Villas of Renaissance

I live in this cmmunity for 3 years, and I sometimes check comments, I also shocked by so many negative coments,
I would like to say the maintenance team are great!, Not only they do their job done fast. They go beyond their duty. Very helpful, neat, great attitude and manners! They often offer me and other residents for help to take grocery bags etc. Amazing employees! I really love where I live.

I’ve been living here since July of 2014, and I’ll be moving out this year. All in all, this isn’t a bad place to live. The obvious benefit is the location (i.e., the apartment complex is close to Nobel Park, the UTC Mall, the 805 freeway, various restaurants, biotech companies, and so on). Other perks: there are food trucks that come to the apartment complex on a regular basis, the maintenance staff has always been responsive to my maintenance requests, and the surrounding neighborhood seems fairly affluent.
Here are the cons:
1. I’ve seen animal feces near the elevators on the first floor of my building. I submitted a maintenance request online and the maintenance staff promptly took care of the issue, but the feces was disgusting.
2. As other people have mentioned, security isn’t great here… Basically, it seems like anyone can walk in off the street. I’ve had solicitors ring my doorbell a couple of times in the past, and I’ve seen business cards for restaurants and moving companies placed near my door. Thankfully, no one has broken into my car or stolen any of my property, which other residents have complained about.
3. Many of my neighbors are college students, which isn’t a big deal in and of itself, but I occasionally hear loud music, obnoxious laughter in the hallways, and arguing. Occasionally, I hear jets flying overhead as well, but that’s to be expected since MCAS Miramar is nearby.
4. These apartments are a bit overpriced, in my opinion, but the rent was still affordable in my case.
TL;DR: This isn’t a bad place to live. There are pros and cons.

We moved to San Diego 2 months ago not knowing that smoking inside apartments is allowed in California! I regret moving to this complex everyday. All the areas of our apartment smells cigarette. It is not from previous tenants but smoke is coming from inside the walls, fireplace,… And God knows where else! But it is really bad it feels like someone is sitting beside me smoking cigarette. I’m really concerned about my new born and my older epileptic child. What they tell me is that the my dad who has been my guest for 2 weeks smells because he smokes OUTSIDE! If you don’t smoke stay away from this complex

Felipe was the nicest workers that I’ve ever seen anywhere. With friendliness and smile, he helped with every single matter that my friend and I had in villas of renaissance. This worker gave me the very positive impression towards this apartment.

I lived at the Villas for about 14 months. The apartments are old and SUPER-​cheap (i.e. the dish washer is useless), but the location is good. I’d suggest trying other properties like The Regents La Jolla (based on what I later heard from coworkers — I’ve never been there).
TL;DR: They will milk you with hidden fees. If you like peace and quiet, try to get an upper floor, street facing unit. Be ok with pet excrement.
Pros:
1– Location: I guess this is the biggest draw, and was what brought us here. While you are still in UTC and have easy access to the La Jolla biotech cluster, it’s on the periphery of the crowded areas in UTC.
2– On-​site staff: I always had nice interactions with everyone in there, and everybody is helpful.
Cons:
1– Location: It’s UTC. So you’ll have a lot of students. Depending on your luck, you can end up with loud party-​types. If peace and quiet matters to you, try to get one of the top floor, end units, away from the elevators. We were on the fourth floor (top) — you pay extra for those, mind you — but unfortunately faced the inner yards. Think you can sleep with the windows open? Think again! After waking up at 2 AM with screaming kids jumping in the fountain, or the crying baby whose scream echoes off the walls for special effects, or the fighting Asian couple across you; you’ll appreciate your AC more, and forget about the sea breeze. Get one of the apartments facing away from the yards, and if you don’t mind street racers revving their cars, you’ll most likely be ok.
2– Management: By this I specifically mean the marketing/​sales and accounting people.
2.a. Sales: When we got the initial tour and were signing the lease, we specifically told the sales agent that we want a one-​year lease, and after that we want to move to a month-​to-​month lease as we’ll be looking to buy a house. We were told it won’t be a problem. When our lease expired and our contract turned month-​to-​month, we were surprised to see a $ 1000 (yes one thousand dollars) jump in the rent. When we inquired, we were given the news that we’ll have to pay a «premium» for getting a month-​to-​month lease, on top of whatever rate they were increasing the lease by that year. So our rent became $ 3200/​month. We stuck to our plan, and paid the extra $ 1000 for 4 months, until we got our house. REMEMBER this if you have similar plans. Hope this helps future tenants.
2.b. Accounting: I submitted my notice to vacate EXACTLY 30 days before our intended move-​out date. I told the people in the office that I’m buying a house. I was told it’s ok, and as long as we submit the notice «ABOUT 30 days» before move, we should be fine. After we moved out, we received a bill for $ 500. Apart from the repainting, re-​carpeting and cleaning (which were double the estimate) fees, we were hit with $ 100 for one extra day of staying in!!! Say what? When I asked, I was told that we had submitted the notice in February, but that’s a 29-​day month! So, … gotcha!!! Sorry! you are charged for one extra day!!! I complained via their survey system, called them in person and my wife called too, asking for that fee to be waived, but were told «pay up or face collection. LOVE where you live!». So here’s the take home: Don’t be fooled by the nice people in the office, the company policy is basically this: «We have a constant stream of students and tech workers who need temp-​housing around the area, guaranteeing supply, so we don’t give 2.5 damns about current residents once we rope them in»
3. Population density: I don’t know what else to call it. I can’t blame the villas for this, but I do blame them for how long it took them to react. Right behind my apartment, which was at the end of a hallway, someone/someone’s pet left a good-​sized stinking pile of poop! (attached picture). The wind would carry the smell into the hallway, and even partially into our apartment. I called the office twice, and emailed them twice, until they finally removed it (took them 3 weeks!). This was the second time I found poop in that stairway. The first time it was on a different floor, and I thought maybe they would clean it out later. But every time I went to the gym, I’d witness biodegradation of organic waste in action!
4. Amenities: It’s nice to have three pools/​Jacuzzis, IF they all worked. Of the three Jacuzzis, only one is hot enough to call it a «hut tub».
5. Security: Gates are a joke and always open (springs don’t completely close). I had a HUGE furniture package stolen fro my apartment door (UPS said it was delivered to the door, not the office, which was UPS’s fault). The vendor replaced it for free, but that should give you an idea!

