Cresta Bella

I’m writing this review as a warning to anyone considering Cresta Bella. My kids go to Mt. Carmel as well as many other parents I know that have lived there. We all chose Cresta Bella for that convenience and because its difficult to rent a home in the area. Myself and other parents moved out of Cresta Bella ONLY after a year because they bump the rent up almost $ 300+ a month after your year is up. They get you in at a low cost and then bump it beyond an affordable threshold so you have to move. Please, take this as a warning, as it has cost myself and many others an expensive inconvenience and disappointment for our families in the process. On top of that Cresta Bella does not make wise use of their space and the apartments are very crowded for the cost –barely enough kitchen space for one person. Last but not least the dishwashers worked horribly and we had to hand wash everything our last 4 months there. Overall the apartments and amenities «present well» but the complex is price gouging and taking advantage of the market. My rent for a 3 bedroom was $ 2600. Once they got me to move out they had my place listed for $ 3400 a month!!! Their greedy approach to its community is terrible and disruptive for families looking for a long term stay.

Nice place to live but the management tried to keep all my deposit money and charge me on top of that. I complained and she only dropped the additional charges and didn’t get any of our initial deposit back!

I just visited Cresta Bella this afternoon and what a fantastic property! I felt like I was at a resort. Beautiful amenities and the units are planned out very well. Walk in closets, garages, granite countertops in kitchen and bathrooms and lots of storage space. As a prospective renter, I was very impressed. Claudia Morales, the leading consultant was very accommodating, polite and very knowledgeable. She was very thorough with details and answered all my questions. I had a great feeling being here and I hope to be a future resident soon. Look no further, this property is hands down the best in the area.

I currently live here and have been here for 4 yrs. This is the first apartment I’ve had after my divorce. I totally love it and the location is close to everything. The amenities are wonderful and the staff is always helpful and friendly. I’ve never had a problem here. My apartment has many upgrades and it’s my little sanctuary from a long day at work. I’ve never experienced wild parties or excess of noises in fact sometimes it’s too quiet. I would like to continue living here as long as I can afford it. This is a place worth checking out for sure.

Well where do I begin? My boyfriend and I were recently offered the opportunity to relocate for our employer to San Diego County. We spent six weeks looking at apartments within our budget that were just mediocre, I can’t believe how expensive San Diego County is! But then we found Cresta Bella! Just like any corporate owned apartment complex, you really have to watch the prices here they fluctuate daily. You can get a really nice spacious apartment for a great price here if you get in at the right time! No other apartment complex in the area offers huge units like these, with amenities second to none. We have a beautiful kitchen with granite countertops, a washer and dryer, refrigerator, and my favorite– The 24 Hour Fitness Center, also saltwater pool, cabanas, and Jacuzzi! The grounds are beautiful and they have a huge dog park in the back! The office and maintenance staff are very friendly and helpful. Zury was our leasing agent, and she was very patient and helpful answering all of our questions and getting us ready for the move. Also, their clubhouse is HUGE and gorgeous with a fully equipped kitchen, pool tables and plenty of seating. It can be rented out for various events. I would definitely recommend this apartment complex!

Still pleased with this community. Had to call emergency maintenance this morning (Sunday of a holiday weekend). They had a technician (excellent job Lorenzo) here within the hour and he cleared my kitchen sink clog and replaced my disposal. No fuss no mess. Now I can enjoy the rest of my weekend! Thanks Cresta Bella!!!

So far so good. We have only been living here a month and it has been nothing but great. We came from Carmel Valley so I think we have a good place to compare to. Throughout the whole move in process Claudia could not have been better, she is very nice and extremely helpful. Were late to pick out the accent wall and they painted it in less than a day. They even gave us a move in gift with some popcorn soda, etc. Pool is clean, gym has towels and anything you need and the apartments are nice and updated. So far, so good.

