TLDR: The Vue is a great deal - just try to only live with people you know!…read moreAlso: My girlfriend lived her 2 years ago and the complex is 1000 TIMES BETTER NOW! Haven't seen a single break in and the garage is always lit!
My experience has honestly been a pretty pleasant one (been living here now since August 2018). My biggest and only real complaints are with the residents themselves. But, for the price, the proximity to campus, the fact the apartments are fully furnished, the complex supplies free wifi (although a little slow), all bills are included (mostly included - I get the occasional electricity/water bill for around 20 bucks - which anyone who has ever had their own place knows that $20 is NOTHING for a bill containing electricity AND water), you get a full kitchen with updated appliances, the A/C and heat is controlled by the residents, and the laundry is in-unit - you'd have a really hard time finding a better deal!
Pros:
1. Despite what people say, I have had nothing but extremely pleasant experiences with the staff (this includes the folks in the office, the repairmen, and - yes - even the manager Charles). I have had lots of issues with roommates and Charles handled them all promptly, politely, and in such a way that pretty much all issues I had were cleared up overnight. The first few months we had the roommates from H*LL. Now, almost 9 months later? The house is quiet after midnight, people keep to themselves and respect each other's property, and they stopped lighting fireworks in the living room (yes - they lit fireworks on multiple occasions.)
2. Despite what people say, the apartments are still pretty reasonably priced. Like I mentioned, the apartment comes with a LOT. Wifi, fully-furnished, full kitchen, a balcony, walk-in closets, etc ( you can re-read my intro paragraph if you forgot everything I mentioned). My girlfriend and I share a room and then we share the apartment with three other people (two now, they kicked out one of our roommates for being intentionally destructive to the property). My girlfriend and I each pay about $400 a month. We get our own bathroom, desk, and walk-in closet in addition to all the shared amenities. Take into account that I can get to any one of my classes at UH with a 15 minute walk? $840 is a STEAL.
3. Excellent mail service. Never lost a package and the process for picking up your stuff is always simple. Plus, the front office staff is really nice! They seem like the types of people who will only catch an attitude if you give them a REASON to catch an attitude. The staff in the office is largely comprised of people in their early 20's and they are extremely professional! But, hey. A 21 year old can only keep a smile on their face through so much abuse. (Again, never seen their bad side, I am only making assumptions about what I have seen in other reviews).
Cons:
1. THE RESIDENTS. Go figure, most of the residents are immature, destructive, and can't handle their alcohol - they are college kids. The residents keep the hallways a mess despite the staff cleaning the hallways multiple times a day EVERY day. As I mentioned before, the manager doesn't tolerate destructive nonsense and he will hold people to their lease. You wanna blast your music at 3am? You wanna break things? You wanna let your dog poop in the hallways? You better be ready to accept the risk of eviction.
2. Most of the luxury amenities are broken or out of order. Since I moved in, the pool has been closed. The gym equipment doesn't work either (or most of it - I don't work out, so this doesn't bother me in the slightest... also, because I don't work out, I don't know how MUCH of the equipment doesn't work - gym might be slightly functional). The worst one for me is the computer lab. The computers all work, but the printer has been out of yellow ink for months now. I even offered to buy a cartridge and replace it myself, but they wouldn't let me - I guess they were worried I would break it.
3. If you are sharing a room with someone, you might not have a lot of space. My girlfriend and I share one of the cheaper rooms and, as a result, we are SUPER cramped. There are better options for sharing a room where you'll get more space.