Wilshire La Brea

This is my favorite building I have lived in by far! The maintenance team and office are both great! Ralph and Isais went the extra mile to install new curtains for me! I really appreciate their help and could not have done this with out them!!!

Hands down the easiest and best experience I’ve had renting an apartment. Lauren was efficient, knowledgeable and personable. She took time to understand what I was looking for, and found me exactly that.

I plan on moving in shortly and after reading the negative reviews I realized more than half of the issues are with the renter, NOT the leasing office or complex. We all have had the opportunity to inspect the unit PRIOR to moving in; so it’s a bit silly to complain about how small the rooms are or how your bed doesn’t fit.
You Gen Y peeps need to get it together.
There is this low tech device called a measuring tape. Measure the width and length of your bed and bring your notes and tape with you when you are being shown floor plans. Low tech solution and this ensures YOU are leasing the right floor plan that will suit your needs. The leasing office staff does not have ESP and it is not their responsibility to ensure your furniture fits; it is the new tenants responsibility. Be accountable for your own actions and lead by example!
As for complaints regarding parking for guests, a quick drive around the area and an inquiry with the leasing agent should provide you with all the information you need: there is none unless they pay in the garage or pay for a meter. There is metered parking a half block away that is always clear after 7pm. Silly first world problems of the lowest magnitude.
Lastly, to those of you who complained about the other tenants attitude should take a look in the mirror for as they say «birds of a feather flock together»! I will enjoy my experience there as I performed my due diligence on my end and am confident the amenities and floor plan are exactly what I am looking for. As for the Leasing Office, you get what you give, so be professional, patient and courteous and see how quickly your experience will improve.
I will continue to update this review every couple of months.
Hipster Hugs!

Wilshire LaBrea is a good building, It’s in a central location with beautiful views, competitive pricing and they didn’t cut corners on the amenities. The layouts are unique and allow you to put together a good looking apt with some character. Unlike a lot of places, it has grass and it’s kept clean. There are several elevators and entrances one can come and go by. The neighbors aren’t invasive. Not a lot of people asking you questions or the same people showing up when you enter/​exit your home. Not a lot of posing or silly games when a guy wants attention either, same is true for most women, which is hard to find in LA. There’s a little bit of loud noise but nothing unpleasant and not after 10. The closest Ralph’s is not the best but Whole Foods and a second Ralph’s are both within 10 mins. There’s a Mixt Greens a couple blocks down, it’s Miracle Mile so there are plenty of food & entertainment options.
I don’t have to worry about where to park when I get home. The walls are thicker than One Santa Fe, anything I hear is muffled. I actually got food delivered to my apartment door for my first time in LA, there are a lot of great places that deliver here. The entries at One Santa Fe weren’t set up for remote opening.
I’ve felt downright discreet at this building. It’s only the first month, but it’s already a huge improvement, I can’t emphasize that enough.
The best part is having it all set-​up by a professional who knows the building and it’s administration well. Lauren did a great job of finding me an apartment I could be excited about. She’s straightforward, genuine, down to business and yet cordial.
I was lucky enough to witness professionalism, kindness and honorable behavior from the leasing staff, their management is great too. We hit a snag and everyone in their office was available to do whatever was appropriate. It was a relief of a process, which sounds strange I know, but still. It was relatively easy to get the information I wanted and and to efficiently complete the application process.
I experienced a lot of bullying at my last apartment, ugly comments, physical threats and faces made mostly by the leasing staff, but also by neighbors. It was this bizarro oppressive place, not great for someone getting over trauma. Getting to Wilshire LaBrea has been a breath of fresh air. It’s nice to be back in a more mature space, where high school rules aren’t as strictly enforced. Maybe I was just in some weird caricature of what people from Wisconsin think L.A. should be. I feel much safer from my neighbors at Wilshire LaBrea, clearly they have better things to do then harass, and I respect that.

UPDATE: Guess what??? My car got broken into! This is after complaining and complaining about the lack of security at this place! On 12÷5÷15 between the hours of 11:30pm and 6:30am my car was broken into! The management refuses to give me or show me any of the security tapes. Security was no where near the broken gate! DO NOT RENT HERE if you at all care about your personal safety and security!
Where was the «increased courtesy security» near the STILL broken gate near the resident parking garage??!