I have now lived at Cresta Bella for a year and have found it to be fantastic in every way. The apartment is perfect for our lifestyle, the room sizes are generous and the quality of materials and the appliances are way above average. The units are sound proof so it is very unusual to be disturbed by any noise as the entire neighborhood is peaceful and quiet.
Any interaction that I have had with management, has been helpful and friendly. Claudia, Candace, and Cathy seem to go out of their way to interact positively with an open door policy!
The grounds at Cresta Bella are gorgeous and excellently maintained, it’s a pleasure to come home from work!
Cresta Bella is in an ideal location… Shopping is all within 1 mile, the beach and the city are 20 minutes away!
Love it here in every way!

I was very surprised to see the ratings on this complex. I lived here for a year in 2013 and am returning very soon because I missed the amenities, open parking and convenient location. I lived in a 3 bedroom with room mates and a dog– I will say the prices are fairly steep and I don’t know if I would pay the premium on my own– but we all LOVED it there. Here is my honest breakdown of the place:
Amenities were great–
–24 hour gym was always clean and had towels and water available, TVs with cable
–Clubhouse was free to use and theater was first come first serve during random hours of the week. If you want to book it and make it a private event, I think there is a deposit and also proof of renter’s insurance had to be shown so it would equate to a couple hundred to rent. Shuffle board (there was sometimes never any salt to use it though), Pool Table, kitchen and a living room area with TV.
–Office Center: free coffee/​tea and 3 computers with access to printer and internet. I would see kids using it too and thought it was nice that they had it open to use. Management allowed me to make faxes and were very friendly
— The rules and hours were always a bit grey to me. They were sometimes strictly enforced by manager on some tenants while not at all with other tenants for the clubhouse/​pool. We were given different free use hours than other residents and also on holidays, some families and put their own reserved signs on all the tables and cabanas…
Floorplan/​Appliances
We had a 3 bedroom near Cuca Street
I think it depends on what section of Cresta Bella you live in that will determine how noisy or busy it gets. We loved our floorplan and it was a lower unit so I would hear running water and the kids running around upstairs. It was not something that bothered me much, but then again, I sleep through fire alarms. 2 car tandem garage and we were still able to fit washing machine, a clothes rack and boxes for storage with our cars! Our guests never had issues as parking is first come first serve and the street was right next to our complex and always had plenty of room. (One drawback with the huge garage is I noticed many residents used their garage for storage instead of parking so they would sometimes permanently park their extra car in the guest parking lot for days at a time) The kitchen has amazing storage and they make use of their space. All our rooms had walk in closets and none of the rooms felt small at all. The only issue we has was with washing machine and the dishwasher. They did not work too well as we noticed stains were left behind and would require multiple washes. (clothes and dishes) The dishwasher was also very noisy to run and eventually broke down. It took 5 days for someone to come look at it.
Our neighboring complex is Canyon Rim and I do see kids sometimes skating or biking over to our side. They have not vandalized anything in my area and I have not had any issues but I have heard people closer to that end experiencing issues. Cresta Bella does have a security guard that patrols at night and he is great! I feel that the west side of the complex may have more parking issues as well.
Move out and Deposit $ 400-​$ 500 and Pet Deposit $ 500
I was very apprehensive on the move out date as my friends who moved out of the complex before me forewarned us about the robbery to ensue. If you have kids or a dog, they do a black light test to see if they need to replace any carpets. While pricey– I kind of think its a good thing for people moving in, since you know you will be getting a clean place. We lucked out as they had changed their carpet cleaning company who does an amazing job! We also did not have many stains in thebed room so they only replaced carpet where they found pet stains. I thought that was reasonable. They did not charge us paint fees because we only opted for the free accent wall upon move in. The paint they use is not the best as it comes off and scuffs easily but we were not charged for any of that. They do charge pet rent and also a pet deposit… but overall they did not take our full deposit as we thought they would. I feel like having pets here was rather pricey. but they do have a dog park and have doggie bags throughout the premises.
I am returning back to live here so I can definitely say I am a fan. I will update you as I will be going to the west side of the complex so who knows how parking and the noise situation is over there. The staff that I interacted with the most was always VERY friendly and helpful. Lorinda, Edwin and Candace are my favorite because they are so genuine. Cathy is the property manager and she was always kind to us too, she is very by the book but that’s her job. Talecia was not the most pleasant and did not seem to care about retention rates so I avoided her.
Overall– a great place to live and happy to be returning.

