Chester & Ella Apartment — Local services in Brisbane City

Let me give you a small taste of the Chester and Ella experience. The following was written by the building manager on the buildings private Facebook group only a few weeks ago, and please keep in mind the quote “luxury residents with amenities that resemble a 5-star hotel” come straight from the buildings website. The following reads:

“Dear residents, It is with a heavy heart that we bring you this update. The body corporate committee has informed us that there are currently insufficient funds for the repair and replacement works needed in the recreational areas of the building. Regrettably, we will be returning the recently acquired pool sticks and accessories to the sender due to this financial constraint.”

That right there is the Chester and Ella experience. A building that is so poorly run there is no money in the sinking fund and they have to return the communal pool cues to make a quick $50 bucks.

I can vouch for every single horror story that has been posted. The amenities are always broken. The bin chute is broken almost every day. The garage door will be broken for months on end and just recently someone had their car broken into. The pool and spa are almost always out of order and it takes months for new parts to arrive. Managements idea of fixing these issues are to bombard you with emails, most of which are completely unnecessary.

The fire alarm will go off on almost a weekly basis, sometimes in the middle of the night. Management refuses to fix the faulty system and most residents will just stay in their apartment because they know it’s a false alarm. One day the building will be on fire for real and it will be the fault of management if there is a serious injury and/or death.

The moving in and out procedure would almost certainly violate many health and safety hazards. It was a massive oversight to not install a dedicated service elevator. It is a long walk through a car park with a 60 degree slope and several blind corners you must move your stuff through, and you only get three hours to do so.

The Facebook group has become heavily censored. Residents have created rogue Facebook groups. Management will post something along the lines of “someones car has been broken into” and will turn off comments. 

The Ella building has a large hole in the wall the second you walk inside and it has been there for over a year. The fire door will beep every two seconds and it will not be fixed. The turnover of rude and unprofessional staff is high. The elevator and walls have scratches and holes throughout the building which do not resemble those of a luxury 5 star residence.

Worst of all is how renters are treated in this building. The starting price for apartments are high but you justify it because you really want to live there and you can afford it. Expect your rent to go up by $100 a week at the end of every lease. You will repeat this cycle until you can no longer afford to live there and have to move out. They do not care and apartments will sit empty for several weeks until some sucker pays the new price. They are currently in the process of trying to force out the middle class residents for upper class residents and make as much money as possible. They will also do absolutely everything in their power to take your whole bond. The building is constantly being taken to court by ex-residents who are seeking their bond back.

Newstead is such a great place to live but this building is not it. Thankfully I was a renter and not an owner and I am much happier...

This is the worst apartment building I have ever lived in. There are numerous reasons as to why I have decided to end my lease early at Chester & Ella, the treatment of the property managers, the lack of ‘luxury amenities’, and general state of the building.

I have never encountered such rude staff who are condescending, blunt & make it their mission to make your life a misery whilst in their prescience. Not only do they send hundreds of emails about yet another ‘luxury’ being removed but I have also overheard them (Michelle) complaining about specific residents whilst working on the front desk! There are only a few staff who grace you with a smile.

Not to mention, any concerns/complaints are responded to with ‘you signed the agreement - read the disclaimer’. When agreeing to live here, I did not sign up for dog poo to be left in the sun on the adjacent balcony. Where is the outdoor cinema? When will the pool ever be fixed? Has anyone looked to repair the BBQ? What am I paying for? Did I sign up for my apartment to smell like a bin chute?

When ending the lease early (with 2 months notice for the management) I was lumped with an extortionate fee for cleaning, furniture removal. $627 apartment cleaning, $198 furniture steam, $400 end of lease fee - $1225 total!! I was hounded by Michelle to pay this upfront. There are countless reviews of other residences paying their fee’s upfront with the hopes of getting their bond back - to which Chester & Ella have been taken to court on multiple times.

To add, I pay an additional fee for a furnished apartment, which by the looks has been picked up off the streets. The sofa and bed are covered in stains & extremely uncomfortable. I was also provided with a TV that does not work, to which when I requested some help… no one ever came (I am still waiting on this 4 months in). Only 1 fan works at full speed, Only 1 of the two key fobs I was provided actually work. I was never shown how to access my car parking space nor how to book any of the ‘luxury’ amenities. Many of the machines in the gym are broken, and the mats are falling apart.

The building itself is sold as ‘luxury’ apartments, but could only be described as sub-par. Bin chutes are broken regularly, and when they are working there is a horrendous smell carried through all hallways which seeps into my apartment. Carpets throughout the building are stained and holes in walls that have been there for months. The images posted on rental sites are clearly edited and depict much larger, brighter apartments.

No wonder there are so many apartments up for rental from Chester & Ella - no one wants to live here. I would leave this 0 stars if it...

Would not recommend C&E to anyone looking to rent or buy (including for an investment). Here’s why:

Apartments & amenities The apartments are tiny and overpriced. They’re “justified” by the location and amenities. Firstly, the location is compromised due to surrounding high rises. You’re almost guaranteed to be less than 20m from a neighbouring view straight into your apartment on any option. Secondly, the amenities are always broken (chute blokesand garage broken every week), in horrible condition (pool chairs ripped and couches stained), and any maintenance/repairs takes far too long (broken pool/spas take 4 weeks + to be fixed, and broken glass present for over 3 months). The fire alarm goes off on a weekly basis, with emergency services attending the scene (sometimes in the middle of the night). Management has failed to address this after several dozen occurrences.

Management & requests Every staff member is incredibly rude (except for Wilma). They have poor retention with new, rude concierge members rotating frequently. I have caught Anthony (property manager) and his colleague laughing about a building-wide poor management petition in the elevator. It took over 3 months to fix a fan issue in the apartment because requests aren’t taken seriously. They do not allow Uber eats drivers to bring food to you. You must meet them out the front.

Move in, move out & lift access Moving into this building is a nightmare with an only 2 elevators to service hundreds of apartments. You can only gain access to 1, and have to manually cart moving items to the basement (trucks don’t fit) before moving in. When moving out, they will look for every opportunity to take your bond. Down to cleaning fees for dust, smudges and fingerprints. During peak hours, elevators that and the priority access penthouse suites receive, you will wait up to 20 minutes for an elevator.

Apart from the items listed above, the building has a large group of concerned tenants and owners petitioning against the management because of countless complaints, incidents and negligent management issues.

These points barely scratch the surface on ‘list of things wrong with C&E’, and I’d encourage every potential buyer and renter to think long and hard about the future of the building under Aurora Assets Management and Kokoda Properties. It not only represents a bad investment, but a poor lifestyle choice among the countless headaches you’ll experience apart of paying a ‘premium’ living price for a very disappointing...