I lived here as a student and the apartment and the townhouse I lived in were much more spacious and nicer than anything you could find in Collegetown. It is a little bit further away, though, so be prepared to take a bus to campus. The buses come at least every half hour, which was fine for me. But I know people who came to Ithaca from larger cities, and they were frustrated. It is right near a grocery store, so that is great. Occasionally you could hear your neighbors music. However, this is a college town--people will be noisy. And, it is a pretty quiet area compared to others.
I will agree, though, that they do charge a lot when you move out. The management changed while I was there, and the new management was very strict about cleaning the place. She had me use harsh professional cleaning chemicals (that I ended up burning myself on) and then still charged me cause apparently some minor dust accumulated during the week between when I cleaned and when she inspected.
Overall? I would still live there. However, I would be prepared to not get all of your security deposit back. And, don't even bother trying to get it all clean.