The Beacon — Local services in Fremont

I lived at Beacon Apartments for more than 2 years now. This was my first time moving into an apartment complex and I had concerns about the noise levels and experience with the management. However, it has been a very pleasant experience.

The staff is friendly, professional and always willing to help address any concerns or maintenance requests promptly. I haven’t used the hot tub, however I had been using the gym and it is always maintained nicely and contains most of the equipment I needed for the workout.

Great things about Beacon: My apartment has a great lighting, lot of windows, quiet during working from home days. State of the art appliances. I didn't have any breakdown occur in 2 years Convenient location. Close distance to the popular grocery stores, restaurants, Whole Foods, library etc. Friendly and cooperative staff. I have had a health issue and some family members were coming over to see me. The office management, especially Celina, had been very considerate and made sure that my guests had a space to park. That was very nice of them. I never had an issue of stolen mail. I signed up for parcel locker service and never lost a package.

There are a couple of opportunities: We used to have regular community events where residents would get together but they stopped doing that. They could arrange a movie night every once in a while etc. 2-way mirrors on the garage ramp could be installed that would increase the safety. Every once in a while, I see the residents drive too fast down the ramp. Clean and aesthetic property. Whoever has come to my place had very nice things to say about the amenities area and overall complex.

Suggestions to new tenants: When selecting an apartment, make sure you know your parking space. A very few car spaces are uncovered and make sure you are OK with that. If you are the kind of person who can get easily disturbed by the noises, select an apartment away from main door or the elevator.

Not so-good experiences (all attributable to the tenants and can’t be foisted upon the management): Some tenants drive very fast up and down the garage ramps and often hit the brakes fast. I didn’t have any accident though, but close enough. Beacon is a non-smoking property, however one of the residents used to smoke during the day time and the cigarette smoke would make its way through my open windows. I told the office. Either the resident moved to another side of the property or he simply left shortly afterwards. Most of the tenants are good and like to maintain hygiene but there are always 1 or 2 bad “apples”. They leave their recyclable trash outside their room and don’t clean after their pet. However, the management had been very good in enforcing the cleanliness and they keep sending frequent notices to keep the area clean. I had 1 car break-in issue a year ago. However, Beacon changed their security company and I haven't experienced or heard of any break-in issue since then.

What makes my experience good here is the ability to place a trust on the office management and know they will address any concern promptly so you can enjoy your stay to the fullest.

If and when I am back in Bay Area, I’ll definitely consider living here again.

Thanks, Beacon (Celina, Kathy...

I had a bad experience with them. Unlike other places, you can’t rent here without going through an agent. Their website doesn’t show the unit numbers that are available—you have to contact them directly to find out. They also only offer guided tours. It feels like this system is designed to force you to rely on an agent, which unfortunately opens the door for unnecessary tricks and a lack of transparency. If they choose to operate this way, they should understand how important it is for their agents to be responsive and genuine. However, my experience was the opposite. I had to repeatedly follow up with them, and they rarely followed up with me. Among all the apartments I’ve toured, Beacon stood out as the least responsive. Scheduling a tour was another frustrating process. After trying multiple times to book one, I finally decided to visit their office in person. Initially, I was told no tours were available that day. But not long after I received a call from another apartment complex, they suddenly said I could tour the unit that same day. This made me question their honesty and whether they were being upfront from the beginning. The apartments themselves are new, and the amenities are nice. During the tour, I had a pleasant conversation with the leasing agent, Alaia. I found a unit I liked that would be available in February, perfectly matching my planned move-in date. I told Alaia I would sign the lease immediately if they offered the current promotion of 2 months free rent. She said the promotion only applied to vacant units, but based on my experience with other apartments, like Paragon next door, I was skeptical. Other places were willing to extend promotions to future units if I was ready to sign. Alaia said she would check with her manager, but I didn’t hear back until I emailed them. Their reply was disappointing—they said they could only offer 1 month free and claimed another applicant was ready to take the unit without any discounts. This felt like another tactic to pressure me because, to this day, that unit is still available. Because I really liked the apartment, I immediately replied, proposing a compromise of 6 weeks free rent as a middle ground. I hoped this would show my commitment and encourage them to negotiate. Unfortunately, I never received a response, even after waiting a full week. Adding to the frustration, their communication felt insincere. The emails seemed robotic, as if they were written by AI. For example, one reply, which came the same day, began with, “I hope this message finds you well.” Who writes like that for a quick back-and-forth? Overall, the process was frustrating, and their lack of honesty and transparency stood out. Their system, which requires working through an agent, feels unnecessarily complicated and designed to confuse or mislead potential renters. I would not recommend...

The apartments are beautiful. I’m hoping that AMC starts to hold true to their values and start providing a “high-level of resident satisfaction & wellbeing”. The care from the leasing agent (Sunday 6/1/25 around 5pm) was far below what I would expect from such a reputable management company.

I’ve been told that units weren’t available, and when I mentioned the offerings on the site, she backtracked and acknowledged the unit(s). The door was completely locked with no notes during regular business hours, and even after an alleged restroom break, she didn’t seem eager to provide the services she was hired to provide. I’ve booked a tour on the site and received a call that the booking was canceled.

As I considered my brief experience with the leasing agent, I can’t imagine providing her with any of my personal information. If the leasing agents aren’t properly doing their jobs I can imagine that the owners won’t be pleased. I’ve encountered other management companies like Prometheus, where our family was welcomed and our experience encouraged us to consider going beyond our original budget. I live in a sister property, but it is evident that AMC is disjointed in the services they provide. As a property owner myself, I wouldn’t want AMC, particularly anyone associated with The Beacon, handling my tenants.

I suggest AMC consider a different site to use for booking appointments. No other complex in the bay had a faulty process like this. I was able to fully book a real appointment or I was able to email their AI or human agent to finalize the details of my tour. At this point they may want to consider self-guided options so that they can train or hire better humans.

(As a note, I drove in from LA to tour several properties and Beacon was previously at the top of my list. I almost applied for a unit before coming in person.)

• I apologize for mentioning Aleah in the initial review. I spoke with my cousin who had a tour and she assured me that Aleah, I apologize if the spelling is incorrect, was an...