My husband and I have had a wonderful experience moving to Cresta Bella. Everyone at he leasing office was very professional, curious, pleasant and accommodating. The maintenance staff has been personable, respectful of times requested to come in and very quick to fix any issues. Our neighbors have been wonderful. Neighborhood seems quiet and peaceful. The grounds are well maintained and pleasant to walk around. We have not had any issues and look forward to the remainder of our stay here. I would recommend to friends and family.

I have lived here for almost 3 years now and I hate it. First off this complex is not luxury like it has stated for the reason that everything is poorly built. It is overpriced for the type of apartments they are. First off, the walls are thin so you can hear a lot of your neighbors daily activities. For example, closing/​opening doors, cabinets, refrigerators, toilets flushing, dogs barking, music loud (past 10pm) to name a few. There has been reports that people will steal your patio decorations. I have caught their so called security sleeping on the job at times! No wonder random people can enjoy your pool and gym amenities also! There is NO parking in this structure either. If you work past 5pm, good luck finding a parking spot! Every year they have to go into replace your smoke alarm battery, otherwise you will hear this warning beep that is really annoying. Ours started beeping in the middle of the night, so no one could replace it till the next couple days! They also provide «movie night» in their theater in which they play only family friendly films that no one has heard of. The result is that no one uses this amenitie! The gym is useless… no free weights, no bench press, no batteries in the television remote! I can’t wait to get out of here! When you move out, they charge for carpet cleaning/​replacement!

So I couldn’t disagree more with the negative comments. From day 1 when we first looked here the staff has been nothing but friendly. Edwin is who we’ve been dealing with the entire time and he has been great. We moved out of a two bedroom to a one bedroom here and it is so much more comfortable and spacious. All of the neighbors have been extremely friendly as well. The amenities are awesome as well, 24 hr gym salt water pool and even a dog park for your fur babies. We love in a downstairs unit and can only hear the occasional water running. We def do not hear them walking above us. The property is very clean and well kept. I highly recommend moving here. Trust me from my experience you get what you pay for.

I really like living here. I love how quiet it is, we have a one bedroom with attached garage and are on the second floor. We never hear neighbors either side of us.
PROS :
Great location
Lovely apartment, small but good for us
Attached garage with loads of storage space
Gas stove
Safe area
In house washer and dryer
Clean grounds
Pet friendly
Dog park
CONS…
Our apartment is in sort of a cul de sac so you can hear everything outside, kids talking, garage doors, and we have a neighbor who is constantly yelling which is a little frustrating, but that’s not the apartments fault.
Cheap kitchen appliances
Our bedroom is above the neighbors garage so every time they go in n out we can hear the garage door opening and closing and its pretty loud
$ 50 pet rent, per pet, per month, I have two little dogs that weigh less then 5lbs so this to me was ridiculous,
Pool is tiny
A little overpriced for the size, especially when you add an the extra pet rent, then it’s just ridiculous
Anyway, overall I like it here, the staff could be friendlier, but I don’t have any complaints about them. If the rent was cheaper it would have got 5 stars :-)

