I have lived in the Colonade for almost one year now. This was the biggest mistake of my life.
I was fooled by the tour and the promises of remodeling and the fancy view of center city. Honestly, my apartment itself is pretty nice. We have a 3 bedroom and it's spacious and comfortable for the most part. That is where the positive ends.
Heating/Air conditioning:
This is my biggest pet peeve here. The air conditioning is so unreliable. Our first month here was awful. The air conditioning was broken and at one point it caught fire and we had to leave the building. And being on the 11th floor, there is no breeze coming in. We would just sit here and sweat. It was horrible.
The heat works... only too well. We have left our windows open for the entire winter. If we didnt we would sweat to death. It is soo ungodly hot in here, but I suppose that's better than no heat at all.
The Parking Lot:
The parking lot is a joke here. It is falling apart. There are metal beams sticking out of the concrete, potholes that are 3 feet in diameter and not enough spaces. I don't pay for a covered spot, instead I stalk the parking lot for anything I can find. Sometimes it takes 15 minutes to go down each row and then have to drive backwards to get out of the aisle. I hate how people make up their own spots and make it impossible to get by, but I can't exactly blame them because there isn't enough parking for everyone that lives here. Also the lights in the parking lot go out when you walk by it.. should't it be the other way around' The lot is so dark, I basically run to the building if I am alone.
Fire Alarms:
The fire alarms go off at least 3 times a month, sometimes more. The first time I heard it, I panicked and ran down the 11 flights. I found it odd that not one other person on my floor left their apartment. I later realized why. The alarm goes off all the time. I now call the front desk when it happens and ask if it's real.. depending on the person working, depends on the answer. One time it was "water dripping on the alarm" and another "I don't know how to turn it off." It's pretty sad when no one responds to the alarm cause there are so many false alarms. One day that's going to be a real tragedy.
The Murder at the Colonade:
I understand it was an isolated incident, but what baffles my mind is that no one noticed a body being dragged down 9 flights of stairs... Really though, I shouldnt be too surprised being that I have caught one of the front desk ladies sound asleep on more than one ocassion. No one even heard the chain saw!! Just mind boggling.
Maintenance:
Our ceiling was dripping water.. we took it upon ourselves to trouble our neighbors that lived above us to see if maybe their air conditioner was leaking. They checked it and everything was fine. So we called the office and left a message because they never answer their phone. It look 3 calls to get them to come out. And when they did come, all they did was paint over it. We complained again about it and about what looked like mold growing on the wall.. and they came again, and spackled over it. To this day, they have not repainted those spots. The man who was working on it said they didn't get paid yet to buy the paint. I guess they still haven't.
Hot water:
Some days we go without hot water. Enough said.
The Elevators:
My roommate got stuck in one of the elevators. The shaky one thats closest to the desk. She called me and thankfully for her I was home and walked down the 11 flights to let the front desk know so they could help (none of the emergency buttons were working in the elevator). I got shushed and told to step aside so another tenant could sign for a package. MY ROOMATE WAS STUCK ON AN ELEVATOR BETWEEN THE 10TH and 11TH FLOOR! I think that is more important than chatting up the lady signing for her package. Somedays only 1 of the 3 elevators works which is pretty interesting in the morning when everyone is trying to leave for work and at the end of the day when everyone gets home. Ridiculous. Those elevators are death traps.
_______________________________________________________________
We are "lucky" that we havent had any mice or bugs. But I think it's pretty obvious that I wouldn't recommend this place to my worst enemy.
DO NOT RENT HERE

User Responses
From: kaymilla21	Date: 05/14/2009
Definitely agree! I they called me this morning asking if there was an issue because of my harsh review, but honestly; this place sucks! I live on the 12th floor, and I only been here for 5 months, and the alarm went off 8 times. horrid!

Your thoughts? Post a response to this review. Display my response: with my username anonymously Responses appear below reviews and one response per user is permitted.

   Free estimates on moving trucks      Find apartment share/roommates