I lived at Villa Marina for almost 2 years while my girlfriend attended UTMB. It wasn't a horrible experience overall, but we did have one particular nightmare with maintenance that soured our time there quite a bit. The A/C leaked, mold grew in the ceiling...and the maintenance guy came over and SPRAY PAINTED OVER IT. WTF' It eventually got done properly, but we had to pester the office staff, who were in denial, constantly. Ridiculous.

That said, that nightmare wasn't experienced everyday we were there. Simply put, the place is OK at best when you have realistic expections. It's an older place on the East End that caters to students and lower income people, so don't expect any degree of luxury. We didn't, and those realistic expectations may have helped us cope. Expect the place to be small, stuffy, cockroach-ridden, and far way from anything towards the West End (like Kroger, Wal-Mart, 61st St). Expect it to be marginally safe. It's not the best neighborhood, but it's not the worst area in Galveston either - and there are some GHETTO parts of town. I never felt extremely threatened here, but my gf may have felt a little scared a couple of times, so it's best to use common sense.

All that said, Villa Marina deserves props for being all bills paid (including basic cable) and close to downtown and UTMB. They also offer a small discount for UTMB students. I won't miss Galveston or Villa Marina, but there are worse places to have been.

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