University Towers — Attraction in Ann Arbor

OVERPRICED. NOT WORTH YOUR MONEY. Not fulfilling everything they advertise (detailed below). Instead of paying the rent here and wasting your money, pay slightly more to live at one of the other, newer apartment complexes.

I am paying more in rent every month than my parents pay on their mortgage for their full sized house. For one room in a small triple apartment, I'm paying $880 plus electricity.

There is no living area -- you walk through the front door into a narrow area that splits into the different rooms. They placed some sort of rack against the wall that can be used for shoes, but not really good for food (which I think is their intention, based on my next point). The kitchen is tiny -- literally not enough cupboards to keep food for three people, no microwave, no dishwasher, no table. There is a short counter to eat at right where you walk in the door, with the only light several feet away (and no windows) so you're eating in the dark. The bathroom is fine, if a little small. The size of the bedroom is great, and having an air conditioner is nice, although it's very noisy. HOWEVER, the box spring and mattress are both very old. The box spring started breaking when I lifted it up simply to put bed risers under the frame. The mattress sags in the center, and I haven't been able to sleep well in a month since I moved in, waking up every morning with an aching back. A thick new mattress topper didn't help, as it can't fix a sagging mattress. The desk also has no chair, you're expected to either use a bar stool or buy your own desk chair -- I would expect that when you're paying for a "furnished" apartment, you'd get a desk chair of some sort. Even the dorms have a chair. No microwave is understandable, people tend to break them, but no chair...? To be fair, the apartment is neat and tidy, and aside from staining on the carpets most of the rest of the unit itself is totally useable -- just not worth the price of rent they're asking.

Laundry is coin operated -- old machines, and the laundry room is currently shut down BECAUSE ONE OF THE DRYERS CAUGHT FIRE. There has been no access to laundry on site for several days, and it will have been well over a week without access to on site laundry (which is one of the things that UTowers advertises as why they're great) when the staff say the room should be re-opened. The machines are old and are very hard on your clothes -- apparently including setting them on fire.

They also advertise their great free wifi throughout the ENTIRE building -- but also say that you can get your own router in your room at personal cost. I wondered at this, until I realized this is because the wifi doesn't actually work. The first few days it was fine, and over the last week or so the connection has been getting slower, to the point that I can no longer FaceTime my parents. As of today, it isn't working at all, not even enough connection to open my email.

The staff are nice and friendly, but often there is only one person at the front desk, with many people wanting help -- or no one at all. Maintenance on little things is prompt, which is great.

In summary: UTowers is incredibly overpriced. All of the things that they advertise as being great don't actually work -- old laundry room that is shut down after catching fire, "free" wifi that doesn't work, and tiny "furnished" apartments that don't actually have what you would expect when somewhere brags that they have fully furnished apartments. Staff are friendly, and the apartments themselves are clean enough, just simply not worth it.

Don't waste your money at UTowers. Spend just a little more, and go somewhere that actually gives you what...

Honestly my experience here was overall very smooth and I would recommend it, assuming their prices haven't increased too much. I've never once had any problems with management, maintenance, or any other employees, and every interaction I've had has been pleasant. The location is amazing, the amenities are pretty solid, and I even had a great view of the stadium! I was lucky to live in one of the remodeled apartments (not sure what the others are like) and although it was petite, it had granite countertops, A/C, was furnished (albeit with clearly used furniture), decent-sized bedrooms (with mirrors to make them feel bigger). All for $880/mo + elec for a 2BR/1BA.

I do have a couple complaints though. First, the WiFi could be a bit spotty at times, though it may have more to do with coverage than reliability (I only had problems in my bedroom, never in my living room). Either way, I'd recommend they install some WiFi range extenders (especially toward the ends of the halls)!

Second, my cold water would occasionally lose pressure and regain pressure a few seconds later. I'm not sure if this is because I was on the top floor, but it was somewhat irritating. Never seemed to happen with hot water though.

I really think some of the other reviews are unjustified so here are some of my responses:

Read your lease. Most of the reviews that complain about unfairness are people who didn't read their lease.

Pay your rent on time (see #1). I'm not sure why you would expect anything other than late fee(s) when you pay late. They even give you a 48-hour grace period. You're all adults.

Ann Arbor is expensive to live in, get over it. Please show me a cheaper place around campus with the same amenities, quality, and location as U-Towers. I lived in Park Plaza for a year as well and paid more than I did in U-Towers for a relatively subpar apartment and an extremely subpar management company. Sure, if you compare your rent to your friend's or parent's, it might seem high at first. Do they live 2 blocks from central campus? Have a gym and pool in their building? Package receiving? 24 hour front desk?

This really seems like a rather minor issue, but the coffee machine was not out of service THAT much. There was a stretch of a couple weeks when the machine seemed to be having issues, but other than that it's almost always been available. Frankly I was personally more interested in the free tea. Either way, I don't think this could make or break my decision to live here...

I was here during the laundry room fire too. I was annoyed too. I really don't see how it was U-Towers' fault though. Clean the lint trap...

When it comes to all of the other reviews complaining about staff here, almost all of the old staff have been replaced. The ones that currently work here are a delight! I’ve been here for around 4 months and haven’t experienced a single issue with staff- they are very down to earth, helpful, and kind. Everyone I've interacted with at the front desk was incredible and although I only know the names of Denise and Tim they are all wonderful and inviting. My friend used to live here 2 years ago or so and I came to visit her one day and had some nasty experiences with those at the front desk so this is definitely an incredible change.

In particular, I have way too many good things to say about the maintenance guys that work here. They are on top of their game. This building is pretty old so the need for things to get fixed can be common. These guys are always ready to go and get the job done! Their response time is quite incredible and they do the job impeccably and always check in in the future to make sure the situation is still ok and taken care of. They are really hard working and the poor guys stay in late and come early to get the job done. I’ve even seen them come in late at night and on their days/time off if anything comes up- once again they come to the rescue real quick even when they were at home and away from work! No lazying around with these guys. And they do all of that with such an amazing, upbeat attitude and they are a real pleasure to have around. I’ve had my fair share of wonderful conversations with them. They are incredibly personable and likable :)

My friend used to live here a year ago when the old maintenance crew and head of maintenance were working here and it’s like night and day! She would ALWAYS complain about them and to this day she tells us horror stories. I’m pretty shocked to hear her stories because I don’t have a SINGLE complaint about these new guys- I love them! (She’s pretty jealous she didn’t get the same experience lol) Every time they see me in the hallways they always ask how my apartment is and if anything needs fixing. I’ve made the poor guys put up with so much since so much needed to be done with my apartment and yet they still ask if I need anything else- if I was them I’d avoid me haha. Bill, Tom, Tim, Dirk, Mike, JT, and RK...