DO NOT MOVE HERE!
HORRIBLE & NON-​COMMUNICATIVE MANAGEMENT!
DUE TO LOW INCOME HOUSING, THERE ARE «BEY-BEY’S» KIDS WHO VANDALIZE THE COMMUNITY AND YOUR PERSONAL PROPERTY.
We have lived in this community for almost 2 years and prior to that, waited a whole year before it was finished building.
Since the first week we moved in, we have made countless complaints about the neighbors’ kids and had numerous incidents of these kids vandalizing our vehicles and our property. Whenever I contact the Leasing Office, I either get transferred to voice mail or NEVER RECEIVE A RETURN PHONE CALL!
The ONLY time I was able to finally catch the management’s attention was to video record these kids violating community policies. Yet, even with that effort, all management did was «speak» to the parents. The leasing office also favors certain low-​income families within the community.
Pieces taken from Jennifer B.‘s post and we are in total agreement:
LOUD LOUD LOUD KIDS EVERYWHERE!!! I am very disappointed with the management team. They do very little (or nothing at all) or seem to care about the social complaints of the community. There are kids CONSTANTLY making endless noise into the dark hours of the evening (children between the ages of 7 years old to 14 years old outside in the street at 9:30 PM on a school night!!!).
Are these kids and their parents forking out $ 2,700 bucks a month for rent? Why are there signs all over the property stating «no skateboards». —-To add, I had a few incidents where kids were skateboarding down the hill (sometimes while laying on their back) and I’ve almost hit them because I could not see them.
I know why there are signs all over the community — so when you drive around and consider renting you think «awesome, they have that under control» — NOT! They are constantly running around and SCREAMING — not normal play. I can hear every word they scream from sitting in my living room w/​the doors closed. They are a nuisance to say the least and there is NOTHING BEING DONE TO CONTROL THE PROBLEMS!
When you want to come home after work and unwind and relax, all you here instead is «banging noises from their razor scooters, clink… clink…» from SEVERAL kids on their skateboards! A ball banging against the trashcan area for wall ball, BB guns being shot and in some instances I have seen them lit fireworks. When I approached the management team, their response was «well, kids need to be kids and if you want us to do something about it, you must videotape the incident or call the local police station.»
We want some type of grievance to either move out of our current floor plan & building, or the option to break our lease without penalty. We will be writing a letter to Atlantic Pacific Management owners (with photo proof of all damages) if we do not receive some type of grievance from the community management.

SAVE YOURSELF A THOUSAND DOLLARS AND LIVE SOMEWHERE ELSE!
THE MAINTENANCE CAME INTO MY APT. ILLEGALLY!!! I did not recieve a 24 hr. written notice for entry as required by law. They came into to «check up» on my garage to see if we are using it for our cars — (they have a policy). Not only were my tenant rights violated legally, but I am creeped out that someone came into my home w/​out my permission. I found out because they posted a notice on my door that they were there for an «inspection» — yet, I had nothing to inform me before. Not cool!
LOUD LOUD LOUD KIDS EVERYWHERE!!! I have lived in Cresta Bella for a little over a month now. I am very disappointed w/​the management team. They do very little or seem to care about the social complaints of the community. There are kids CONSTANTLY making endless noise into the dark hours of the evening. When you want to come home after work and unwind and relax, all you here instead is «clink… clink… clink…» from SEVERAL kids on their skateboards! When I approached the mgt. their response was «well, kids need to be kids». Really, are those kids forking out $ 2,700 bucks a month for rent? Why are there signs all over the property stating «no skateboards». I know why — so when you drive around and consider renting you think «awesome, they have that under control» — NOT! They are constantly running around and SCREAMING — not normal play. I can hear every word they scream from sitting in my living room w/​the doors closed. They are a nuisance to say the least and there is nothing being done to control the problem.
CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP!!! The appliances are cheap and LOUD! The dishwasher is so ridiculous that I have to turn the volume WAY UP on my TV in order to hear it… ugh! There is absolutely NO PADDING under the carpet (I mean, really?). It actually hurts my heels to walk barefoot. The granite is ugly and looks like something that a more prestigious contractor would refuse to use. It is irregular and questionable. There is no electrical outlet in the giant hallway, so I have to plug my vacuum into the garage door opener (yes, down in the garage in that outlet) to vacuum my stairs.
SAVE YOURSELF THE HASSLE. IT IS FAR FROM «LUXURY LIVING». It looks pretty and shiney, but don’t let the pretty paint fool ya! We are moving as SOON as our lease is up. This place is terrible…

