May07
When the management changed, the complex went downhill.
Beavers are cutting down trees and management is taking months to have the 2ft trunks left behind cut down and removed. (I have photo proof for that.) Ant hills taking over the grounds for months with nothing being done (tenants buying their own ant poison). Grass dying in patches, no maintenance. Only 2 doggie stations (one on each end of the complex is NOT enough).
Shoddy construction: My walls are not straight (obviously leaning by the front door) and the front door is not even. There is a gap at the top where all the AC and Heating leaks out. They added more weather stripping, but you can still see light coming from the hallway and about 1/4 inch of space for the electricity to escape. I was told that the only way to fix it was to remove the door and re-do the frame...uh...still waiting!
Many neighbor's kitchen drawers falling off the hinges, appliance doors coming unhinged and oven doors shattering when closed. VERY shallow kitchen sink (water goes every where) not to mention the water leaking down to the cabinet below. Airconditioner/Heater doesn't turn off immediately when you flip the switch. Heater once stuck in "On" position for 16hrs heating apartment to over 90 degrees (outside temp was 23 and it couldn't cool off apartment enough). Thought I was going to pass out! Then there's the paint on the guard rails...it started peeling after a month...come one now, cheap paint too'' My railing is rusted now.

Management UPPED my rent after neglecting to notify me that my concession had run out. Unknown that rent had risen for nearly two months when I finally got a "courtesy" note that I was $200 in the hole.
They boast "16 inches of insulated foam between walls and floors making noise almost unheard and keeps the electric bills lower" WHAT A CROCK!! I can hear the upstairs neighbor drop a fork and vacuum at 7am, plus music from two apartment away. And my electric bill' It's over $100 a month for the small one bedroom (mind you I don't run the AC or lights anymore) because of the quarter inch gap on the front door frame.
In hallways, you can hear EVERYTHING going on inside an apartment...and I mean EVERYTHING...not good for kids (catch the hint').

BAD communication from management to tenants.
BAD construction.
BAD ground keeping.

NOT WORTH THE HIGH RENT EACH MONTH.

The only nice thing is the lake and the ducks and the jogging trail across the way. The rest of this BRAND NEW complex (not even a year old people) is not worth what they have you pay.

Take heed before you move here. You will regret it after 6mths when it dawns on you how many problems there are here.
And if you have kids, BEWARE of the Pits who are allowed to live there even though the apartment contract PROHIBITS this breed! There has already been one pit who attacked a German Sheperd and another that lept at my dog. Management does nothing!!!

UPDATE: 07Jun07
Privacy fence covering eletric boxes was damaged in a large storm on 31May. On 01Jun they put "Caution" tape around the leaning wall. Now, A WEEK LATER, the "Caution" tape is falling and the wall is leaning more.
Come on People, they put "Caution" tape around it, NOW FIX THE STUPID THING BEFORE IT FALLS ON SOMEONE!!!

UPDATE 2: 24Jul07
Right after this was originally posted, a Pit Bull attacked my dog, injuring her back legs, two steps out the front door. The office crew sounded smpathetic but did nothing. I had to go back in to complain again, still nothing. Funny thing is, the complex Manager had no knowledge (over a month later) that there was an attack nor that Pits were on the premises. The little minions didn't relate the message...

The Privacy fence was fixed about three weeks after the original damage.
The elevator still shorts out when it rains. For over two hours it beeped and opened/closed over and over due to the torental down pour. Then a day later it stopped working all together. (It's working again, but that's cause it dried out, just wait).
They repainted my railing, but not on the outside, so it's still rusting.
They added additional weather stripping to the front door, but it still needs to have the door frame re-leveled to aleviate the seeping of AC/Heat out the front door.
Now the patio door doesn't close fully..thank goodness for the deadbolt that keeps it closed.
The ant hills are pretty much gone and all the tree stumps removed.
Three trees were replaced, wire grates put on the rest of the trees to protect them from the beaver, and 5 bushes have also been replaced.
Lights still a huge problem in the garage. they replace the bulbs, but they go out again a few days later...I'm thinking that's an electical issue like the elevator.

