I've lived here for 3 years. The first year I was very happy, the second year new mgmt took over (is when Valle Grande changed names to Spain Gardens) and pretty quickly the majority of tenants, including me, had a list of complaints. This third year I see things improving again.

During the crummy year, alot of "upgrading" was done -- started with painting all the buildings and phased into taking away our individual apt. storage units & turning them into laundry rooms. The promised timeline for completing this was a disaster, but eventually it was done and all the hassle & inconvenience ended. I still miss the storage space but, I must admit, I do like having my own washer/dryer and not having to adhere to laundry room hours. Of course with this there was an increase in rent.

In every complex you luck out if you have good neighbors. One thing I like is, in the building where I live, it's an 8-plex but I'm only really affected by the 3 other families on my side of the building (2 upstairs, 2 downstairs apts.) The "bad" neighbor moved out last year & now we all, although varied in demographics, get along pretty well. If there's an issue with noise or trash we talk among ourselves & the issue gets solved. The layout of the '500' unit complex is really well-designed; you don't feel crowded.

As mentioned in other posts, parking is never an issue here. In the last half year or so it seems the staff have gained better customer service skills & they've handled my requests satisfactorily. I still like the large bedrooms & generous closet space, wide hallways, and the layout of the apt. The landscaping is nice -- and when freezes don't destroy the blossoms the springtime wisteria display on the tennis court's fence is breathtaking. I think the maintenance crew has always been & remains outstanding. The third year here is encouraging me to think living here was a good choice -- that last year's complaints were heard and are being responded to.

Some improvements are still needed.
--We have a security gate but it's a joke -- no one mans it, the exit gate is always closed (and correctly opens automatically when a car approaches it) but the entrance gate is always open, even at 3 a.m. (The first year security guards were in the "office" at night and the entrance gate remained shut until opened by the passcard. Was much more secure).
--The tennis courts have been in need of repair as long as I've lived here.
--The painting still hasn't been done inside most apts. to cover the plumbing work associated with the washer/dryer installs last year
--I'm hoping the "new" mgmt. learned a lesson last year that tenants became quickly unhappy when mandates came down from on high without any consideration for keeping good tenants happy and good office staff happy. Examples: turned storage units to laundry units pretty much whether we wanted it or not, established lousy hours for pool/weight-room availability, had slow reponse to individual maintenance issues because staff were devoted to higher priority work, had not very happy (and therefore not friendly) office staff learning to adhere to new rules/hours.
--Recently I got a notice to clear non-patio furniture items off my porch -- I talked to the office and said that sucked because I have stands on which flower pots will hold flowers again, and I sure don't have a storage space to put stuff in now. I haven't heard anything further so I'm hoping that conversation took care of that issue. We'll see.
--I've heard other tenants gripe about pet poop problems (yes, for a fee, we can have pets here. Even BIG dogs.) I haven't much encountered this, but my feeling is if you know who is causing the problem, either talk to the pet's owner or report it to the office.

Last year I would have recommended friends NOT consider renting here. This year I'm pretty much back to recommending tenancy here. If the rent gets increased again though it's going to be pricing many, and maybe me, from living here.
This whole post is much longer than I expected to write. Bottom line: it's worth your time to check out what Spain Gardens has to offer.

User Responses
From: Anonymous	Date: 04/05/2009
Thank you so much for posting a sensible review! My fiance are apartment shopping right now and are considering Spain Gardens. Thanks so much for giving both the positive and negative aspects, it really helps to see both sides!
From: Anonymous	Date: 10/03/2009
While I agree with you on the beauty of the landscaping and the wonderful size of the apartments, I highly disagree with the staff. They have always been rude to me, Threatened to evict me over $1.49 (Which, I might add, is technically impossible). I have lived here a year and have been apartment searching for six months of that year. The gate is, as you stated, a terrible joke. Maintenance is never timely, nor is it knowledgable. I had a leak on my water heater that they fixed a week later- with my gas off for that week- then when the gas company came to turn it all back on, they told me the new part was installed incorrectly, and had they not one the safety check, we all would have gone up in flames. I made a noise complaint to management about the woman upstairs, they said sorry nothing we can do if she vacuums for two hours every morning at 7AM or for and hour after 11PM! Not to even mention the hottub that hasn't worked since before I lived here, and has continued unattended for another summer season. I ask on member of management whats going on, "We're ordering a part for it." i asked another, the only one in the office I like and respect he states: "It hasn't worked for a long time, it's something with the foundation. The owners aren't doing anything about it. They don't plan on doing anything with it." Thanks for the honesty. I agree with another review I've read that Robin is lazy, rude and an extreme liability to this company. I do NOT recommend living here, as I tell every person that I see outside the office.

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