DO NOT MOVE HERE!!!
Seriously, save yourself. You’ll only live to regret it! As others have stated this is no luxury living community. It’s made cheap and all the appliances are too. Our dryer has broken 3 times and they won’t replace it, just fix it until it breaks again. The parking is HORRIBLE! They are short on parking as it is then you have many residents that use their garages for storage instead of parking their vehicles in it. For a property short on parking, they also don’t limit the number of vehicles you can have. So one family can have 5, not use their garage and take up all of the area parking. Management’s response? There’s parking on the street. Yeah you mean the street littered with broken glass from all the cars that have been broken into? One of the basic «luxuries» is having a place to park when you get home. The landscaping is hideous, a lot of rock and dirt instead of grass or mulch. For a pet friendly community, grass is scarce and what is around has brown patches and dog crap everywhere. People can pretty much do whatever they want at Cresta Bella. They are too worried about a lawsuit to enforce any rules. Many here have pets that aren’t on the lease so they aren’t paying the $ 50 per pet rent. You also have some extremely large families living in units way over the capacity limit. The water, trash and sewer are prorated based on occupancy so guess who’s footing the bill on the excess? Everyone else in the development! People also let their children out without supervision. They’ve been known to throw rocks through car windows and ride skate boards through the development at all times of the night while shouting. They have a security guard that rides around in a golf cart all night but he appears to have the same «anything goes» attitude as the management and turns the other cheek. I could go on for days here but I think you get the point… DON’T DO IT!!!
Click on the 26 filtered reviews link at the bottom left in light gray. There’s more reviews with reasons not to move into this overpriced dump.

I used to be in the military and have lived in many places. When moving to San Diego I looked at dozens of apartment complexes. Another reviewer mentioned not to judge a book by its cover and I have to agree. I thought this place looked beautiful and it does. It called itself luxury, which is what I like but I would venture to say its not.
First off, the construction is very poor. If you live on the bottom floor you can hear the footsteps of those who walk with a heavy foot above you. You can also hear neighbors showers running, toilets flushing, dishwashers running and washers/​dryers as well. The granite seems to be poorly treated, the carpet is cheap and whoever thought of putting ‘green’ energy lights over the stairs was not thinking things through. When you get home at night and you turn the light on to walk up the stairs it will be dim for about 30 seconds until those bulbs light up fully, ugh!
Putting the apartments aside, this complex was brand new and for some reason they decided to outfit their fitness center with outdated technology. They now keep the thermostat locked so the afternoon hours when several people are in there it gets hot. For a new complex, it looks like they bought an old gyms equipment and it bothers me. They have signs posted all over the complex stating no skateboarding, biking, scooters, etc… but nothing is enforced. I have seen kids going nuts all over the place often without regard for the cars coming in and out.
Back to the apartment. For a new, luxury apartment, they went with the cheap route on everything! Not one appliance is modern, they are all older. The water temperature when I first moved in was way to cold but that was adjusted after I complained, a complaint I hear happens a lot. Overall the apartments aren’t necessarily BAD but when you factor in the price you are paying for what is supposed to be luxury then it is not a fair price. I reside in a 3 bedroom place and pay 2600/​mo and that price is far too high for what you are getting. I live along and being the first resident in the particular apartment, the carpet is already worn because it’s cheap and i’m very disappointed.

This place. I cannot tell you enough how much I abhor this apartment complex. I have lived in places in worst areas for have the price of rent with better service and apartment appliances and functioning. So this isn’t long here is a short list of why this is the WORST apt community I’ve lived in:
1. It looks nice, it’s labeled luxury, and the rent is an exorbitant amount of money.
— Dont judge a book by its cover, luxury — they must have a different definition, the rent price is ridiculous.
2. This apt had several things break and a water leak/​damage. It was brand new and we were not compensated well for these severe inconveniences. List of things that didn’t work right. 1. dryer 2. stove 3. ceiling fan 4. toilet 5. Refrigerator 6. Lights and I’m probably leaving a lot out.
Today was another inconvenience.
It is summer time and a sunny Saturday afternoon, what a great time to use a great amenity of the community gas grill right? NOOOOOOO. They clean the grills on Saturdays, well they say. They don’t make it know to residents. Why? clean the grills when most people will use them at the time. They have signs for out service on all grills just for cleaning. Why not have the grills cleaned one at a time so one is available? We went down there at 1230 in the afternoon and they haven’t been touched. Why not clean the grills in the morning? The staff were unhelpful and incompetent.
It’s just my opinion but this place get’s my vote for WORST apartment complex for San Diego and Worst Rent to Value Ratio. I hope this saves someone some headaches in the future.

