I don't if management has changed, or is just getting lazier, but I feel that Riverlodge is declining in quality. A few pet peeves are normal with any complex, but when you get past a dozen, there's something to your concerns. Among mine:
1) The noise. This used to be a quiet complex where noise complaints were few and and far between, and were handled appropriately by management. This is no longer the case with Riverlodge. When neighbors in a nearby building decided to have loud parties two weekends in a row (that lasted until 3:00am)we called the "courtesy patrol" which, according to management, is supposed to handle such things. The courtesy patrol neither showed up nor even bothered to call us back to tell us to call the police. Another persistent problem for us has been our neighbor below, who likes to crank up the stereo and listen to Eurotrance music. Having called at least half a dozen times about her, we were ignored all but two times and on those occasions they showed up an hour and a half after the call (by which point the music was finally off). There are also people in the complex who apparently believe that the best place to watch TV and play the piano is in their open garage. Long story short, I would not believe anything management tells you about the "courtesy patrol." Their response is completely hit-or-miss, and lately has been entirely "miss" for us.
2) The parking. I'd be generous if I called the parking situation awful. All parking spots near our building are consistently gone by 6:00pm on any given weekday. This causes convenience and safety issues, since it means we will have to park in front of someone else's building and walk a long distance. This is not much fun under normal circumstances and is even worse after a trip to the store. There's nothing quite like making five trips to your car when it's literally parked several minutes away. Needless to say, this is a bigger problem when it's hot, cold, or raining. The fact that the complex created a boat parking area right next to our building makes things a thousand times worse. Parking has gotten worse over time. It used to be less congested. On a related note, the access gates seem to be inoperative half the time. We had to go through four sets of key fobs before getting one that actually opened them.
3) the dust and the sprinklers. Never-ending construction in the vicinity of the complex creates a very dirty environment, and wreaks havoc with clean cars. This is made worse by the fact that the lawn sprinklers in the complex are apparently all designed to water down the cars in addition to the grass. The combination of water and dirt makes a mess of your car. If you feel like spending quite a bit of extra money, you might be able to get a garage. However, in our case, the closest available garage was literally on the other side of the complex (probably 1/2 mile away). Needless to say, we weren't able to rent one.
4) The children. As a grad student, I'm particularly sensitive to ongoing noise issues. It's hard to study or work in a noisy environment. Children running around, screaming, and "driving" their toy cars makes a lot of noise. Noise that would get adults kicked out of a complex is openly tolerated here, and is extreme. There's nothing like sitting down to work or study and hearing the stomping and screaming of children who have obviously been told by their parents to take their noise outside. This is a child-friendly complex. In order for it to be child-friendly, those without children have to suffer. If you fall into this group, I would strongly suggest looking elsewhere.
5) The pools. They're small, not particularly clean, and are overrun by children in the summer (see 4). You can't expect a great deal from apartment swimming pools but I think Riverlodge's are below average in terms of size, appeal, cleanliness, and privacy. The southernmost pool has a nice view, but that's about all it has going for it.
6) There are maintenance issues here. The maintenance crew has been out five times to fix our toilet. It still doesn't work. We reported a problem with our refrigerator, and have been waiting a business week for them to repair it. This complex is not aging particularly well, and with time, service has gotten worse, not better.
7) The trash system. In theory, their system sounds novel. You leave your trash out at the curb on the designated trash days, and the complex takes care of it. Realistically, it's not a great situation. If you have stinky trash to get rid of on a non-trash day (i.e. a weekend), you have to hike around the complex to find the trash compactor. Once you find it, it's probably still a long haul. The trash is also supposed to be picked up in the morning. Due to the fact that everyone's trash is picked up on the same days, it takes forever for it to be completed. The result: on trash days, you can expect to dodge everyone's trash and beer cans on the way to your car. It also stinks and is an eyesore. It would much more practical and convenient to drop the 3-day-a-week pickup system and just have dumpsters strategically located throughout the complex.
8) Shopping is a hassle. The remoteness of this complex has (in theory, anyway) its advantages, and is a motivating factor for many residents, but if you keep a relatively late schedule the fact that most nearby stores close by 11:00pm can be a problem. During regular hours, the closest stores are a dangerous left turn on FM 2222 away.
9) Management posts every conceivable kind of notice on the outside of the door, rather than spending 40 cents to mail it. This is another safety issue, particularly if you spend much of your time out-of-town. Something will probably be stuck onto your door and serve as a notice to the world (and would be burglars) that you're not home to remove it. We've had people turn our doorknob at least three times while living here, and each of those times there was something stuck on the door. I doubt it was a coincidence.