I didn’t think I would have to write a review about this place but I could honestly not recommend anyone to live here for a number of reasons:
1. Every SINGLE person working in the leasing office has the worst possible attitude besides Lauren. They are so beyond rude its not even funny. Whether its a package I have to pick up or a problem with bugs I can rest assured that when I walk into the leasing office I know ill be expecting the usual cold attitude. I was suppose to have my security deposit delivered to my new address within 21 days and it’s been 1 ½ months and I have yet to see my security deposit. Do they pick up their phones when I try to get this resolved? They never seem to pick up their phones from 2pm-​6pm they never answer the calls.
2. Do you have friends that want to come over? Good luck trying to get them into the building. Resident parking is a joke! There’s 1 street you can park along the side of the building and that’s it! Its 99% of the time completely filled out. Your friends will either have to über over or find some kind of arrangement with the security guard to park in retail parking for a while.
3. For how much rent you pay its SOO not worth it! I wouldn’t consider this a Luxury Apartment complex.
On a positive note, I found the people living in this building to be really nice and friendly. Everyone seems to be in their late 20’s or early 30’s. Its a pretty safe building and it’s close to the grove and farmers market. But honestly, your better off trying to find a nicer building with nicer staff.

I totally love living over here. The amenities are out of this world, such as the two pools and three epic gyms. the place is generally very clean (especially considering there are hundreds of units here.) The staff is very caring and helpful, and they always show me a lot of respect.
On that note, the only bummer is honestly some of the over-​privileged residents complaining incessantly because that’s just how they clearly live their life. For example: if you can afford an apartment here, you can certainly afford a different spot where your concerns are different and preventable. Otherwise I sincerely feel everyone should know they are very blessed to live here.
Steph and Lauren are awesome in the leasing office, and the guys over there are always very cool too.

I came on here to find the phone number of the leasing office and when I called it and no one picked up after many calls, I became so annoyed that I remembered — this is what Unilocal is for! To give honest feedback and to share experiences on businesses. Don’t bother calling the office if you need something, they don’t care that you’re calling so they won’t pick up.
I was so annoyed that I felt compelled to tell everyone just how terrible this building is. I read some of the negative reviews and all they did was remind of the 100 things that are wrong with this place. I planned on going through all of them all individually, but I have pretty much the same complaints as fellow reviewer, Jarrad Y!
In summation: * The staff are rude. * The tenants are uncivilized — they leave their trash piling up by the trash shoots, and of course, the building leaves it there! * The people who use the pool behave like this is a dorm or a frat house! * They drive like idiots in the parking structure, and one of these days, there’s going to be a serious accident! * There’s a strong smell of trash in the hallways, probably coming from the trash shoots * and the leasing office NEVER, EVER answers the phone… it’s enough to drive a person mad with anger.
There’s one staff member at the office that I don’t mind, I think her name is Stefania. The rest, especially Lauren K, are god-​awful. They are rude and generally unpleasant.
I wouldn’t sign another lease here. Save yourself the aggravation and rent elsewhere.

Things can get pretty busy at the leasing office, but I’ve always gotten the help I needed. Lauren, Steph and Alan have been great from the start. A big thanks to Lauren for making me feel at home. It’s been 5 months since my move from San Francisco and she’s always been welcoming!

All I can say is Wow. From the moment my husband and I walked into the leasing office to this very moment, a little over a month after having moved in as new tenants, we have been blown away by the level of professionalism and outstanding customer we have received. Special thanks to Lauren Knowles our Leasing Agent who made the entire experience an absolute pleasure.
I also want to mention Jorge from maintenance who responded to a maintenance call within one hour and was so patient and helpful. We’ve never experienced anything like this at any apartment building in LA. So thank you thank you thank you to Wilshire La Brea, we are super happy to be tenants here and are looking forward to our next year of tenancy.
It is also super helpful that the location is PERFECT, easy access to major highways, 10, 101. etc. And the amenities are awesome, the pool, the two-​story fitness center, computer room, and so much more. You will have a great time living here. Come in to see for yourself and be sure to ask for Lauren Knowles to show you around. You will be glad you did!

