If you're looking for example of how bad management can ruin even the most well planned of locations, look no further.

Miramonte Lodge, formerly known as Kellogg Lake Apartments, is wedged in a valley between Mcloughlin Blvd and Kellogg Lake. The apartments are kept separate from anything else of interest, which keeps people from passing through and in turn keeps crime down. It is a more peaceful place than one would expect considering it is located off a state highway. The location also means that most of the apartments have great views, but the woods around the lake also make the apartments private.

The apartment interiors are less exciting, but decent enough. We lived in two apartments during our stay, one a one-bedroom, the other at two-bedroom. The one-bedroom was great except for the cabinets, which were old and in coming apart in some areas. The second apartment had a lot of issues with the power outlets. Almost every outlet in the apartment was put together too loosely. Outlet covers were coming off, plugs wouldn't stay into the wall, etc. It took maintenance several trips to finally fix everything. The sound proofing on the apartments is good, and the painting and carpet are of decent quality.

But, as stated, the management ruins the whole thing. First, the apartment complex is owned by Holland Residential, a company that owns apartment complexes in multiple states. They have their rules and regulations and they simply do not budge on them. One example is the rent. It is against their policy to reduce it even if the market rate has gone down. This was a factor in our decision to move. Another policy which makes no sense is the "mandatory" charge for cleaning the carpet which is charged to the deposited amount. If this is considered standard, why the extra charge' This was not conveyed at the time the lease was signed.

The biggest problem, however, is maintenance. As mentioned, we had some problems with the power outlets. This took three trips to fix and about 9 trips to the office, as their service requests always seem to get lost. The apartments could use new siding, and the patching job done on the walls from previous tenants wasn't the best. The worst problem, however, is the fitness center. The equipment often breaks and when it does, it takes ages to fix.

The latest example is the elliptical machines. One of them was broken for nearly three months, and the other was broken for a month. We have no idea if they were ever fixed - at the time we moved out, they were still not fixed. We asked the office about them repeatedly and always received an excuse about parts orders being delayed. Of course, it was against corporate policy to refund any rent because of some services being unavailable.

This apartment complex would be great if it had more competent management. As it stands, however, the management is too slow and too inflexible. There is no real sense that they care about the people living there. The folks in the office are very nice, but they never take actual responsibility for problems which occur and are not quick to resolve issues. Until the management issues are resolved, Miramonte lodge will not be a good place to live.

User Responses
From: Anonymous	Date: 09/13/2009
First of all they have to have money in their budget to get items fixed. You must not know how a company is ran. Not many companies can just lower your rent because you want them to. I know other apartments that have charged their residents $300 more a month at time of renewal and you are upset that they wanted to keep your rent at the same rate vs lowering it? What is your complaint? Honestly there rents are normal in this time of day. If you do a search you will find that out. Most people are only telling your their special rates right now and not their market rates.
From: Anonymous	Date: 09/13/2009
Do you think I care if the apartment complex has the money to fix something? It does not matter to me. What matters to me is if I am getting the service that I should for the rent I pay, and I quite simply did not. And don't give me that "You're lucky they didn't raise it" line. Everyone knew the going rate for the apartment I was renting was far lower than $885. It was absurd that no adjustment could be made. But hey, that's corporate policy - and hey, that's part of the reason I'm not living at Miramonte anymore.
From: fitguy	Date: 09/27/2009
I prsently live here at Miramonte Lodge. While I pay a lot less than the person who wrote the review above, $630 it's still too much for what I get. This was a mistake. I'm moving. The apartment is pretty small. It gets no light, zero. It's gloomy and depressing here. The parking is not at all good. If you have a nice car you should forget about this place. Not good. You can't really use a cell phone here, at least not where I am. No reception. You have to have cable because they won't allow you to put a sat. on the roof. So if you don't care for cable you're screwed. Again, on the parking it is tight. The spaces were designed for really tiny cars. You can hardly get out if both parking places next to you are occupied. The pool is really small. So when the weather is nice, it's just packed. They also have a problem with a large number of wild cats living in the parking area. They roam the parking lot at night and climb up on cars and just scratch the heck out of your car. This was a mistake for me. I would suggest that you look around at some other places and pass on this one.

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