First off let me start by saying I've only live here at Mandeville Lake for about 3 months now - I've lived in various apartment communities to know that the first few months of a new apartment is great and then they show their true colors. So keep that in mind.
I moved here from Cypress Lake apartments (feel free to read my swiftly down-spiral review of Cypress Lake from someone who lived there for 12+ yrs), and can say Mandeville Lake is definitely a step up! Apt units are more bigger (in comparison to Cypress Lake) and open. Could use more closet space, imo. Love, LOVE the oversized garden tub. There were a couple odds and ends of my apt that needed repairing and they came out in reasonable time to fix it - my a/c wasn't blowing out cold air and they came after a couple hours after calling them to repair it. When I first moved in my fireplace didn't work (cheesy-looking electric fireplaces I may add), I sent in a maintenance request for it through the website and it took them nearly a week to come look at it. So I guess, if you want them to repair something quickly, it's best to call it in rather than emailing the request or doing so through Mandeville Lake's website.
The grounds are kept up well. I'm always seeing staff riding around in their golf carts tending to things. Staff, both office and maintenance, are good. Don't bother going in the office during lunch time cause no one will be in there - I learnt that quickly. I only dealt with two of the maintenance guys, one is uber nice and the other is aloof who forgets to lock my door behind himself; perhaps, in his defence, he doesn't lock my door because I'm home? So far... I've gotten two proper notices within reasonable ahead of times of them needing to come into my apt for some plumbing work that needed to be done to the building, but no notice of pest control coming.
I have a love-and-hate relationship with the gate. So far the gate hasn't "broke", which is a common tale of gated apt communities. But it did take me forever to find out what's my Callbox Code, let alone find my name on it.
The elevator in every building is really nice - a perfect feature for those who love top floor apt units but hate/cannot do stairs. My only gripe about the elevator is its dirty. Not that I'm 'anal' or anything, but the elevator looks like it has NEVER been cleaned in all its years of service - at least the elevator in my building looks that way. They offer a little courtesy cart to use for your groceries and etc. Really nice and convenient.
My biggest complaint is parking. There's no enough tbh. If you can budget the extra $100 a month for the garage, than do so. Or you gonna find yourself coming home and having to park a couple buildings over away from yours.
Apts units do offer security systems. If I recall, $80 activation/$20 per month for it. The washer and dryer is the stackable kind and somewhat small tub-sized. Noise-wise - except from the cars whisking by on Highway 22, I don't really hear much of anything else. It's pretty quiet. In Cypress Lake Lake apt I could hear my upstairs neighbors dog chewing on his rawhide bones as clear as I would if I was up there, sitting right next to him. Here I rarely hear my upstairs neighbors move around. Since my apt is right above the garage, I do hear (...and feel) the car and garage opener below my feet.
Safety-wise: I feel pretty safe here and it is a safe area of town. I do think the halls and corridors of the buildings could use a bit more brighter lightening.
I haven't tried the gym out yet. There's a big blue tarp in the pool (I guess it's not open yet), and I don't have the energy to walk over to the tennis court let alone play it. I haven't used the car was area neither, but soon enough will once the weather permits.
Price point: Mandeville Lake isn't the cheapest, nor the most expensive - they're mid-price range, tbh. For what's offered and their age, the rental rates seem to be ok. As I've said before, these Apts are about in the same class as Botanica or Chenier apts.
Overall I like it here a lot and is very pleased with my decision to live here. The only reason I'm not giving it a 5-Star rating is because I just moved here and still getting to know this place. Only time will tell if I add or subtract a star or two.
Stay tuned! read more