Camden Waterford Lakes Apartments — Local services in Alafaya

We loved living here! We had to move due to a job opportunity, and would have moved into another Camden, but there are none in Volusia County! :(

The price is decent, but on the high side, for what you get and where you are located. We lived in the 1 bedroom 1 bath Beachcomer. It was very roomy and had a lot of storage space. The location is great; you're just a 10 minute walk from the Waterford Lakes Town Center. However, it is very close to the highway so you can hear the cars and fire trucks/ambulance drive by all the time. $400 pet fee plus $20 a month for a pet.

Apartment: It was clean when we moved in. We lived on the 3rd floor in the corner by the pool. We rarely heard neighbors, but we could hear parties at the clubhouse and pool and the cars on the road, and occasionally a dog barking. The balcony was a nice space to have, but no screens to keep bugs or birds out. It was nice having a storage closet on the balcony, a big walk in closet in the bathroom, linen closet, a pantry, shelving in the laundry area, and front closet. Full sized washer and dryer came in handy. Plenty of cabinet space in the kitchen. Double vanity with a soaking tub in the bathroom! The internet and cable is with AT&T and is included in the apartment cost, but you don't get HD TV, probably have to spend extra for that. The stove top is glass so it's hard to not scratch.

People/Safety: The staff is very helpful and kind. They respond to maintenance requests right away. I felt very safe walking around and everyone is friendly. The whole complex is gated. I found that a lot of college aged people live here and a lot of people own a dog.

Complex: The complex is well kept and very dog friendly. Plenty of sidewalks and parking spaces. You can pay for a reserved spot under a carport or a garage. I haven't had a problem finding a spot, but it can get crowded due to parties or events on the weekends/later at night. The office holds events from time to time, which is very nice. The pool is nice and big and the area is large enough that it doesn't get too crowded. There are 4 grills in the pool area, which we have used a couple of times. These get dirty so bring your own tools. I didn't use the facilities all that much, but It was nice having a clubhouse with computers, printer, and gym. The mail hut is nice because it is sort of enclosed and has a counter with a trash can. If a package can fit in your mailbox or a bigger one in the hut, they will leave the key in your mailbox. If you get a large package, they will leave it at your door. I haven't had anything stolen from my door step. Valet trash is nice and they usually come on time. If you need to throw trash out yourself, the compactor is by the back entrance/exit. There are 2 dog parks that my dog loved to go to, especially the bigger one. It was nice having a dog washing station and a fountain for the dogs to drink out of. We would spend hours there! Dogs dig holes, but they don't keep up on refilling them; they can get really bad to where dogs fall in them while playing and could break something. In the car washing station, only one vacuum worked and the water pressure wasn't good. Residents would also park in the car washing area overnight and if you went to wash your car at like 9am the next day, cars would still be there.

Neighborhood: Just a short ride away from anywhere you would need to go. About 35 mins to the Disney and Universal attractions. Food is everywhere! Wawa and Publix up the street; Target in the town center; Walmart, BJs, Animal hospitals, pet day care, you name it; too much to name. Waterford Lakes Elementary School around the corner with nice looking neighborhoods. UCF about 15 mins away. The traffic in the area was usually heavy and the traffic lights take forever. The area got a little seedy about 10 mins away; occasionally you would see homeless people begging on the streets.

Overall, I'm happy with my experience here and sad we have to move. This was our first apartment and set high expectations for...

Initially I thought this was a great place to live however I have been here just under 3 months and I am already realizing this place is all about the money by any means necessary.

Upon move in, like all apartments, you must transfer the electric account to your name. I own a rental property in another town which has the same energy company so this essentially should have been a simple task as an existing customer. Not so much. I made the request online and received confirmation that it would be fulfilled. I paid the fees associated with a new connection, online the same day as my request and waited. A month later I get a call from Camden apartment office stating they were charged for my energy account and I will need to pay the fees. Confused I advised I would look into. I was out of town for work therefore about a week went by. After speaking to the energy company I was told that there was nothing they can do, they process requests in the order they are received and they have no control over how quickly that happens.

I explain this to Nicole and Lisa in the Camden office along with providing my confirmation letters/emails from Duke which clearly show dates of request and activation fee payment receipt. This proves that I did my due diligence and the delay was in the hands of Duke energy therefore I should only be responsible for my usage charges and I was willing to pay one "admin fee" as a compromise since this has taken time from both myself and the office however the error is on Duke. Well the office refuses instead they want to charge two admin fees and over $130 in late fees. This is not good customer service. Your community should support you instead they are penalizing me for something that was out of my hands. So pretty much even if you do the right thing and call the utility company to switch the account if they are busy and it takes longer than the same day you will be charged by Camden and they will be sure to beef it up with bogus admin and late fees all so their company can profit off of a mistake that isn't yours to own. Think twice before moving here, it can be nice if you're fortunate not to run into any type of issues but if you do good luck they will not help you or work with you at all.

P.s. I pay for cable and internet in my rent. Upon move in there were two broken cable boxes with no wires in my apartment. I let the office know and we are on month three no one has followed up with me they put the work on the resident to come to the office although most residents work and can't make it into the office. But they find time to walk over and put notices on people's doors why can't they find the time to walk over with a functioning cable box is unbeknownst to me.

Due to privacy reasons I cannot post the 15+ emails I have sent your office with RECEIPTS from...

We love it here at Camden Waterford Lakes.

Applying was a breeze and we were accepted and notified next day about moving forward in the application process.

Our agent (I believe it was Brianna) was super helpful in any questions we had on paperwork and the application. She was also who helped us with labeling the map for our tour and gave us all our needed info/documents upon move-in.

The community is beautiful and quiet with a lovely fountain which provides nice water sounds when you go outside or open your windows. The landscaping is well maintained and even upon last year’s hurricane, we all came out unscathed with no damage to our home.

This is one of the few places we found upon our search that accepts up to 3 pets and we were so glad to be able to bring our three cats here into this new journey.

The surrounding location is absolutely wonderful, with the Waterford Lakes Plaza providing every store you could need for shopping, and supermarkets and gas stations within less than 10 minutes by car.

If you attend UCF or Valencia like we do, it’s a quick 15 minute drive to go to classes. There’s also a plethora of restaurants to choose from as well as entertainment in the form of a Regal movie theater, The Keg Social across the street, and also the recently opened Popstroke mini golf.

Maintenance is extremely helpful and responsive, usually coming to resolve service requests within 1 day (unless submitted over the weekend), and we’ve had nothing but good experiences with them aside from a couple miscommunications (we previously worked at home and there was some confusion about what time to come by, but this was cleared up quickly).

The admin team at the front office is helpful and friendly whenever we’ve had to speak to them, and the clubhouse facilities are well kept and welcoming.

I personally use the gym and enjoy utilizing the weight rack and all the machines, and during the summer the pool is always fun to stop by. We also love the grills to cook steak and appreciate how clean the surrounding areas are.

Valet trash is a godsend and keeps us able to maintain waste within our home throughout the week, but whenever you need to throw something out that is too big or heavy to be sent out, the compost is a quick drive or walk away, and super easy to use.

So far we have not had noise complaints (we live on the first floor and rarely hear any stomping) nor pest issues aside from mosquitoes outside (but hey, it’s Florida!).

Everyone at our apartment agrees that we want to stay here as long as we can because we love it so much. This is my fourth home in Orlando and so far my favorite.

Definitely recommend considering this community and...