Plan to stay short term.
This community is all about signing new leases and not about retaining existing residents. New lease signers are offered 1 month free rent while they simultaneously raise rent of existing residents (e.g. us) 10% after a 12 month lease.
It’s an infuriating policy. The 10% increase in rent means WE PAY FOR THE NEW LEASE SIGNERS FIRST MONTH. (a 10% increase is 1.2 extra months rent per year). They simply charge us more to incentivize the new resident.
The reason this is infuriating (and not prudent) is Irvine makes the same amount of money if they only raised our rent by 2% and DID NOT give new lease signers a free month. Irvine did not make 1 dollar more but found a great way to piss us off. Fantastic!
Summary: Irvine pricing and business policy prioritizes a dollar from a new lease resident over their existing residents. This is disgusting. I don’t see how policy reflects intelligent management, and is certainly doesn’t reflect the value of customer satisfaction.
ps. By contrast, the Maintenance staff of the property is wonderful and they should be applauded for their responsiveness and courtesy!

I am surprised to read some of the really negative reviews of The Villas of Renaissance.
I have lived here for seven years, and for various reasons have had to move to different apartments. The process was made easy by a helpful staff.
With each move and building, I have encountered good stuff, and bad stuff. Hey, that’s what renting is all about.
If you want it to be perfect, but your own house. This is shared living and not always what «I» would prefer — but it’s about tolerance and adaptability. Most of the rules are followed — as good as any other place from what I hear.
The one thing that has remained a constant — is the Administrative Staff — and the Maintenance Staff — those guys and gals are the BEST!
I had reason to be involved in a friend’s apartment at the CrossRoads in December — and the maintenance and administrative staff there don’t hold a candle to Villas’ staff. I would not move over there if you paid me.
I appreciate it when people go «above and beyond» — and would like to give special shout outs –
Philippe (who is a manager who really trying to make a difference) — has gone out of his way to make sure that things are addressed in a timely manner.
Frank who has been professional in his approach to my many requests.
Jesus who has been my «hero» and rescued me when I had problems with the elevator after hours. (I have had no problems with after-​hour-​service)
Zsuzsanna, administrative — always sympathetic and reactive to my issues and problems.
Silvana who is a joy to be greeted by each time I visit the center. Great customer service.
Wendy who does an excellent job and goes «above and beyond» in keeping the building nice. I appreciate that.
No, it’s not the perfect place to live. But, I love it!
I intend to live here as long as I can.
The grounds are beautiful and the activities are numerous for those who want to partake.
If there is a better place to live in this great vicinity — at equal prices — I would like to hear about it.
Carole M.

