there are downsides to every housing community in Isla Vista just due to the outrageous prices of Santa Barbara. However, with Icon Apartments, at least your student gets the amenities that they deserve. I really appreciated feeling like I'm actually paying for something that's worth the price here. read more

This place rips off their tenants and has shady business practices. PARENTS YOU ARE WARNED

Seville location- HORRIBLE. Do not live here. Infested with bugs and management is nearly non-existent, also see the news about their recent assault allegations. Without notification, my roommate and I were forced to leave during the summer for construction. Upon returning, our apartment was wrecked and there was pee all over the toilet by the workers, as well as dust/grime on our bedding. Apart from that, our "balcony view" was of a dumpster, so be sure to ask where exactly that it before you pay an extra charge. I was promised 2 separate beds, as shown in many of the pictures (likely AI) online, but walked in to a bunk... our student housing was nicer and way cheaper. Additionally, my roommate was never given her security deposit back. It blows my mind that there are any positive reviews about this complex. Avoid at all costs!!! read more

You wouldn't believe it: after two and a half years of calling and calling and being promised my check.... i got it! this place is a fucking joke. if you read the reviews and STILL decide to live here, you're just asking for trouble. OH ALSO, since jennifer is telling lies, i was also told to take down my review. they insinuated that my check (which they rightfully owed me) wouldn't come unless i took it down too. if jennifer didn't to it herself, maybe she should have a better grasp on her employees... yikes. read more

Icon - me trying to get my security deposit back from icon (it will never happen) - Apartments Near Me - Isla Vista, California

Would leave zero stars if possible. We started paying rent 8/1 and they let us into the room to drop off some of our items before our daughter started living there in September. We dropped thousands of dollars of brand new in box necessities to last a year and when we arrived in September everything was gone. They had "accidentally" marked the room as vacant and threw everything out. It was an entire Costco and homegoods haul of apartment items for the year with a brand new mattress pad and bedding. It was all gone. So instead of enjoying our days setting our daughter into her new place, we spend an entire day trying to repurchase everything. However, most items were sold out given the time of year. They also charged us double the rent on 9/1 on "accident." Never rent from these thieves. read more

This response to my review highlights the company's manipulative tactics. There's no need to fabricate reviews when numerous similar cases spanning years are already visible. While we eventually received our deposit, it required this review and persistent follow-ups through email and phone calls until they finally addressed our case. If you're experiencing the same, I recommend sharing your experience on social platforms to raise awareness and contacting Icon repeatedly until you get your case addressed. read more

Icon - Conversations with existing parents that have not receive their deposit back. - Apartments Near Me - Isla Vista, California

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This place is just terrible, I've been placed in a hotel for probably a quarter of my lease (1 year lease btw). I wasn't able to move in on my original move in date due to leaking and cockroach infestation. They said we cant move me in because of this and they are working to fix it... okay fine. When all this is actually done I show up to the place with no one to greet me or my roomates, I had to go find my key, no introduction, nothing. I open the door to a disgusting mess. They never cleaned up after the construction, not even swept. Dust and drywall everywhere. The floors have paint stains that make the floors look disgusting even after mopping them and scrubbing them. Me and my roomates spent around $200 on cleaning supplies just to get the place cleaned up BEFORE WE SETTLED IN. I complained to the office they didnt do anything about it. Also mind you about that cockroach infestation well they were still very much there, in the kitchen especially. There were dead bug bodies everywhere. Spiders in the corners. Broken and gross countertops. The only thing nice we had was a brand new fridge and oven. Thats it. Time after time ive been moved into a hotel. I have a fish tank to take care of. So being moved out for a week, okay I can get a feeder, but getting a call from them telling me actually that week i told you was a lie, here's 3 MORE WEEKS YOU HAVE TO STAY THERE. AND maybe a week and a half later the HOTEL im staying at calls room and says hey the cleaners need to get in you are moved out right? What. Icon didnt continue the stay at the hotel so im at work now with a notice that we have like 1 hour to get out. The hotel is pissed off at me, the cleaners are waiting outside my hotel room while I get my stuff and there's people literally waiting at the front to move into their room for the night. It was so incredibly embarrassing. This place sucks. I cant ever get in contact with the office, the people who can actually give me answers like hey when can I move backing into my appartment room, you know the one IM PAYING FOR! ARE NEVER IN THE OFFICE OR ARE SICK or whatever other excuse they have given me. If you've read all this please for the love of God find somewhere else to stay the location is the only redeeming factor of this place, you can walk to the ocean, thats nice. But everything else is just terrible. Ive also put in 4 maintenance requests for the water not warming up. I've had to take freezing cold showers for the past 2 months now on top of all this. I cant wait for my lease to end and be gone with this place forever Teo of my fish died by the way since I wasn't able to be there to properly take care of them. read more

