Rio Paradiso — Attraction in Tempe

UPDATE: After a few more weeks living here, I wanted to add a few things to my review, and I increased my rating from 4 stars to 5 stars. They do a GREAT job of maintaining the property here, and they really take pride in keeping things running. Maintenance requests are always answered in a timely fashion, they power wash the hallways regularly, and clear out the trash rooms regularly. There is an inside rec room with games and a projector and while I have yet to see anyone use it, I do plan to when I have a few friends over. The whirlpool spa was busted for a few weeks but they got it up and running pretty quickly. The pool is ALWAYS clean and maintenance crew is always busy doing something. They do an absolutely great job of running this complex and responding to requests. They also had a gift wrapping station at Christmas, they bring in food trucks regularly, they run virtual events, and often have other little incentives for the residents every couple of weeks. I really enjoy living here a lot and am surprised at how well run it is. It is definitely one of the best run complexes I've lived in. I would highly recommend this place.

ORIGINAL REVIEW: Pros: My husband and I moved in a few months ago and I wanted to live here before posting a review. Overall, we love living here. The staff has been professional and courteous and many of them also live here. The amenities are great, and the public grounds are kept spotlessly clean. Maintenance usually responds to issues within 48 hours, though it's not guaranteed. They regularly clean the trash room and the complex hallways and public areas. Amazingly, the pool is cleaned regularly. This is the first place I've lived where I'm willing to go into the public pool because it's actually clean. They just finished renovating it last year, and it's really a gorgeous space. Huge wins on that. Location is spectacular, right on Tempe Town Lake, and on the Grand Canal which is gorgeous to walk along. Lots of wildlife, tons of hummingbirds, rabbits and I've even seen ospreys nearby. As far as noise, the building is right under the flight path from Phoenix Sky Harbor airport - I don't even notice the planes inside the apartment. It's a very quiet complex. I sometimes hear our upstairs neighbor but that's to be expected. Overall A+ for noise.

Cons: I only have 2, but one is a biggie in my opinion:

1. Apartment was not clean to my standards upon move-in. It looked like they let the previous residents clean it and then nothing further was done. The biggest issues: fingerprints on doors, grease from kitchen on top of cabinets, wipe streaks all over cabinets, hairs in the bathtub, black dust on vents in kitchen, and worst of all, pet hair ALL OVER the carpets in every room. I sat down on the floor to unpack boxes and when I stood up, my blue jeans were covered in white pet hair. Residents are charged a decent pet deposit as well as monthly pet rental fee, so I would expect that to go toward cleaning when someone moves out. I've lived in complexes where they literally replace the carpet after every resident. While I get that's a rarity, most other places I've lived provided an optional pro cleaning fee and each apartment was professional cleaned. We did invest in our own carpet shampooer and have done the carpet several times. Besides the pet hair, it's in good shape despite previous tenants. No other complaints about the interior of the apartment, just wished it were a bit cleaner.

2. The pet areas are always clean, but the trash cans don't have lids. Sometimes the smell wafts over to the pool area, which also happens to have grills and tables. The features and amenities are great, but the smell sometimes interrupts me from what would be an otherwise lovely time outside grilling or hanging in the spa. I think investing in some cheap lids just to keep the smell down would be...

Location and price is good for the area. The apartment units are rather large from a square-footage standpoint, especially for the price you pay, which is a huge plus! The leasing staff and maintenance team is always friendly. However, there are a few issues that have been ongoing during the 1.5 years I have lived here so far that bring my overall rating down to a 3/5 stars.

First, the lack of urgency to have basic items around the grounds fixed and kept up nicely is pretty terrible at times. For example, it took nearly 2 months to have the A/C fixed in the gym during the middle of the summer. I had to get a gym membership during that time as working out in the gym was unbearable. Our mailboxes were broken into and it took a few months to get them fixed, leaving mail undeliverable to the apartment building. Gates are constantly breaking and then not truly being fixed, but rather just being 'patched up' months after the issue arose so to speak only for them to break again a few weeks later. Elevators in the buildings are in the same boat, they constantly break only to break again a few months later. The biggest issue I have with this all is just the time it takes to fix things being far too long and then, when things are "fixed", they just break again shortly thereafter. Surely there has to be a better way of truly fixing or replacing things when they break, and there can certainly be quicker ways of resolving important ant timely issues like mailboxes being broken or gates and elevators not working properly.