We moved down to San Diego from Norcal almost 3 years ago and we’ve been in the same unit the entire time. We have two young kids and the grounds are amazing and safe for them to run, ride bikes, etc. One review mentioned smokers and, yes, it’s irritating because they walk around and throw their cigarette butts on the ground. When we first moved in, they said no dogs onsite, but I think that policy has changed because there are dogs (and their poo) everywhere. However, the office hosts fabulous holidays parties and other events, onsite, and we’ve enjoyed them all (pumpkin patch party, Easter egg hunt, taco night, outdoor movie night, Christmas dinner). We’ve never had a problem with stolen goods, or with the maintenance folks. In fact, maintenance usually shows up within hours of my request. Love those maintenance guys! The resident services folks are all kind and always helpful (shout out to K.E.!). True, there is high turnover in the office, but I’ve never had a problem with anyone.
Yes, rent is relatively high, but this is seriously the ideal location — especially for newcomers like us. You’re in the center of it all. Of course there will be rent inflation and issues with neighbors, but that’s to be expected. We are very satisfied living in this resort-​like community, and as we prepare to buy a house, we are so grateful for our time spent at the Villas.

I lived here for one year before moving out. The overall experience is positive, the community is pretty new, generally well maintained, reasonable rent/​bills, responsive staff, nice gym and office (free coffee). The pools and grills are amazing. Parking is never a problem here because of plenty of guest parking space. The community is close to parks/​basket ball courts/​library so a lot of fun living here. Upon moving out I opted in for cleaning fee and they gave all my deposits back minus the cleaning fee, showing them to be a very reasonable company. There were two incidents that knocked two stars down.
By the time of moving in, I had 18 month left to finsih my degree, and I learned from the staff that I can renew my lease 6 month later by moving to a more expensive apartment (eg 1b1b to a bigger 1b1b) in the Villas if I wanted to, I thought that it would work with my plan because I could renew at 6 month with a new 12 month lease so by the time my lease is up, I am ready to move on. So I went to the office at 6 month and asked for moving in to an bigger apartment, which was 150 $ more expensive compared to my apartment. The staff helped me with checking out the apartment and we were happy and excited. But the next day I was noticed that, the company changed its policy that I can only do it by moving to an apartment with more rooms (eg 1b1b to 2b2b). I was really not happy because if the company could not keep its promises, there should be mentioning of potential change in the first place. This knocked down one star.
When my 12 month lease was about to finish, I planned to stay because I only had 6 month left and I did not want to move. When I got the renewal offer, I was shocked that the company first raised $ 170 on my monthly rent for 12 month lease, then if I want 6 month lease I needed to pay almost $ 400 on top of that (more than $ 2200 for 1b1b on 6 month lease!). I am OK with one or two hundred extra, because that is what other communities in UTC usually do, but $ 400 is too much and they were basically forcing me out. This knocked another star down.
One thing to keep in mind is that this community is not smoke-​free. People are entitled to smoke on their patio, so if you have problem with that, there is nothing the staff can do.

I first rented here in 1993 for 10 years before buying on Carmel Mountain. I loved The Villas then and still love it! The grounds are beautiful. The pools are clean. The amenities, too many to name. However, the BEST part of having a «vacation» rental (now that I don’t live in San Diego full time) is the maintenance crew, led by Marco Ruiz. If I have a problem with ANYTHING, they come quickly and tend to the issue right away. Often times, going out of their way to assist me with things that are not even maintenance related, like moving a bed or helping to retrieve keys that were dropped down the elevator shoot. The service is always timely and impeccable. They happily replace light bulbs or drip pans. I can’t say enough about Marco. He is prompt, professional, and attentive to the needs of the renters.