Among families/occupants with no children, I've noticed a fairly heavy turnover rate. The apartment across the hall from ours has been occupied by three sets of residents in a year and a half. Others nearby have also seen several changes of occupants. The only units that haven't lost renters are corporate units where the residents are gone for weeks at a time. I was specifically attracted to this complex because of its apartmentratings.com ratings and reviews. When we moved in, the experience jibed with the reviews. Since then, it's become a much less pleasant place to live.

User Responses
From: Anonymous	Date: 03/03/2008
I completely agree with this. When I moved in 1.5 yrs ago, it was wonderful. It was incredibly quiet, no kids, plently of parking and management was responsive. Now it's overrun with kids, who apparently have parents that don't care what the kids do or where they go. I used to love having my patio door open but I now refuse to because there's screaming kids, sounds of bikes and skateboards, etc. Not to metion, I came home a few weeks ago and had to lay on my horn because two boys had some sort of metal wire strung across the front gate and they refused to move until they saw I wasn't going to drive through it. My lease is due up in October and I'm pretty sure that I will be leaving. I also had a problem with black mold in my vents and it took them three days to resolve this issue which I had to stay on top of. VERY frustrating and dangerous. Oh, and after reading these reviews you still decide to move in, be sure they install new carpet. They only steam-cleaned my carpet and apparently I'm allergic to the chemicals so I can't lay or sit on it without breaking into hives. FUN FUN! I've become so dissapointed in this place :(
From: Anonymous	Date: 03/05/2008
I have lived in the community for a year and I LOVE Riverlodge. It is a great community. 1.) Noise...what noise are you talking about? It's a nature preserve!! As for you loud music neighbors, call the office with the apartment number that is doing it and they will get a violation which will lead to an eviction it it continues! 2.) Obviously you live in building 11 or 16 since you are next to the boat parking. Maybe if you weren't so cheap and would spend $25 dollars to get a carport you wouldn't have to worry about that not to mention that you took that apt seeing that it didn't have a lot of spaces in that area! Idiot!!! 3)Dirt is not a problem, because there hasn't been any construction since that elementary school was finished building in July...and as far as the sprinklers I am sure you would be complaining if your grass was brown!! Don't park your car in front one if its that big of a deal. What do you do when it rains? I mean do you post reviews to God about your car getting dirty from the rain??? I think not!!! 4.) Well as far as children....I pray that you don't have one! If noise is such a problem then why did you move to an apartment community? BUY A HOUSE!!!!! It's something that you will find in EVERY apartment community. Maybe you need to live in a Senior Citizen Community. 5.) Ah...the pools. Well lets see...I take my dog on a walk every morning and what do I see when I walk by??? A nice maintenance guy cleaning the pool. I see him M-F doing this every morning about 9:30ish...so I would have to say the pools are sparkling clean unless you swim after a huge wind then you will find leaves since we live in the preserve. 6.) All my service request get fixed within a day or two and the apartments are wonderful! Try driving down Oltorf and compare your apt to theirs! 7.)The trash subject. I too agree it would be better if they stopped trash pick up because all these lazy ass residents who can't take their nasty trash to the dumpster during the weekend is really annoying, but as far as searching out the community for the dumpster...um its called getting a map from the office or calling them and asking. I mean you have lived here for 2 years so I wouldn't think you would have a problem remembering that since your a GRAD STUDENT and all! 8.) Well really who's fault is it for picking a place that isn't in the middle of a shopping mall!!! YOU!!! Malls, shopping, food, groceries and movies are all within a 10 mile radius. Get a map! As for turning left, it is dangerous so that's why there is access to the back gate. You go out it and turn be hind the Riverplace shopping center and oh my gosh....what do you know? You end up on Riverplace Blvd which has a protected light! 9.) Well when you go out of town for days at a time it would probably be smart and call the office to let them know that you are out of town and to not put things on the door. I go out of town and tell the office that I will check back in when i get home to see if there is anything that I need that would have been put on my door. (Common Sense GRAD STUDENT!) And I do think it was a coincidence! Your just hearing things. As far as people moving out...its a common thing in the world. Lifestyle changes are quite common here in the U.S.!! This is a wonderful community despite what this person thinks!
From: Anonymous	Date: 03/07/2008
I agree with you k-horn, the response to your rant(which I completely agree with everything that you said) this is probally a someone who works in the office. I have freinds that manage competing complexs and she said that they read this page often and almost always reply to people bitching. I lived hered for 2 years and it was the most miserable 2 years of my life. Moving on
From: Anonymous	Date: 03/08/2008
I think whoever appreciates this apartment complex must be from the management. I am staying here from past one year and I really didn't like it. My lease is expiring in august and iam sure to move out.Anyone is moving in , please make sure you do a lot of research.
