Best community to live in six swimming pools great staff in the office some of the nicest most respectful people every time I go to the office they are the most pleasant men and women and help out with anything you may need read more

Would give it lower if I could. I just moved and am grateful to be out of the Oaks at Colony Cove. The neighbors were nice and the only positive. The management is terrible and the office staff is rude and disrespectful. There are other nice areas in this part of Florida, Avoid this one! read more

Colony Cove in Ellenton used to be a beautiful "Mobile Home Community ", since ELS bought it, it's been turned into a trailer park. Before ELS bought this park it was a GREAT park for seniors....Been here 17 years. People's boats have been vandalized, management doesn't care. Speeders in the park, stop sign runners and a lot of theft. At one time there was a great Home owners assoc. that worked very hard working with management for the home owners and then it was taken over by people that appeared that they didn't care about what was taking place in the park. What ever you do DON'T MOVE HERE!!!! There are so many other beautiful and well managed parks for you to consider moving into!! read more

The management is the worst I have worked with in my 65 years. Had severe damage due to hurricane Ian and FEMA would not cover the cost. I just started my repairs and get a notice I have 7 days to complete which is impossible for anyone. Now they say I have 30 day to get out of my home. read more

They claim to do lawn care, but they don't even cut the grass regularly. They are unfriendly, and hidden costs that come out of nowhere. At times the trash doesn't get picked up. Further, be careful of the autopay service they use which plays some rather strange financing. Every time I turn around there are hidden charges. Their security service is driving some old worn vehicles. I have not seen security for some time. When a hurricane shows up they are the first ones to get out dodge. Furthermore, every time I turn around the water is off and we are on boiled water precaution. Sometimes they even let us know by placing a sign at the entrance which you couldn't see unless you went somewhere, and they always blame FPL for the outage. read more

Colony Cove in Ellenton, FL should be reported to the BBB. I live in another community right next to them, and they do NOT charge $800 to over $1,000 a MONTH for the HOA fees! No wonder why people are dying to sell their homes for 25k fully furnished! I pay $100 a month for my HOA and that includes FREE CABLE, garbage, grass cutting, pools, etc. Don't walk away from them, RUN FOR YOUR LIFE because you'll be paying for the rest of your life until you die since they RAPE you with these outrageous fees! read more

Please do not move here! It's not quiet or peaceful They do not respect veterans, medical workers or elderly Lot rent is too high for the normal elderly on social security Security is not here to protect you but to harass you enforcing their ridiculous rules; and they do not respect elderly or anyone that lives here read more

So glad to be moving from this place. The HOA is horrible! The water press is horrible or there is no water at all. The houses and people smell like ash trays and all the old people do is ride around in their golf carts on their fat butts with their fat dogs smoking like chimneys. Houses are small and the roads flood during prolonged rain. Not a good place for people that want to enjoy life and stay healthy. Not to mention how the HOA raises their fees by astronomical amounts. STAY AWAY! read more

I sure would like to know why I paid 100.00 for a persons application to get blown off woth no response for over 2 weeks? Doesn't look good does it? read more

This development is lovely. Unfortunately some people like to complain and that is very unfortunate. The amenities are wonderful, and I truly do not understand why there would be any negative reviews on this park. Clean pools, fantastic exercise facilities, a dog park and it's just comfortable. Homey. We lived in another ELS property prior to moving here, and came here with a level of expectation that was already high. Colony Cove just raises the mark. I'm impressed and very happy to be here. read more

The problem here is HOW the office enforces their rules. They allow security to put big orange stickers on government officials/medical workers car windows. They tell people this is a quiet peaceful place; but it's far from quiet or peaceful. Some neighbors are allowed to play loud music and park on their side yard all day and night; while others can't even have visitors park out front without being harassed by security. My husbands nurse got a big orange sticker on her drivers door window; and it took her awhile to scrape it all off her window "How Rude" Why didn't the security just knock on the door; or put a little sticker? I complained to the office; and all they said was "It's The Rules" lol Okay! So; now my husbands nurse, doctors, dietician and others will tell everyone "not to move to colony cove" Colony Cove is the worst place I've ever lived!! I had to pay $60./month for several years to park my van in the RV lot; and now I watch a neighbor park his big truck in his side yard. Why wasn't I able to park in my side yard? Because security has their favorites; and harass everyone else; and the office doesn't care how security treats old people who can barely survive on ssi. Now they allow kids in their 30s to live here; constantly slamming their doors cause they go to work day and night. read more