Secondly, the lack of attention and care to make the other building that I live in outside of the buildings that surround the leasing office look as nice and well-kept is a little frustrating at times. The main building and surrounding buildings that house the Leasing Office are better kept with much nicer upgrades when compared to the other building (the one I live in) that is more separated from the Leasing Office. The buildings surrounding the Leasing Office have a really nice pool that was upgraded when I moved in, but the pool in my building has not received any such upgrades to meet the standards of the other pool. The grounds around the Leasing Office buildings are also much nicer, with nicer landscaping, turfed grassy areas, real grassy areas for dogs, working fountains in common areas and walkways, nice places to sit on benches, etc. I am glad that the complex does have these nicer areas, but I wish the building I was in had them as well. The building I am in has very basic landscaping and common areas with fountains that no longer work and trees and plants that have been removed but never replaced. The primary issue here is just that there seems to be a discrepancy in terms of upgrades, upkeep, and quality, between the Leasing Office building and the other building more separate from the Leasing Office. I just find this a bit unfair for those that end up living in the building that is separate from the Leasing Office buildings.

Overall, I like living here because I LOVE my apartment unit, the views I get from the 4th floor, the space and abundance of natural light I get in my unit, the location (I enjoy being right by Tempe Town Lake), the fact that it is a tiny bit cheaper than other apartment complexes in the area, the fact that maintenance is usually pretty quick to resolve issues within units, and because the Leasing Office staff are very friendly! However, because of the issues I described above, I would only give this complex a 3/5 and would likely not necessarily always recommend that a friend or folks I know move to this complex as I worry they will just get frustrated and disappointed with the same issues I have encountered. If these things don't bother someone as much, then I would say this is a great place to live for the location...

So I was hoping to leave on a positive note like I had intended but I feel like this needs to be shared for future tenants......

my now husband and I have finally moved out of rio paradiso. I'm sure as you read through the reviews you will hear alot amount the maintenance issues you will find here but that should not be your biggest worry...

My husband and I moved our of the apartment after living there for over 2 years. We communicated with the management about leaving our apartment early since we just purchased a new home/ leaving to get married in TX. They specified we will still be responsible for rent though the term of our lease (May 18th). I understood and asked how I can get my walk through done. They told me I don't need them to do it, I explained I feel more comfortable if I'm present. At that point they told me I could come anytime during the week because managers are not there on the weekend. Fair. I call the the day after we move all of our things out to do a walk through. For the next few days I'm told managers are not available. I stress the issue that I only have a few days to get this done before I fly to my wedding. I speak to a staff member nicole who says she will try and get ahold of a manager because they're sick and will give me a call back. No such call was made. I called back and was told by male staff member that their manager is on vacation now. Again, I stress that someone needs to do a walk through with me so if there's anything wrong I can address it (mainly from a cleaning standpoint because every apartment complex is different). They knew I would be leaving out of town shortly after to get married and would not be there by may 18th ( I'll be on my honeymoon- married the 14th). Nicole, lizzy, and the other male staff member assured me I would be able to do my walk through.

After multiple attempts, the staff available continued to apologize to me and assure me that I will receive a call from management if needed. Never received a call but I received a bill for $150 in cleaning and $135 in painting. Just as I feared they would do. The painting was completely invalid as there was no damage and they couldn't produce photos that showed damage. Cleaning, they showed frozen food bags left in the freezer and dirt on the laundry room floor. If you live in these apartments you know its not a laundry room its a door that only fits the stacked washer and dryer. Nevertheless, small things that could have been fixed with a broom, 409, and paper towel. Not worth $150. Again, could have been addressed with a walk through minus the painting which is completely outrageous.

Rio is refusing to admit that they had NO managers on duty for over a week (even though I have an email from their manager brittney confirming both managers were out) The director is now refusing to admit anything at all. I was told that one manager was sick and the other was suddenly on vacation. They are refusing to claim fault in their negligence to have management available for tenant requests/emergencies. Now they have sent me their lawyers email vs being fair and meeting with me in person as requested twice via email. I asked to have the convo recorded and they sent me they're lawyers as a response. Taking advantage of your tenants is completely wrong.

I'm curious to know what other tenants had misc expenses in MAY 2021 or any other time and did not get a proper walk through as requested.

*I have video of the walk through I did myself just in case but it wont let me add it on here

Rio is more than welcome to share the photos what they are charging me $135 to paint and $150 to clean.

FUTURE TENANTS BEWARE AND DOCUMENT EVERYTHING. Document phone calls, visits, names, take photos when moving in and video, and do not let them do a walk through without...