I lived here for about 15 months and enjoyed my experience here…read more
The entire complex was very pretty and felt like a small oasis in the middle of a bustling city. During the warmer months (aka- 99.99% of the year), there are birds chirping/flying, ducks swimming, and lots of cats running around. I didn't really understand where the cats came from, but I didn't have a problem with them.
The landladies Audria and Diane were very on top of their game. Whenever I had an issue, they made sure to fix it in a timely manner. I had a roach problem that persisted for weeks, and they both kept trying different solutions until the issue was resolved. (If you're curious, ultimately, Audria gave me a bottle of boric acid, which worked like a charm to ger rid of the roaches.)
The complex hosted events throughout the year to all the residents of the complex. For example, there was free breakfast handed out some mornings, and I also attended a Thanksgiving dinner hosted by Audria and Diane in the leasing office.
The price of my apartment was also very reasonable. With rent, water, and sewer combined, I ended up paying about $650/month (back in 2012). My apartment was also decently sized with a balcony (about 600 square feet).
In terms of location, the apartment is close to Chinatown, not too far from the galleria area, and maybe "borderline far" from downtown Houston. People have different preferences on where they need to travel, so I won't use location to alter my star rating.
I never had a problem with parking here, but that's because I lived in the back of the complex, which was full of available spots (and also officially where visitors park). I observed that the parking spots were always filled to capacity at night in the front of the complex, so I bet some overflow to the back was necessary. This may have been a little annoying to some residents, but to be fair, the walk from the back to the front was so short that it probably isn't too big of an issue (maybe a 200 feet walk at most).
There are 3 reasons though, why I'm rating this complex as 4-star instead of 5-star:
1. The gate is connected to your cell phone, and guests can call your phone to open the gate. To this day, I still sometimes receive calls to open the gate since my phone is still in the computer system.
2. The landladies are really on their game, which sometimes could be an annoyance. One time Audria called me at 8am on a weekend morning because I threw away a cardboard box in the trash can next to the mailboxes. She woke me up to tell me to throw away those larger items in the dumpster instead.
3. After I moved out, I did not receive my itemized list of security deposit deductions within the legal Texas requirement of 30 days. When I did receive a letter, it said that I actually still owed the complex about $25 due to some weird timing of rent payments. This was a legitimate reason, but due to the delay in receiving the letter, I legally didn't have to pay it. (In fact, Texas law allows tenants to sue for 3 times the original security deposit if the letter is not written in 30 days). Because the landladies treated me so well during my stay at Crystal Falls, I didn't bother arguing about the $25 and just paid it. But if I hated their guts, there was probably a decent chance of a lawsuit.
Overall if the location is suited to your needs, I recommend renting from Crystal Falls. The management here is superb and will really make you feel like your voice is heard!