Very small apartments, if you have regular queen size bed, don’t even try to you fit in this apartments. Also, no way if any small size sofa will feet here. Very, very small closet !!! The hallways smell
garbage.The only window in that apartment, was very small so the «room» was very dark and not healthy. and the biggest problem, for me was the parking. If you have a friend don’t even try to invite guest/​s, they’re going to spend lots of $$ on parking after 30 min. free parking in guest parking, i’m not talking about overnight staying, there is no parking on the streets (permit) and to expensive to use guest parking ($ 20)

Wow. I haven’t even moved in yet but I love this place already. Lauren Knowles in the leasing office is one of the sweetest people I’ve met. She’s so helpful and clearly loves her job. The building is gorgeous and has so many amazing amenities, I genuinely can’t wait to move in!

Lol lol lol every bad experience that has been share so far is true it’s so sad for the amount of money I was paying. … i had nothing to show for it i felt like I was been ripped off. … buy the way I lived on the 7^th floor as well in addition the rent has been increased to 4500 from about 3k in less than a year. … I would not advise anyone to rent a place here well if u do don’t say u where not warned

Honestly– WOW. I’ve been meaning to write this review for so long but I honestly felt bad. I finally got my move out letter with the final charges though and it REALLY upset me– I guess that was the final straw.
This place is way too corporate, if I were CEO of Essex properties I would literally come in as a regular pedestrian and see how they treated me. I would also fire every single employee except for maintenance staff and then hire 20 more to help them. Building is way understaffed.
I wanna make note that my rent was $ 3060 for a premium one bedroom loft on the top (7^th) floor. I do not feel like I lived in what I was paying for EVER.
I moved in to this building in June of 2014. Don’t let the nice exterior fool you. It was the worst living experience of my life.
Before I signed my lease the people in the leasing office were soo nice. Maybe because occupancy was so low they felt the need to pretend to be legit. They fooled me. The act ALL changed after papers were signed and they started receiving my money. Literally night and day. Everyone seemed to forget who I was and totally not care either.
To say the least– the leasing office staff at wilshire la brea is extremely incompetent. Not a single person knows what they’re doing EVER. Whether it’s properly notifying you of packages or even just simple conversation, NOTHING is done the way it should be.
Also, this may sound ridiculous but it is very significant– they used to offer water bottles as well as espresso and tea to all residents during business hours. Slowly but surely, water started to not be available and espresso machines were removed. I wouldn’t consider that to be significant if it wasn’t a reason why I moved in. I thought that was awesome, then they took that luxury away :(. (I understand some people take advantage but either way it was understood that they would be offering that stuff and to remove it without notice was very cheap considering what the building charges)
Now to the actual living.
THE APARTMENT UNITS ARE S**t!!! A CHILD COULD HAVE DESIGNED THE UNITS BETTER. LITERALLY. I was paying $ 3060 for a 1 bedroom loft in which a California king did NOT fit in the «bedroom» without blocking the entrance. EVERY door seemed to open into another one causing annoying situations aaaalll the time. I ended up having to sleep upstairs in the loft because it was the only place my bed fit. The ac unit was terrible. Had to set it to 64 every night and was still not that cold.
DIRTY. for some reason many of the residents here feel like they have a personal housekeeper at all times… But they don’t :/​
Underground parking garage is always pretty disgusting. I made sure to take pictures from time to time so if anybody wants to dispute the facts, I have proof lol. Piles of trash at every trash can.
Nobody follows the rules of putting the trash bags in the chute either. Not saying the rules are great but I still followed them.
The only time Wilshire la brea ever did anything quickly (meaning the only time they were quick to respond or say anything at all) was when a «rule» was being broken. They had the nerve to tell my housekeeper she couldn’t temporarily put anything outside my door WHILE she cleaned. Most people leave their trash in the halls and they actually had the nerve to send a security guard even though it was literally TEMPORARY WHILE SHE CLEANED. ALSO, I got 2 noise complaints within 5 minutes from each other for having LITERALLY 3 friends over at 10:30 pm. No music, no party, literally just chilling watching sports center. The security guard even apologized because he just HAD to come. Ridiculous.
My neighbor was always super rude. I realized I started living everyday in a way that I was more concerned with her not complaining than me just living normally. She asked me not to play music during the day (11 am –3 pm) because she works from home SOMETIMES… Which would be a reasonable request if there weren’t over 3 different quiet area amenities offered to all residents. Super wack. And she also had a giant bag of dog food outside her door for like 2 weeks so I’m assuming security wasn’t quick to call it. Annoying. Her husband or boyfriend (whatever) was nice though just to say something positive.

