Royal Palms Luxury Rentals — Attraction in Doral

I really wish I could rate this place with 5 stars, as it is honestly very nice. There are several pros and cons. I’ll tell you about it and you be the judge.

When you walk into the buildings, hallways are usually clean. Cleaning staff is on-site every day and when maintenance is called, they generally respond quickly.

The apartments are spacious and renovated but some sloppy work is found throughout the apartments.

Balconies are surprisingly spacious. Nice to sit and relax.

And the pool area has the feel of a resort. Great for having family and friends over, where you can reserve a BBQ and cook a nice lunch/dinner.

Office staff is cordial and professional and try to be helpful.

Now, for what keeps me from rating this place with a 5-star review:

Being able to bring your pet/s along is an awesome plus for many residents. However, rules here say pets must be taken out of the complex for a walk, but let’s be honest; no one follows it. The problem with that is, you find yourself avoiding (if you’re lucky) stepping on their pee and manure in the elevator, hallways, and sidewalks and on the parking lot grassy areas. Some residents even leave their dogs overnight in their balcony barking all night and it’s hard to report because you can’t really tell which balcony it’s coming from.

Then there is the issue that this place is not as handicap friendly as it should be. Yes, they do have some handicap parking spaces, but if none of them are available, those people have no choice but to park where everyone else does and none of the pathways throughout the parking lot have any “curb ramps”. In other words, they are not accessible sidewalks/pathways. You are not able to easily lift a wheelchair or walker up those pathways which is a true hazard. The front area, has one curb ramp, but instead of being closest to the entrance of the office, it is as far away as it could be. Seems like the main concern was to make it aesthetically nice looking versus true concern for the handicap. This feels a bit discriminatory because people with disabilities also wish to live in a resort-like community with ease.

And then, you’ve got the residents. Most are decent working people. They are cordial when they come on or off the elevators or when you see them in the hallway. Many of them are families with children or couples. However, there are those certain residents that have that college partying attitude without any respect or concern towards their neighbors. Some have crazy parties where their music is extremely loud and sit in the balcony yelling, singing, and kids crying. Some of these parties have gone on till 3 or 4am. Sure, if enough neighbors have called in, these people will receive a call, a knock on the door, police called if necessary or a warning notice of eviction. But in the end, you get new neighbors and many times, they too are the same type of partying people. It would be great if the management’s screening process could tell them what type of people they are before being accepted; unfortunately, it does not.

Which adds to the next issue. This place should be safe, it’s got security and it’s got some cameras. However, the screening process doesn’t include those friends, family members or roommates that the lessee decides to bring with them. So some of the people living here, go “under the radar” of management.

And of course, there is that of the rent amount. Even though, in comparison to other complexes like this one, this is not the most expensive, it is still abusive. They raise the rent at the end of your lease, and it’s not a $100 rent increase; it's closer to $300 and in some cases more. What bothers me the most about this issue is that we were good tenants; never had a complaint placed on us; and paid the rent on time every month. This kind of tenant is hard to find... So, you would think they’d want to keep you around much longer. But instead, they increase your rent without regard. That is...

This place is nice and has a great position,which is very convenient. However, for the price that you get charged monthly and the actual name of the property (Royal Palms “Luxury” apartments) you would expect much more. I have to admit that mostly when you have a situation an associate comes an fix it, the areas are clean and that is why i am giving those 3 stars. However, you can notice that inside apartments the finish of any reparation they have done to justify the price of the rent is anything but luxury. Bathtubs are not well painted and you need to be an slave brushing the tiles on the wall beause they turn red and black (which i belive is due to mold inside the walls). Also, cracks or small spaces are not propperly sealed with caulking. There are a lot of german roaches (which i heard is a common problem in all apartments) and it does no matter how much i have tried, since there are open connections to other apartments problem will never be solved ( they offer an extermination service but it is not efficient). Also, if you have any kind of situation that may affect you safety or quality of life, they wont care enough. The apartement above mine is being remodeled, and aparently a water duct was broken (by accident or by a negligent act) and water coming from who knows where is leaking in my bathroom. I had to go in person to the office after hours waiting for someone to come (since i have sent a message to property before ,following the protocol). Someone came to my door at night to see the problem and never came back to us not even to tells us that we needed to wait till the next day. Today, another person came and told us that the problem was fixed, but, when the associate came and saw the leaking again he said that it might take longer for the water to stop. I called the office beacuse i am paying for 2 bathrooms but right now one of then cant be used due this situation and they cannot give me an answer about when it is going to stop the leaking. They told me again that it can stop today or take a couple of days more, but when i mention a discount in rent due to this situation the person that picked the phone inmediately told me that i wont receive any discount because that was something that brokes on the apartment above. So……you dont have an answer for the solution of my problem but you do have a NO for indemnisation?! She told me that she will call maintenence and call me back but she has not. This is not my fault, and now i have to feel lucky that i was paying for a 2 bathrooms apartment because if i were a resident in a 1 bathroom apartment i dont know what her answer would be…. I felt really bad with her representation of the company cause I still feel that i should not judge the property principles and policy for the act of one person, but at the same time i think that if this person is representing the interest of the landlord she shouldnt have treat me with zero simpathy….after all, we , the redidents, are the ones keeping alive the business she works for. By the way, i went to my lease agreement to see if anything protects me against these situationes and what i found was a lot for staments saying all the reasons of why you could be terminated or overcharged, and all situations that landlord will take no responsabilities for ( which is mainly everything). I have been living here for 2 years and have paid my monthly rent on time always….I would like you take this in...

I have been living here for a very long time. I’m one of the first people to move in and the first to move in my apartment. In the beginning I absolutely loved it, friendly staff and problems were dealt with quickly. But now ... Over the past few years things have changed I had problems with maintenance fixing issues and Pest Control not showing up. I have complained and they did take care of it eventually but when paying close to $1,600 in rent, this shouldn’t be an issue.. There is a mold problem and they just paint over it, not even a good cover up job at that. Parking has become an issue. Many times I come home late from work and have to park in visitors parking because visitors park in decal parking. Security just puts a sticker on the car. I have never seen a car get towed in the 15 years I have lived here. They should do it. The caliber of people living here has seriously diminished. I have neighbors who constantly slam the door all hours of the night, congregate and play loud music in the hallway. They let their kids run up and down the hallway screaming and yelling. I don’t bother with security because they don’t do anything. The last time I made a noise complaint the security guard said, and I quote, “What do you want me to do about it?” So what’s the point? My brand new car was recently hit in the parking garage, there was damage and of course he took off. They have no cameras. At this point I wouldn’t even recommend this place to my worst enemy. I have been living here for 15 years. I still have the original carpet. I have requested numerous times to please change it or get tile installed. I get no help, they make it very difficult for me. I have to pay for a moving crew to move everything out and pay for storage to get a new carpet or get tile installed. I have been an excellent tenant. I always paid on time. I never fought over any increase in rent. I have never, ever heard of a crew that doesn’t move your furniture when installing new carpet or tile. I don’t expect a lot but.. after all this time.. I think a little help isn’t too much to ask for. This is how you treat a tenant...