An update: my wife decided to give it a last try and we renewed last year and now I realize it was a mistake. Had a SECOND bicycle stolen from the garage, where it was chained with a 15lbs chain+padlock (intended to be used for motorcycles). Left to work 09am and when arrived back at 18:30 the bike wasn’t there. Filed a report with San Diego Police Department but this is what I could do. «Courtesy Patrol» is over and security is a real issue. If thieves can steal a bike guarded by a 15 lbs chain on daylight, they can also have access to women/​wives and children. There was a report from a neighbor (also Qualcomm employee) that had his car’s GAS stolen overnight. Since the administration didn’t take any action after I have reported my 1^st bike was stolen I only believe it’s waste of time to report it again to this administration. If you value your family’s integrity I recommend caution. Aside: there is no emergency team for maintenance. Our apartment was flooded and we tried to access maintenance overnight without success. I have lost an entire night with buckets and still had to work on the next morning. It’s beautiful, though.
After checking VOR answer below, another comment: the last thing you expect to do when your kitchen is getting flooded is to leave a message on a voice mail system. All efficient emergency services have a person to talk with you and understand the severity of the problem before further actions are taken. If there is something that can wait a scheduled visit, excellent, a visit should be scheduled. In case it’s a real emergency, help should be immediately provided. Any comments about security?

The best part of the Villas of Renaissance by far is their maintenance team. They keep the place looking amazing and quickly handle all of my maintenance needs. Felipe the service manager is great. He’s easy to work with and goes above and beyond to make sure my apartment is just perfect!

Considering that I am still the Duke of this dump, I guess I can write a «final» review now that my family and I have managed to get as far away from this place as possible. I am still disappointed that Unilocal has not allowed zero star reviews. I loved this place, then hated it, hated it more. and I always will.
After successfully winning our BBB dispute, and the Irvine Corporate office acknowledging the lack of attention and management, we were let out of our lease. We had opted at this time to drop our disputes with the company and move on. It is what it is… four months of our life with the memory of this place to overshadow it. We had set off into the sunset… BUT they still feel the need to come after us for carpets (already falling apart and «new» when we moved in), painting keep in mind that they had to come repaint our kitchen, because it was covered in sauce. They also never fully repainted the place after the last tenant left. You would think that after all of the issues we had with the place, they would own up to the shitty job they did putting it together. They had already charged the previous tenant for a service they did not uphold, then turned around to charge us. I suppose we are not done with them. I will now make it my shameless pursuit to help dissuade anyone from renting from this company. The management is very poor, and not just poor like no oversight… poor people skills, lack of folllow up, lack of follow through, ownership for failures… etc.
I urge anyone that considers renting from this place to read through the reviews, both the recommended and unrecommended. It looks like this place had a good run, but the current management is letting it fall apart. This is too pricey, and there are too many other options. I even urge you to email me if you have any questions, or need some options if you are stuck in a similar situation. I was working with a group of people that are dealing with these very issues in San Diego, and they are always eager to help others in need. Don’t let the happy smiles in leasing and pretty outside picture sway you. If you must rent from here, DEMAND to see the unit BEFORE you get the keys.
**While I appreciate your usual Canned response below, you as mistily gave me an apartment that looked like shit, and was never cleaned or properly maintained. Your own corporate team agreed and released is from the lease. You charging for a carpet and paint after three months is putting salt in the wound. It shows your lack of professionalism and customer service skills. If you were accountable for your own team, we would not be in this situation. We would be living happily at your complex. Your team lied to get us to move in, and your own maintenance manager agreed that the place looked better when we turned over the keys. You can frankly keep your canned response. I’m going to remain a thorn in your side. You and your team personally caused my family to uproot our lives.

Our AC was broken for 2 months during summer!!(right when you need your AC) it took them a looong time to fix it. Ice formed inside the ac canal and we had to turn the heater on to have the ice melted to finally be able to get some cool air out of it! Water was leaking and pouring on our floor when the ice melted during these two months! Our electricity bill came $ 900 for these two months probably Becuz we had to have the AC on for the ice to melt all the time or probably for the blower they installed in the canal too! We never had any bills more than $ 80! We complained about this to their office their follow up was very poor we had to reach out back to them ourselves again and again until they finally refunded $ 300 out of the $ 900 !
The rent went up $ 400 after a year which is not a reasonable amount! They used to serve coffee until 6 and resident came to the lounge to have a coffee and have a talk! Not anymore ! They only serve it until 1 and the lounge area is not that nice anymore. I got too many skin lesions and breathing problems since I moved here I am not sure why though might be unrelated. Never had these before! So if you got allergy history this apartment might not be a good option for you!
Other than these during my one year stay everything else was nice, the gym is really nice and newly renovated. the location is very good. Walking distance to UTC and some nice cafes and restaurants. A park with a running trail is right next to it.