Leasing office SUCKS. Try calling, bet you’ll NEVER get an answer, a call back, or even have someone acknowledge you called.
Overall terrible experience. Very dumb and rude people working in the leasing office which is not a good combo. Security was nice but unfortunately is forced to enforce the DUMBEST rules made by even dumber people. Terrible apartment layout. LIVING HELL!!!
WAIT, I didn’t even mention parking!!! HAHAHAHAHA GOOD LUCK PARKING!!! MIGHT AS WELL TELL YOUR FRIENDS IT COST 20 $ to chill OR JUST GET A PARKING TICKET! LOOLLLLL I HATE WILSHIRE LA BREA
THEYRE CHARGING ME 300 $ TO REPAINT MY UNIT THAT NEEDED ABSOLUTELY NO REPAINTING! IM ONLY PAYING SO I DONT HAVE TO DEAL WITH THEIR STAFF WHO ACT LIKE 12 yr olds

2 elevators have been down for over 2 weeks. I just found out today they will not be repaired until another 3 weeks. There are 2 elevators available for the whole complex of 400+ units.
The whole north section of the building basically has to either climb stairs to their floor, or walk about half a block to their apartment from the nearest elevator.
And apparently OUT OF NO WHERE, you cannot have cans by the pool?! Glass was well understood due to the hazard of broken glass, but cans?
This is beyond the control of leasing office staff, this is all ESSEX

Call center charm with all the terror an IKEA no escape route. 1 bedrooms range from $ 2400 – 3400. LOL

A lot of bang for your buck! No place is perfect but I absolutely love the amenities and luxury Wilshire La Brea provides! As long as you communicate with management and maintenance, they try their best to resolve any issues.

an absolute let down! don’t fall for the pretty shell… the management is a total mess and nothing ever works! rude leasing office people, the same people who kissed your behind to sign a contract won’t even say reply to a greeting. found black mold in my apartment and nothing was done. not even an apology!
trash is regularly left in the hallways for days. disgusting!
they accept absolutely anyone out of desperation, hence an awful non existing community. we moved here from the palazzo a few blocks down the road and it was the biggest mistake ever! look elsewhere. honestly you’ll much better in the same price range.
could go on for days and mention names but i have decided to leave it at this and warn you all…

LAUREN in the leasing office is AMAZING. I have only been here for a few weeks but it already feels like home. No question is to big or too small in the leasing office.
It’s very clean, and the staff in the building is friendly and beyond kind. I feel very safe, and the move in deal was amazing. Some people say there is little parking, and that is true. But we need to remember that this is Los Angeles. There is no parking anywhere. :)
This is a beautiful place and you will love living here. ASK FOR LAUREN!!! :)

LATEST UPDATE: Lowered my rating further. No improvement in guest parking, grills don’t work /​never cleaned (every grill on property somehow), gym never cleaned (use it everyday, very dirty), hallways /​stairwells have stains throughout. When the property was in lease-​up, management actually maintained the property. Now that it’s fully occupied, it’s all about margins and returns = lower level of operating service /​expense. Hopefully this improves. I just wrote a note to management to «improve» their services. Given I’m paying $ 2900 ($ 2.80 psf) w/​concessions and rent will probably go up to $ 3400 without ($ 3.30 sf) for 1033 sf 1bd /​1ba and with one year’s increase + lack of care /​service, I’m planning to leave. Really sad that such a new product fail under a pinched budget /​overpromised services.
UPDATE: I had to lower my rating to 3 stars because the building has ZERO guest parking for residents’ friends /​family /​acquaintances beyond for-​pay parking. Rates are egregious as well — $ 20 per day, only the first 30 minutes are free.
I have found it to be quite embarrassing to have friends over because they either risk getting towed on the streets around the building (which all have like 10 signs laying out the rules on parking) or have to pay minimum $ 10 just to park and see me. It’s infuriating.
Why would I want to live in a building that has such a poor parking policy? This is in a city that lives by the car. It would make sense in Chicago, San Fran or NYC, but not here.
I’ve sent numerous emails to the community manager at the property, but have yet to receive a response. Given this issue, it’s just not worth it to live here. You pay $ 2900 for a 1 bedroom and can’t have friends over to show it off. Ridiculous.
Let’s hope this changes! I’ll update if it does.