This place is age restricted but if they like you you can let your grandchildren stay for months. The rent goes up every year. We are not on the water and ours this year is $724/month. We get so called lawn maintenance and water for this and "security " . Now they are sticking new units in everywhere and turn off the water regularly. The other night we had to call the police and security as the granddaughter was getting beaten up. Our neighbor operates a car, lawnmower repair place in his yard. We complained 2 years ago and he threatened us. His granddaughter now hangs with some people who could easily be drug dealers. Perhaps there are better locations in the park but read google reviews people. We are not the only people complaining. read more

4 times this year water has been turned off. 4 TIMES!!! And no notice was given to my parents yet again! Notify ALL of your residents when you do something! Water broke again? Then perhaps you need to do something to properly fix it! But they won't give their residents (probably their favorites they will) any kind of monthly rent off for this this so many times now! Lot rent keeps going up because they keep screwing up and causing more damages! STAY FAR AWAY FROM THIS PLACE! read more

My grandparents live here. They seem to love it. The main pool just got redone, it seriously looks like it could belong at a resort. The houses are cute and well kept up. There are lots of rules, so the place does not get rowdy. It's kinda annoying how guests have to where brackets in the pool, but I understand. The people who live here can be very nice, or not so nice. Just depends. A lot of the residents drive way to fast in their golf carts and cars, so watch out for that. I highly recommend this place for your parents/grandparents. Safe and clean read more

They charge very high lot rents because they say their the best, yet they have not mowed grass in over 21 days. If you try and post something about it on their facebook site the office will not post it. read more

Very clean area. Yards are not mowed as much as they should be. God forbid you forget to put your car in the driveway at night. You will get a warning by the security guards. It doesn't cost anything though. Lot rent is pretty high and has gone up twice in the little over a year I have been here. Office people are crabby. Neighbors are really nice and we help each other out when necessary. I have used the loan closet and the library and find both very helpful. Love the big pool. They should have one for visiting grandkids though. I feel bad when mine visit because I don't let them play as hard as they should be playing! read more

My wife and I used to live in Colony Cove 3-4 years ago. We tried to buy again, just 2 months ago, and paid another $100 for a background check. 2 months later, they can't figure out if we pass the background check or not!! We ended up losing the home that we had made an all cash offer on! Be aware, you'll get good customer service IF you want to but one of their brand new homes, but you're at their mercy if you want to buy a resale! Very poor business practices... so sad!! read more

Rent is not reasonable. We pay $915.00 a month. Been here 30 years. Too old to relocate. This morning at 5:30 the roving tow service removed a car from a neighbor's driveway, had to pay driver 125. To unhook vehicle. I Place is becoming a Police State. Too many crazy rules and cliques read more

I have lived here for 3 years has not been bad but due to health issues we need to move closer to family up North. This house is for sale for $1500 as is. Email gvkolb@gmail.com read more

We bought a used mobile home in this development from the Colony Cove sales people. We paid a very good price for it and 5 months later we had to replace the central heat/air system to the tune of $5,500. There was mold in the ducts and we were told later mold was in a good part of the home that they had renovated. I would suggest to anyone buying a used mobile home to get it thoroughly inspected. It could save you a lot of headache later. We are on a fixed income so this has hit us hard financially and I don't know that we have any recourse. Had we known the history of the home and about the mold we would never had purchased it. They had told us it had a newer air conditioner that had been thoroughly checked out. So much for honesty and integrity. read more

For 2 years I have been to Colony Cove looking at properties waiting for the right one to become available. I have dealt with four different sales agents. Two were replaced, reasons unknown, that were very good and kind, helpful agents. This year I decided that renting a home in the community would be the best way to be certain that I wanted to live there. The residents we encountered during site visits were very nice and interesting, and the property is well maintained. The management company has the money to do so because they contractually get your initial monthly fee ($700-900ish) plus a 5 percent increase per year (or more based on the government's cost of living index). Additionally, they have a pass-through charge for water which is currently $90/month and will increase over time. The rental attempt fell through after three months because the management company delayed the agreement to rent because they were attempting to sell the properties. Although a sales agent was telling us it would be given to us for renting. Right up to two weeks before we were scheduled to move-in, and they delayed the signing of the agreement. Additionally, the sales agent was very abrasive. No issues with telling us that rentals were a waste of her time because that was not where she made her money. We were on the back burner and always had to visit the sales office to get answers and updates. I Googled 'Equity Lifestyles Properties' and found that the company has an aggressive sales approach and a stressful management style. The properties are land-lease, so you never own the property and have no rights. The HOA is a representative body and has no power to alter a decision by the property manager and owning corporation. Most residents have a fixed income after retirement which means that there is no real security in a community where you cannot control the rising cost of lease rent and other costs the property management deem necessary. There are several 55+ communities in the area which are land-owned and the HOA fees are half or less. It simply takes time to find the right location for your desired lifestyle. Beware of the land-lease because it is not the best choice and especially of this specific management company. read more