I happily spent my first year in San Diego living at the Villas of Renaissance. The leasing staff was great, helping my roommate and I find the exact apartment we were looking for. Dual masters with a pool view and plenty of shared living space. Unfortunately my roommate was unable to renew the lease so I had to relocate to downtown.
The amenities at Villas are fantastic. Resort style main pool and other smaller pools for a little more peace and quiet. A theatre, business center, game room, club room and newly remodeled gym… how can you go wrong?
The maintenance team was always quick to fix any issues inside the apartment and the grounds crew kept the campus looking pristine. The resident service office even went above and beyond when our refrigerator stopped working, having it repaired the day we put in the request and providing us with Visa gift cards to replace the food that had gone bad.
It’s located minutes from CVS, numerous small restaurants and an amazing dry cleaners. It’s also walking distance from Westfield UTC mall.

I left a review and unlike all other reviews i have left before Unilocal removed it I would say because of a complaint from Villas of Renaissance. Perhaps I am wrong and it was just Unilocal however I was asked to leave a MORE detailed Unilocal review so I will do that now.
I do not recommend these apartments, I will not renew a lease here and will not recommend it to ANYONE. here is WHY:
1. I appreciate honesty when I came to see this apartment complex and signed leasing papers I was promised a different floor plan than what I received on move in.
–BEWARE the unit you believe you will move into might not be what you were promised. (They will tell you «it was a once in a lifetime mistake and has never happened before»)
2. Bathroom and ceiling deterioration on move in. Had to ask them to fix it, paint was splattered on as quick fix.
3. Pest control: ANTS WILL BE your best friends. Even after they fumigate.
4. Pipes leaking on cars constantly. They try and fix but every day a different pipe. Careful where you park.
5. MANAGEMENT WILL BLAME YOU for problems. They claim all employees are exceptional, everything that goes wrong is your fault. I was told the reason the second person in my apartment is not on my lease is because «I forgot to add them.» «The application asks you three times.» I was told this 5 times by manager. (Both people were present during the time the lease was signed, asked employee to add them repeatedly and they insisted «it was not necessary»)
The apartments are beautiful from the outside, the events they do for Residents are great. But I suggest you check other options. So many beautiful apartments in San Diego. They do not value residents here. I was really excited about this community planned to make it my home for a few years but very disappointed not worth the 2,000 + monthly.
I have brought this to corporates attention. I hope they take it seriously and make some changes for the sake of all residents.

I love living here! I have lived at the Villas of Renaissance for almost 3 years and loved it each and every year. Everyone is very friendly and helpful, and maintenance requests are followed up on very quickly.
Highly recommend this property for anyone looking to rent.

I have visited so many apartments including some luxury apartments in San Diego. This place is the most ridiculous one. The guy whose name is Derek asks me to pay $ 2000 deposit because I am an international student in UCSD. Even some luxury apartments have never told me so ridiculous
deposit. No more than $ 800 deposit based on my international background and my bank statements. Most of the apartments ask for about $ 500-​$ 600 deposit. Don’t trust them that the deposit amount according to your credits history. They just want your money.

Absolutely love this place. We have lived a few places in the San Diego area and this is a wonderful apartment complex. For the size and number of buildings they have staff to care for the grounds on all levels. The management office does a nice job of catering to residents within reason. The amenities are great and do not get any better for the price. The location is also ideal whether you are a student, professional or just want to be close to La Jolla/​UTC.
The walls are thin, as is every other apartment complex in San Diego. The neighbors are pretty quiet around us. It’s also rare to run into anyone in the elevator which is great if you are running late and need to catch it quickly.
The pool area is busy around the main building but it is never overly crowded. The grills are gas and cleaned every day or so by maintenance.
I would recommend living here! Great place to be.

This review is as ‘frequent visitor’ and not as ‘resident’ as I have a couple of friends from Spain living there and I visit them quite often and made me very aware about the possibilities of this complex, ‘imitation Italy’ style.
I would not move there because the rentals, as other have stated, are outrageously expensive unless you share. However, as user, I find this to be one of the best looking and more entertaining complexes in the UTC area. The gym is fabulous, divided in weights room, bikes room and another big room for zumba, candelight yoga and other type of classes. That is amazing.
They also offer cooking classes as well as movie nights and the pools are just fantastic. The vegetation is luscious and tropical (you won’t see many paradise birds in Italy, so this mix of fake Italy-​tropical resort is very interesting and cool). Nice fountains around the area and if you can deal with kids all around, this is a great place to gather with your friends for a chill&chat quality time, having a BBQ or just read a book. I love coming here, is like being on vacation in town!