Jennifer: This is a good time for Icon to own the problems and apologize rather than to blame all the renters with cut and paste rebuttals. What I wrote was substantiated by numerous other reviews. With regard to bending over backwards, uh, no. Lying about agreements, not disclosing the plastic partition, poor condition of the suites, not acting supportive with a disruptive roommate, refusing to communicate and take phone calls, overcharging then making us prove that, literally A to Z poor practices and treatment. Side note: I never insinuated I would t get funds returned due to a review. How interesting Jennifer would say that. For now, my recommendation would be to avoid Icon while Article's risk management team straightens out the long history of withholding deposits from renters, improves the condition of the building, and trains the office to be more honest and supportive. read more

FRAUD Yes, I am further frustrated by which the property management company issued a fraudulent check for my son's deposit! My banking institution legally informed me this morning and yet to receive a communication from Jen property manager in Isla Vista. We waited over 75 days for the rental deposit to refunded and can't cash check due FRAUDULENT check. How long Jen can you and your company operate a business in this manner? No more delays with refunding our deposit and a complaint will be filed with the Better Business Bureau! ZERO rating read more

An overall crappy company with crappy management, they also will find any reason to eat at your deposit. Me and my roommates were supposedly charged a $700 repainting fee and a $600 cleaning fee which is unheard of... definitely find somewhere else to live. It looks fancy and put together on the outside but it's extremely cheap with many of the amenities rarely available. read more

If I could give a 0 I would. I lived in icon gardens from August 2023-September 2024 and not once did the all the washing machines work. How you can have broken washing machines for a whole year, I do not know. The parking lift broke multiple times causing me to be late to work multiple times. Yes there are times where maintenance could fix it but the times I was late, they had to have people come out and fix it the next day. Very unreliable parking so paying that super expensive fee is not worth it. Moving out of icon, my roommates and my security deposit checks were all deemed FRAUDULENT. No clue as to how one company could be so disorganized. read more

We are seeking our deposit from an apartment that was vacated on 8/30/24. On October 1, 2024, we just received the closeout summary of the expense that would be offset and there has been $0 returned from our original deposit. The deposit we are expecting is $460. I have repeatedly phoned there office at least 10 times and receive excuses of when the deposit will be dispersed. Email have also gone unresponsive from Jen the Office manager at Isla Vista. Lisa S. & Shaun S. read more

