My husband and I rented here from August 2014-September 2016. We stayed in the Del Rey floor plan…read more2/2 with the oversized balcony.
Pros:
1. Watermark is gorgeous. Ponds, well-maintained lawns and shrubbery, clean pool area and restrooms, etc. It's a new complex and they really do a nice job taking care of it.
2. The amenities are very nice. We are not swimmers but the pool seemed nice and clean and we loved the workout facility (yes, it doesn't have barbells, but what apt complex does? Major liability.)
3. Great maintenance staff. We probably had 10 requests within the two years ranging from removing a small amount of mold (they were wonderful) to replacing the light in the dryer. Larry was especially friendly and helpful.
4. The apartments themselves are large and luxurious. I loved the stainless steel appliances, curved shower curtain rod, horizontal blinds, large balcony, huge bathroom with his and hers sinks, etc. I have just 2 small complaints about the apartment itself and that is the small size of the dishwasher and the non-granite bathroom counters. These are small issues, but for what we paid to rent here I would have loved to see those upgraded.
5. Lots of CARES events. We are admittedly not very social and didn't participate, but the team makes an effort to have events at least once a month to engage the community.
6. Parking was never difficult to find near building 8 but I can't speak for the complex as a whole since each building's lots were laid out differently. However, we always had tons of boats in the back of the parking lot that made parking on randomly busy evenings a bit of a pain, but not impossible.
7. There's a cute playground on the grounds! I took my nephew and it was nice and clean.
8. There's a very convenient car wash (aka vacuums and hoses) but building 11 that I used frequently
9. Dais internet is the absolute best you'll get in Florida. Although not Watermark related, it's worth mentioning. I now live on the other side of Lake Nona in my Brighthouse internet nightmare.
Cons:
1. Huge light outside our bedroom window that was on 24/7 - literally an exterior light hanging right above the window. We are low maintenance sleepers, but I can't imagine someone who is sensitive to light while sleeping living there
2. No security to the complex. Anyone can just drive in and walk up to your door/car/garage. This is especially distressing considering the complex is easily viewed - and advertised - from the highway. There were multiple car break-ins while we lived there, and I had all 4 of my hubcaps stolen off of my Mazda3 in the parking lot outside building 8 on a weeknight.
3. Your neighbors will make or break your experience. We lived on the second floor of an end unit (only 2 floors in that section), and we went through 3 sets of neighbors during our time there. 2 neighbors were completely fine, but the other one swore up and down that we dropped things on the floor through all hours of the night when that just wasn't the case. They made multiple noise complaints against us, sometimes calling the courtesy offer FIVE times within one night to complain. We work and are asleep during the times they complained, so it was very distressing to us to get called repeatedly by management over this. We are not sure if there were HVAC issues, noise from an adjacent apartment, or what... but it was definitely not us and the stress of that situation made those few months with those neighbors absolutely miserable.
4. I went to the dog park once and it was full of feces. I realize this was the fault of rude owners, but it was gross nonetheless. I never went back.
5. The trash service was obnoxious. $25/mo, mandatory enrollment, and pickups are only Sunday-Thursday. We wouldn't fill up a trash can until Friday night and then we'd have to walk far to the single trash compactor onsite to dispose of it ourselves. The times were also inconsistent; sometimes we'd hear our trash can banging around outside our door after 11pm on weeknights.
