5 year resident here. Overall, I loved living here - beautiful area, close to everything, wonderful…read moreviews, great staff, and amazing amenities. Only three stars because there are definitely pros and cons to consider. I'll start with the cons:
Cons:
- Accessibility: As others have said, the elevators are constantly down, I have over a hundred emails about the elevators being down. Over my five years here, I've always walked the stairs to the 5th - wasn't an issue for me, but when I had people visiting, they weren't a fan. If you need a place with good accessibility, this is not it.
- Safety: The area itself isn't the safest, homeless people regularly camp around the lake, and last summer someone was shot dead right in front of the building, under the North Scottsdale bridge. I woke up to the gunshots at night so it was pretty scary. There was also a shooting within the building a few years back. Just search for "shot person aura watermark" and it will bring up the news articles.
On top of that, a few years ago one of the windows at the gym was completely shattered with a small hole in it. To me, it looked like a bullet punched through the glass based on the hole and damage, though I can't be sure.
The fact that there is no 24/7 security and basically anybody can walk into the complex doesn't help. One time I was approached by a drunk (likely homeless) person at the roof deck area. I have also heard lots of complaints about people breaking into cars and stealing bikes, but luckily I never personally experienced these.
- Noise: the airport is close, and the planes can be pretty loud. Didn't bother me, but it really bothered some people visiting me, so it's something to keep in mind. The complex is close to ASU, so obviously this place is a great location for college students, and with that comes parties. I had issues with loud neighbors a few times, but other than one neighbor, it was manageable. There are also regular pool events, so if you live on the pool side, those can be loud too. What really doesn't help is that the walls are paper-thin. If you have neighbors above, you'll hear every single step they take. You'll also hear if your neighbors are watching TV or listening to music slightly louder, arguing, or doing other stuff loudly.
- Building issues: I think there are some fundamental issues with the building, the company that built the complex was probably cutting corners or used cheap materials, a brand new building built in 2020 shouldn't be in this state. One time the fire alarms sounded and my mom had to run out of the shower - turned out a pipe broke and an apartment got completely flooded. Another time, I saw gallons of water pouring out of an apartment after a fire alarm. I also saw multiple areas in the building where the walls were torn out to replace pipes, buckets in the gym holding dripping water, etc. The elevators are constantly down, and the spa at the main pool is constantly breaking down too. The spa situation was so bad that after about the 5th or so failed repair attempt, they completely sealed it for almost two years. First, I thought they gave up, but it reopened about a year ago, so they were probably waiting for parts.
- Just something to keep in mind, they are having a hard time leasing apartments, so don't expect to be let off of your lease contract early, they will hold you to it - on the other hand, they give nice discounts if you renew.
Pros:
- The staff is amazing, hands down. They have always been really kind and extremely helpful, they go above and beyond.
- Amazing amenities - multiple pools, hot tubs, a great gym, community areas, and more.
- Great place if you like to exercise, lots of options to run and do sports.
- Fun events if you want to meet people.
- Lots of restaurants around.
- The Tempe Town lake area is amazing, near the airport and close to everything else you might need - for me the area was the biggest reason why I loved this place.
All in all, I loved living near Tempe Town lake and I loved living at Aura Watermark, only moving out because we bought a new condo.