My son moved into Icon last year. He and his roommate just moved out last week which is why I am writing this now. I wanted to give an honest review of the entire lease (apt. #403). Overall I, as a parent, was happy with Icon. I felt it was a great place for my son to live after the dorms. It was furnished, nicely appointed and safe. The view he had was great and the balcony was a nice touch. The natural light was wonderful and while it made the apt. warm at times, since there was no AC...it was worth the ocean view. The apartment itself was a studio with my son and his roommate living there. There was plenty of space for them both. The apartment was not very clean when he moved in tho. There were hard water stains everywhere. I ended up having to re-clean the kitchen and bathrooms...to "mom" clean. Both the boys were charged $95 to clean the bathroom upon move out, due to hard water stains, which I found ironic but didn't argue. So if you move in...buy yourself some hard water cleaner and use it everyday. :-) The maintenance man, Sergio, was great. He was very pleasant and always running around trying to make things ok. It seemed to me the management team changed a couple times while my son was there but all in all, I felt he was treated fairly and when I called to inquire about something, I always got a call back. My biggest complaint is the kitchen. The fact they don't supply a full size fridge is crazy. The one they supply is bigger than the one he had in his dorm room but still so small you can't fit a gallon of milk in there. For the price of $1200/month I would expect a full size fridge. This was by far their biggest complaint about living there. It made shopping a real hassel. Icon defiantly needs to step it up and put in a full size fridge. Another irritation that I was unaware of before move in...there are NO drawers in the kitchen. I had purchased a small four drawer unit for my son to use as a dresser in his closet but instead we used it in the kitchen for storage. It is silly that there is not one drawer in the kitchen! The building is located right in the heart of Isla Vista which the boys liked. It took them 5min to get to their classes riding bikes. The noise was not too bad since they faced the ocean and not the main street. The doors to the building are locked at night and I felt he was pretty safe there. If I had a daughter, I would definatly want a place with restricted access in IV. Since he was on the 4th floor, I knew he was in a better position to avoid a break in. All in all, I would recommend Icon if you want a nice transition from the dorms and you can afford it. They really didn't want to move out but their buddy wanted to move in with them and Icon wouldn't allow three in the studio, so they were forced to look elsewhere. We could have found a less expensive place for him to live last year but I was unfamiliar with the area and didn't really know what to look for. So Icon fit the bill for what I wanted for my son. read more

Icon - View from balcony #403 - Apartments Near Me - Isla Vista, California

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I would not recommend icon unless you want to pay a ridiculous amount for no reason. The parking garage is barely working and today I had a meeting to attend which due to the parking issue I couldn't even make it. The services are terrible, the laundry machines barley work, there is no internet in their study rooms and like I said below their parking garage is literally never working. It's probably the most unprofessional and unreliable place to live. Also to note this email is only being sent now after countless times of not being able to drive somewhere or park my car back into the garage. This is the email I sent to them today. It is 12:40, I went down to get my car at 12:10, the parking garage said error as it usually does most of the time, and I have to attend a meeting. I call the office about 5 times and no one picks up, I walk to the office and it's closed. This is absolutely ridiculous, for the amount I'm paying for a parking spot that doesn't even work half the time and costs me time and energy while interfering with other responsibilities I have it's truly insane. I am so frustrated with the service and living conditions here at icon, with the amount that I am paying monthly to be here it is truly not worth it. I don't understand how there is no way to reach any staff or electrician, what exactly do you expect people to do in these situations? Truly an inconvenience. read more

My son just moved into the apartment and it was absolutely disgusting! They did not clean it before he came. When we complained, they sent one woman over who didn't have enough time to clean it all, and she barely touched the kitchen and did not do a good job. The other roommate moved in and there was a complaint so they cleaned his room only. I had to ask the cleaner to clean the bathroom. We spent hours cleaning because it was insufficient. The apartment required maintenance as well (wires showing from outlets and lock and shade not working). In addition, he ended up in a tiny bunk bed room and it was nothing like the room he saw and was told he would be getting. The elevator didn't work so we had to take the stairs for move in. The place is a complete disaster but it's too late to find something else. read more

Solana is the absolute best! Truly cares and makes sure you're taken care of. Very attentive and does all that she can. Super friendly and informative and has made my residency here a very positive experience! Definitely recommend!!! read more

***Update: My daughter is now a junior at UCSB and lives in Icon just like my son did. She chose to stay in IV for most of the pandemic which I was worried about at first, but Icon has truly made her feel comfortable and safe. The staff is on call 24/7 for any emergencies or lockouts and are always so helpful when myself or she call with a request or question. The property manager Carlos is an outstanding guy and has really done a great job with the staff (all students) who are professional and genuinely kind. They've also made a lot of structural repairs since my son lived there and I'd say it's an even better accommodation than before. read more

