Palms of Boca Del Mar

I stumbled across this place after checking out a nearby apartment complex. Even though I’m sure I literally asked a million questions, not once did the employees ever make me feel like I was bothering them. They tried their best to answer my questions & were even accommodating w/​my moving situation.
Aesthetics
The place looks beautiful inside & out (but the kitchen looks mediocre). I was honestly never ashamed to invite friends & family over. My mom did say that she thought the apartments toward the back «looked ghetto.» (She was referring to the ones further away from the leasing office. To me, they didn’t seem as nice, but they seemed fine.)
Safety
As a young, single woman I felt relatively safe for the most part. I never heard about anyone’s car getting broken into & there were even a few times that I left my car packed overnight & it was fine. The exception to this would be a few times at the gym. I went to the gym late at night & a few times I felt scared that someone would come in & do something. (On the fitness machines, your back is to the door & there is not a mirror in front of you to see who is behind you.)
Parking
Parking was okay for the most part. Unless you’re coming home late at night you should almost always find a spot close by. On the nights I came home really late, I sometimes had to do a little walking but never more than 2 buildings over.
Fitness center
If you’re big on fitness, you may find the fitness center a tad bit bare, but it can get the job done. I did find that a couple of the machines were broken.
Pool
I never actually went swimming in the pools, but they looked pretty & people frequented them at all hours of the day & night. Most people who live on the other end of the complex drove but some people were fine walking. (If you live close to it, ppl going to the pool do tend to take up precious parking spots.)
Infestation
I didn’t really notice any infestation problems. (There were some spiders in the beginning but I got rid of them.) If you do have a problem, pest control is free & comes once a week.
Location
The complex is located near 2 highway exits & between east and west Boca. (Turning onto Military Trail can be a hassle during rush hour.) There are a few grocery stores nearby as well 2 malls, a K-​Mart, a few Targets, & a few fast food restaurants. I’m not quite sure of there’s a bus stop nearby, but there is an amtrak station & a tr-​rail station a few miles away.
Tennis court
No one ever uses it, but it’s there.
Pricing
While I loved living here for the most part, I did think that the apartment was overpriced. Unfortunately, the price I was quoted was pretty comparable for east Boca. (I’m not sure if this place is officially considered east or west Boca.) If you can rent when they have one of their deals going on, it shouldn’t be too bad. Otherwise, it’s very expensive. I only paid a little more than the nearby location I was originally looking at but I got a LOT more space. You do pay a fee every time you want to pay your rent by card or to pull the funds electronically from your bank.
My particular apartment
The model apartment looked like the apartment I was given. The apartment was pretty huge & had a skylight. (If you live on the first floor then you get a porch instead.) The storage on the apartment was great – I even had an outside storage literally just outside my door.
Lighting
Each building has its own light & each apartment has a light right next to the door. Note that neither the bedroom nor the living room have light.
Appliances
I’m not sure if different apartments had different appliances but my appliances were old. Once you get used to it, you just make adjustments & you’re fine.
Neighbors
Your neighbors are going to vary. It’s luck of the draw, but I noticed a wide variety of residents (families, older people, college students, etc). If you live close to the pool you may just barely hear the occasional pool party, but it’s not bad.
Maintenance/​repairs/​lockouts
If you are locked out, maintenance is available ²⁴⁄₇. Usually, they were able to fix any issues I had within a few days.
Staff
If you call them on the phone, it’s very hard to get through to anyone. I think that’s because they’re always so busy. They always seem extremely understaffed. It seems like almost every time I went in there they had multiple people waiting for them. The wait was always long. One of their old employees was always attentive & thorough. The leasing manager was… efficient.
Flooding
Flooding of the parking lot did occur from time to time, but usually it was in the middle of the street.
Other things to keep in mind
When leaving you MUST get your place (including your carpet) PROFESSIONALLY cleaned. It’s in your lease. (You can’t just do a good job of cleaning it yourself.).
Take EXTENSIVE notes as to the condition of your apartment on move-​in. It could save you from being falsely charged for things on move out.
The lizard population is crazy.