From: lucdol	Date: 03/21/2008
Since I moved in to the RiverLodge everything has been just fine? If I see trash that has spilled over I pick it up, no problem? The kids? Just tell them to be quiet and go away they will. The parking? You will always have th eproblem no matter where you go unless you have a reserved spot or a garage so if you complain it's only because you want to. Everyone needs to park and some people just get home earlier than others. If people are turning your doorknob that does sound a little freaky and scary make sure to keep the door locked as you should at all times. Have you tried knocking on your neighboors door with the loud music and asking if the music could be turned down? I hear those people partying and talking loud outside early in the morning and believe me I open my patio door and tell them to "knock it off!" and they do. Management can't be everywhere. remember we live here and we need to watch out for us. I watch out for us and it weould be good if we all did the same thing. If you don't like the pools, the lake is right down the street :>). Don't let anyone or the little things steal your joy okay. Sincerely, Juice Apt 2013.
From: k-horn	Date: 03/27/2008
Look, it's a review of our experience in our unit at Riverlodge. Some things in it will apply the complex itself, some to our unit, and some to our building. Preferences were expressed. Too bad you don't agree with them. Some people might, and they can take the review for what it's worth. Prospective tenants can check most of this out for themselves, and I would invite them to. It beats trying to explain away someone else's observations, which is about all I've seen so far from the Riverlodge cheerleading crew. Incidentally, who said anything about the nearest parking spot being a half mile away? That was a reference to a PARKING GARAGE -- you know, the thing with the door that goes up and down? You also misunderstood the trash comments. Part of the point of this site is to make people aware of potential problems with a complex. It's kind of sad that you can't do that without the sunshine pumpers turning out en masse. Caveat emptor, etc.
From: Anonymous	Date: 05/05/2008
I have lived in this complex for 3.5 years and I agree completely with the original review. Luckily for me, my lease is up very very soon and I already have a house. My Peeves: 1. Noise. I had an upstairs neighbor (I live on 1st floor) that had a small child that would run back and fourth from kitchen to bedroom from 630am-930pm every single day. I dealt with it (thinking, hey, im in an apartment, thats what I get) for almost a year. I finally started banging a hockey stick against the ceiling each time the kid would run. After a few days of doing so, an agitated "meat-head" came down and tole ME to knock it off! He said he had a 2 year old and I needed to deal with that. I called the "courtesy patrol" on several occasions and never once got a call back or visit. Happily, the meat-head and his fat, nasty wife and ADHD child moved out shortly thereafter. It was peace for a few weeks while the unit was not occupied, but then it started again with some new frat-boys that moved in. Again, thank god I have a house now. I have been happily paying double rent (House/Apt) for the last month. 2. Trash. The trash situation is dire. I am lucky enough to live within walking distance to the ONE dumpster this large community has. Problem is, its always chalk-full with stuff all over the place outside and around the compactor. It might help if they actually compacted it once in awhile. I have resorted lately to just throwing my stuff near the dumpster and calling it good. They dont seem to care how nasty it is, so neither do I anymore. 3. Service Requests. The service crew used to be great. The would fix my simple problems the same day as I reported. Then, about a year ago, it went south. My A/C stopped working 3 times in 3 weeks, in the middle of the summer. Once, it took them a week to fix it because they "lost" my request. 90 degrees is not fun to sleep in. I actually slept at my office one night because it was so bad. I also have a perpetual sink drain problem. They "fix" it, and it works for a couple weeks, then comes back. Irritating. Oh yeah, I have a window that has leaked since day one. I have asked them to fix it 5 times and they always say they do but it still leaks everytime it rains. 4. Parking. I dont have a problem because I have a garage, but, on many occasions I have come out to go to work and there have been people parked behind my garage, making it impossible to get my car out. I have reported the cars, and even had a few towed, but the problem persists. My car did get keyed at this complex, likely from one of the losers that parked behind me and got towed. 5. Insects. Yes, supposedly these apartments are on a nature preserve, I get it. But should my apartment get 5-10 rollie polies coming in every single night? I have to vaccum almost daily. Management said, "sorry, this is a preserve". Wow. Thanks. Every once in awhile, I get a note on my door saying the pest control people will be coming in to spray insecticide. I noted my rollie problem every time and nothing has changed. I dont even think those people do anything but come in and put a piece of paper on your stove. I have never once seen a difference in bugs, or seen any kind of spray/bait residue, nor have I had a response to my well-atriculated notes about the rollies. The only good thing I can say about this complex is that there are no speed bumps. My finace lived in a very much nicer (and cheaper) complex but the fact I had to go over 8 speed bumps to get to her unit drove me insane. I dont drive a hummer, so I actually have to slow down to go over them. In conclusion, I would not recommend this complex to my worst enemy. 3.5 years ago it was the place to live. Its gone down the proverbial crapper every since. They tried to raise my rent each year to boot! So happy to be out of there and in a house.

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