I would not recommend living here because of the lack of communication with the students from management. Icon is overly priced for what you get and how you are treated. The kitchen has one measly drawer that can't fit anything but utensils stacked on top of each other. They also don't provide a recycling bin, trash bin, or table for the kitchen/living room that we had to buy on our own. My "single" was basically a double because they split the original double room in half with sliding glass doors. Because they decided to put in sliding glass doors, we didn't have doors that could lock. With so much crime and burglaries in IV, I was upset they didn't have something as simple as a lock on my door. Icon also neglected to install windows in the singles. We were forced to open our door just to get fresh air. We would hear the loud construction and dust from their work caked our room. My roommate and I could hear everything we did even if it was just breathing. As someone sensitive to light when I sleep, it was difficult for me to fall asleep when her light would be on (none of which is her fault since Icon didn't want to spend more money on drywall to have separate "singles"). Construction was non-stop during crucial midterms and finals weeks that lasted two quarters. For an entire quarter my 3 roommates lived in Tropicana because they took their time with fixing the water damage and ceiling. Not to mention they broke and threw away multiple items of theirs without their permission. The place looks nice from the outside, but inside the place is falling apart. Stick with University Housing that's much more affordable (includes utilities, WiFi, and furniture at fixed price) and accountable for their actions. read more

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Super modern and clean, really enjoy the events they put on during the year! Javier is super helpful and was great during the whole process

From start to finish, I had a wonderful experience walking through the units here. Magy was extremely informative and filled any gaps in my knowledge regarding ICON. Definitely would recommend if you're a UCSB student and thank you again to Magy for making the experience a 10/10! read more

this place just keeps getting better and better. not! this is after extermination of "german cockroaches" not only did manager and regional manager promise me that they will take good care of my girls this is what they came home to. unfortunately i tried and tried to give them the opportunity to fix things and yet this is how management makes sure we are good omfg can it get worse? yessssss it can!!! the giris called last night freaking out over the roaches. apparently their pest control person told the girls it will take a while to get rid of them and their other friends apartments have it as well! avoid like the plague as another yelper said! the whole building has german roaches!!! those are impossible to get rid of! why is corporate not doing anything and keep posting to call ths location itself! icon did i not warn you not to f..k with this mama bear!!! call me before i blast you guys to 500k followers on only one platform and then call my attorney. *on a side note this having to give one star is bs when they don't deserve it read more

Update: After the first batch of checks that they sent out for my security deposit, they emailed saying not to deposit them because they would bounce. I then deposited the new one they sent me and that one bounced as well. I had to get them to void it and send me a new one so that makes that the THIRD check. After the third check finally goes through, I get an email from my bank saying they are closing my account because of the fraudulent check I tried to deposit from Icon. I called and emailed for days and they never responded. I wasn't in town so I had a friend stop by the office and there was someone there which was strange because I called them multiple times that day and no one answered which means they were purposely ignoring calls. My friend was able to get them to call me back and the situation was finally resolved. This company is a complete mess. Please read the rest of the reviews about them before deciding to live here! Also google them online so you can read about the lawsuits that have been filed against them. To have given out multiple fraudulent checks and to not even answer your phone calls is horrible and childish behavior. read more

The ICON staff are so nice and friendly whenever I need anything! I love their events that bring the people in our apartment complex together :) Thank you ICON! read more

It appears that Geo G the manager sure is SORRY a lot!!! I have been trying to reach this company for days. The after hour answering service is answering regular business hour calls to TAKE A MESSAGE!!! It's a shame that the management is so neglectful that people aren't getting their money back and calls are not being handled. This is straight up student abuse. read more

The room is slightly smaller than what was expected but the location is great and there's great view spots

The rooftop is super cute but they should clean the units and common areas before giving the keys.