I went to probably 10 places in San Diego before making the decision to move into Cresta Bella (December 2011). I selected the community because it is a newer complex and still competitively priced with neighboring communities.
The day we moved in we had one service request (the water temperature was too cool) — we requested an adjustment and it was completed in the same day.
Washer and dishwasher are pretty loud and can only run when you are out of the unit, unless you want to yell at one another in the house. No big deal — run It when you leave. Unload it when you return.
Facilities are excellent… we visit the pool
& jacuzzi regularly. The gym is well equipped and access is great. Management office is very accommodating.
We live in an upstairs unit and have had some noise concerns (the doors below slam so hard it shakes my china hutch) and some evenings I can feel the music through the walls. There are teenagers below and to the side of us though so that’s to be expected. I’ve only heard the folks to the opposite side of me one time & they have 2 dogs (but no children). We have security that patrols nightly and I have noticed the noise levels quiet down after 10 so I think I have them to thank. Our downstairs neighbors have expressed concern over my pets rough-​housing (they are lazy dogs so that’s funny to us). The noise concerns from us — and them– leads me to believe you have to be overly conscientious regardless of whether you request an upper or lower unit… welcome to multifamily housing folks. If you want the luxuries of a house — go buy a house.
It is a dog friendly community — thankfully, because I have 2 pets. The dog park is a big save for them. Like some of the other people posting, I have seen some change in the grass since moving in, because of the dogs. Management recently treated the grass at the dog park so I am assuming that same treatment will take place throughout the community in the near future.
I have absolutely no complaints about parking, we have 2 vehicles and neither are parked in the garage so I don’t understand the complaints there, we have never had problems finding a place to park.
Overall, considering this is multifamily housing. I am pretty happy with the community. The floor plan I am in is very open & welcoming. The children in the community are closely watched by parents and neighbors. Management is «on top» of issues — almost annoyingly so.
I’d recommend living here to friends with a full disclosure.

Considered this among several properties around San Diego.
Celeste was prompt in sending me an e-​mail when I first inquired about this property. She also was able to extend to me a deal (one month free with 13 month lease)
When Celeste wasn’t available to show me the homes, Erica stepped in seamlessly. Both are pleasant and seem to genuinely care and want to help.
A few pluses about the property of note:
1) Newly openend
2) Has a Tennis Court
3) Salt Water Pool
4) You get one painted accent wall with rental
5) Nice community room
6) Must show proof that you earn 2.75 times your monthly rent– this seems to be a good thing to ensure higher quality neighbors
A few pluses about most of the units:
1) Has a personal indoor laundry room
2) Has an attached garage
3) Tall doors and windows give a feeling of space
4) Spacious bathrooms
5) The extra storage spaces on the patio and in the garage
6) Beautiful inddor design– not plain and boxy-​accented with arches and other interior accents
A few minuses:
1) *There is a buzzing noise that comes on in the apartment (tour near dusk if you can when the lights are on) and the source is the walk-​in closet. I can’t tell any other source other than that… .
2) *The medicine cabinets are really high! I pretty average height and will need a step stool to reach the top 2 levels in my med cabinet.
3) They let you use the community printer if you need to print something when you are touring. The one I used was almost out of ink with very faded prints. I asked for the ink cartridge to be changed and they didn’t.
All in all it’s a very exciting place to consider living! You should take a look!