User Responses
From: cmiller1	Date: 06/14/2007
So what r u resident police get a life ... Mandalay is awesome ... You should find something else to do with your time... Have a drink relax.
From: Anonymous	Date: 06/24/2007
I agree with this posting. The trees were finally replaced last week. They were mowed down by the beaver in February/March. I'm guessing after the posting above they moved forward in repairing the privacy fence covering the electric boxes which was repaired approximately 3 weeks after the storm. I agree that their are breeds that are considered dangerous in this apartment complex and when I asked management about this, they blamed the lack of breed control on the previous management. My thought is that I signed the same contract as everyone else and I do not want to be attacked by any of these aggressive breeds especially when the owner can not control them. There is a suspect breed near me and every time I see them, I go the other way because the dog lunges at me. I keep hoping that this luxury apartment complex will do better than the others and be proactive instead of reactive to maintenance. I know the people who bought their own ant poisoning to get rid of the ants after no one would assist. I asked for assistance from maintenance and they came out 2 days later which was acceptable to take care of my ants but actually spoke to main maintenance man and he was very receptive. I did wonder if the people who came in to spray for bugs actually did that because even thoug they left the little note, they didn't check any boxes as to what they actually they did while they were in my apartment. I find this management to be somewhat defensive when questioned about a missing package that somehow was sent to my old address (I moved to Mandalay in January) when someone told the UPS person that I didn't live here anymore even though I had received 2 packages from this company the week before. HHHMMM However, with that said, I did find getting a new garage door opener when the battery died, no problem. To be fair, the current management followed a beloved management team (most of the people around me have mentioned how much they liked them) so the bar is set pretty high for them. They will do well if they continue to provide exceptional customer service for people paying a lot of money to live here.
From: Anonymous	Date: 08/24/2007
Ya know...it is a beautiful community and you do pay a lot for an apartment that isn't exactly "luxury" living, but you have to agree that it is all about location. It is convenient to 114, DFW International, I35 etc. Not everyone will be 100% happy in an apartment (as you can tell by the comments above) but ya know what...get over it. Finish out your lease (that you probably shouldn't have signed to begin with) and buy/rent a house. Then see who'll be complaining when you have to start dishing out money to have these same issues fixed on your own. At least for now, you don't have to pay to get your door re-set, you don't have to pay to have trees replaced, you don't have to pay to get your ant hills removed. Word to the wise...give Mandalay a chance. Sign a 6 mo lease to start see how you like it and move if you don't. Simple.
From: Anonymous	Date: 01/16/2008
cmiller1 -- you idiot, posting reviews about your apartment living experience is WHAT THIS WEBSITE IS FOR!!! What a dumbass!! And if you didn't believe that, what the f*ck are you doing reading this and having the nerve to reply with such a stupid response! YOU go have a drink and chill, friggin' alki!!
From: Anonymous	Date: 01/21/2008
I will have to agree with Anonymous with these postings. Apparently, there is a breakdown of communication when one resorts to using profanity - well, at least trying to conceal it in within these postings. Therefore, I'm led to believe CMiller is the one who is in need of a drink since they (CMiller) are the one who keeps referencing back to it. ;) How childish - are we not all mature adults who want only the best for our living environment and really get what we expect to receive as far as luxury goes? Simple courtesy to say the least will go a long way with most. Resort/luxury living, this place is definitely not. It's a nice enough community and there are a few things that were put into place as far as the special touches that were constructed within each of the apartments. However, they still have quite a ways to go as far as "luxury" goes. Sorry, but marblelized tile flooring in the form of linoleum is NOT luxurious. Especially when it peels up during the warmer months in Texas. The insulation between units are not the greatest either. When you are able to hear your neighors snoring or being awaken by the Christian network on Sunday mornings, something's not quite right. There are more intimate incidents that I've heard around there, but let's be respectful of other people's business. For the most part, I'm happy that I'm no longer living at this location and am much happier now where I am at. The stress and rudeness received from the new management was enough for me to pack up and go. Everything changed upon the departure of the original management TEAM. They were greatly missed. When my lease came to an end, I was appalled to hear that my lease agreement had doubled due to market value (which they could not provide the proper documentations to prove it) and that I had a "water view". No, no - when I originally moved there my unit was NOT considered water view due to the fact that it sat right next to the pump and boat house. My view did have a little of a water/building view. However, that is now going to be blocked by the new apartment community going up next door. Yes, the trees that the beavers cut down were part of the community appeal, and yet the apartment personnel didn't seem to see an urgency in rectifying the matter in a timely fashion. Also, why are the neighbors below putting golf balls at night trying to hit the chirping birds who were there prior to them moving in? Now, ask yourselves??? why do we pay rent again? To say the least, the level of professionalism was not there - from screaming, argumentative matches with unnamed personnel and lack of communication from them, unfair treatment/preferential of residents, to dropping the ball and not taking responsibilities for the events that followed upon their arrival. Bottom line is, had they stepped up to the plate from the get-go and made the residents aware of the changes going on in and around the community, I feel that would have made an enourmous difference in people's perspective. It would be safe to say that there are a several others who echo this sentiment as well. Luxury living at Manday on the Lake, it is not. So please beware and really do your homework and check with the proper channels before signing on the dotted line.
From: Anonymous	Date: 03/31/2008
From the responses above and the addition of a new post on The Mandalay, it doesn't seem to have gotten any better but rather worse. Such a sad sad thing too. It was BEAUTIFUL when they first opened and there was nothing bad about the place...but like any apartment, over time and with changes of management things deteriorate. I'm glad I moved out when I did.

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