I was very excited to move into my first apartment however since I have moved in it has been issue after issue and not what was advertised. It has been a fight to find someone to listen to our problems and to want to find a solution for us. In a very tight space it has been difficult to live comfortably. read more

It's nice but definitely not worth the money. My room is smaller than a dorm. I'm writing this review because i want a gift card. Nice rooftop read more

Just moved my daughter into Icon Gardens and am super impressed with the apartments and the staff. All her questions have been answered by super friendly and knowledgeable staff. A couple minor maintenance issues and they were quickly remedied. read more

Visited this past weekend and called multiple times regarding leasing and Magy answered all my questions. I will for sure consider leasing at Icon in the future. read more

[Be sure to read the filtered reviews (link toward the bottom of the page). Because these students and parents aren't very active on Yelp, their reviews don't make it onto the front page. But you really should read them.....] Well, we won. Got the $500 deposit back and got released from the lease. It was an absolute nightmare and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. And this company is building student residences all over the place. Interestingly, the management company has changed its name to CA-Ventures; the developer remains the Icon Company. Now I'm getting emails from other tenants there asking how we dealt with Icon because they are experiencing similar predatory tactics. It's disturbing that companies target naive college students who can't afford a legal battle financially nor emotionally. read more

New renters please read. Make sure you know exactly which apartment you are getting before you sign the lease. My daughter signed up for a double but was assigned a bunk bed room when she specifically asked for non-bunk. The room was much smaller than advertised. By the time you move in. it's too late to get another place. I would avoid if at all possible. read more

Magy was great help and even recommended some sight seeing and dinner spots for my family. Everything here is amazing! Icon is great student housing!! read more

I wrote this review almost a year ago and have not been able to find it posted on Yelp, so I am reposting to help the community. 5 stars for the excellent way this complex is professionally managed by Carlos Q...going above and beyond keeping the property very safe and sparkling clean, returning phone calls immediately and making the entire process so easy!!! As a mother of a UCSB student I was nervous to have my son leave campus and live on his own with friends. I had a million questions for Carlos and he consistently eased my concerns and objections and helped every step of the way. He was even able to come up with a parking space for my son to rent at the last minute. Pluses...Each student pays for his space and is responsible for his own rent, utilities and deposit and it is all easily paid online monthly. The gym, rooftop, study room, pool table and gym were always accessible and beautifully clean (before covid). A key is needed to access the building, security cameras are onsite and there are always people in the on-site office during the days (again pre-covid ). Management never approached the tenants, but I always felt safe knowing they were there! I highly recommend Icon Santa Barbara with Carlos managing and doing a 5 star job!! read more

Lived on the 4th floor. No complaints. Great views, great leasing manager. Security is tight and study rooms always came in clutch. Highly recommend! read more

loved my time at Icon gardens, made so many great friends and love the staff the maintenance. Free food all the time in the roof!

Talk about the best place to live in IV! Icon is the perfect fully furnished apartment for students attending UCSB or SBCC. They have great amenities including: 2 gyms, 2 gorgeous rooftops with one rooftop game room, security cameras, key fobs needed for building and apartment entrance, and 2 study rooms. This is truly the place to live because it is a block from the beach and walking distance to campus. You are in the heart of IV. This is the nicest place in IV BY FAR!! 10/10 recommend living here. read more

LOVED everything about this community as a future UCSB student. Our tour guide Magy was very helpful. We talked to her over the phone and we went the next day and took a tour with her. very excellent. made us feel welcome and answered all our questions before we even asked them! Will definitely be signing a lease here! read more

So nice to live! Very kindly stuffs here! The furniture in the apartment is so nice and the apartment location is so good which is very close to my campus! read more

Magy is a phenomenal on-site. My entire process with her was absolutely easy. She is an absolute sweetheart, from helping me with the application process, to responding back in a timely manner. Most people working within housing don't normally tend to be this sweet and caring, but she made sure to make the entire process as simple as possible! read more