out a lot longer than it otherwise would exist.
I did not post anonymously for a reason. Even short-term leases are hefty expenditures and if I can help someone save money, time, and/or aggravation then I'm happy to do it. Many companies today continue to provide poor quality and/or service because the consuming public allows them to. In an effort to get AMLI to recognize this property's shortcomings, I wholeheartedly do not recommend this property.

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