The Anderson at River Oaks — Local services in Houston

I have lived in this community since July of 2019. Below are areas where Gables River Oaks lacks in basic accommodations expected by a tenant:

Multiple midnight fire alarms (false alarms) due to poor maintenance on pipes that lead to loss of water pressure in the sprinkler system. If you sign up for a 12-month lease, you are guaranteed at least two midnight fire alarms, statistically speaking. The most dangerous part about this is now the residents expect the fire alarm is false and no one evacuates. It’s the building that cried fire.

They promise 24 hour response times for maintenance requests, but that promise is rarely kept. The maintenance team is extremely understaffed for a building this large. It sometimes takes weeks to even get a new water filter for your refrigerator. The maintenance and cleaning team are the most positive aspect of this building's staff.

There are multiple areas of disrepair throughout the building. It takes them months to repair anything that multiple tenants complain about. They finally replaced the garage chute doors after months of complaints about the hallways smelling strongly of trash. Also, every few months, there will be a nasty fly infestation on the first floor from the beautifully smelling trash and you will see fly carcasses strewn about the floor for days before it is cleaned.

There will often be pet accidents in the elevators or in commons areas. Unfortunately, the pet owners are inconsiderate and do not pick up after their pets. These accidents sometimes take days to be cleaned up and stink up the elevators/common areas. But don't worry, they have strategically placed automatic air fresheners throughout the building in a feeble attempt to mask these unpleasant odors.

Accusatory remarks before offering to help a tenant by the concierge and leasing staff. Frequent turnover and lack of training for part-time employees have contributed to an attitude of accusation from the staff members at Gables River Oaks. For example, if a package is delivered by a mail carrier, and does not show up on the Gables platform it is likely that UPS or USPS has lied about delivering the package. This is the go-to response. Also, a lack of training for part-time employees ensures nothing can be done administratively unless full-time members of the staff are on location and available for training/assistance purposes.

The next section of my review was not considered in my rating of the building. This part is completely out of Gables control, but it would be a disservice to anyone looking to move here to not make them aware of what they would be experiencing on an almost nightly basis. There is a nightclub/bar across the street from the loading dock (northwest corner of the building). On any night, except Mondays because they are closed, you may experience any of the following:

People in cars with after-market exhaust systems revving engines late at night.

People in cars playing music at top volume with windows/roof down. Most of these cars have powerful sound systems that will easily penetrate your poorly insulated apartment.

Activities in the courtyard of this establishment are also extremely loud. It has something to do with how the courtyard is shaped. The shape amplifies any sounds in the courtyard and directs them at the apartment building. They are not unreasonably loud on their own. It is just an unfortunate circumstance.

People drunkenly walking back to their cars parked on Kipling and Virginia, yelling and screaming, sometimes fighting, and throwing their trash on the ground. (Be vigilant about broken glass on the sidewalks) Constant honking, engine revving, music so loud it shakes your apartment. Be prepared to buy a lot of earplugs or a loud floor fan (you may need both). You will need these, at the least, on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights or you will have a hard time getting any sleep. See the video attached to this review for a taste of what you may experience if you choose...

My partner and I just leased a new place here three weeks ago and just finished moving in yesterday. Our experience so far, from the interest to the official leasing process has been wonderful (though not without hiccups).

First, the apartment management and staff have been very warm, quick to respond, and on top of things. Kate is the one who showed us apartments and helped us get everything set up. She has been lovely, understanding, and communicative when we had some issues to resolve.

On moving day, I had no trouble reserving the loading dock and getting all my things up the freight elevator. The concierge also was kind enough to open up the loading dock for us to receive a large furniture delivery on a Sunday, a day on which we had not reserved the loading dock. We also had an issue with the A/C prior to being fully moved in when we were still bringing boxes in. I notified them late in the evening after office hours, and by the following morning when I came back to bring some more boxes the issues was resolved.

As far as the apartments go, the community itself is beautiful and clean. This is one of the nicest places we have ever lived, by far, and we moved from a "luxury" complex in Montrose not too far away. The amenities are excellent: pool table, cinema room, a gym with a rowing machine (don't often find these in regular apartment gyms), beautiful pool, and a small bark park on the 8th floor that is convenient for walking your dog in the middle of the work day or at night, in a secure area.

As far as the unit itself goes, my first point of amazement is that I have not heard neighbors once since moving in. Not through the ceilings, floors, or walls. The front door is the least insulated point through which noise travels, and I only hear hallway noise occasionally when someone has a rolling cart for groceries or someone is coming by to gather the garbage for valet trash.

I have not once heard upstairs, downstairs, or next-door neighbors. I am constantly pleasantly surprised by how well insulated the walls are. Another unexpected positive is how well the units remain temperature controlled. We moved from an apartment where the temperature would rise rather quickly and we had to have the a/c on constantly. Being a person that thrives in cooler climates, we typically kept previous apartment at 67 degrees. Here, I have found that the unit will stay right at 70 to 72 even if I set it to higher when I leave, meaning that the apartment stays cool without having to constantly run the A/C (keep in mind it is November, so we are not dealing with outside heat in the 100s, but outside temps at the moment are in the 70s to 80s).

Cons: -The main thing that is bothersome at the moment is that the hallways do sometimes smell of trash, sometimes faintly and other times more strongly. It's a weird juxtaposition that such a luxurious and beautiful facility would smell unpleasant in the halls. -Packages are received through Fetch. I have had Fetch in the past at previous complexes and while I don't mind them and feel they do a good job, it can be annoying to sometimes wait an additional day for a scheduled delivery. (However, I understand that receiving hundreds of packages per day would likely be very inconvenient for the office staff in a residential building with 8 floors).

Overall, my short experience here has been overwhelmingly positive. I love the area around the building, have not experienced noise issues within the unit or from street noise, and the management staff has been wonderful and helpful.

Should anything change, I will update the review. However, our leasing and moving process has been about as easy and welcoming as...

I never leave comments on anything. This however was worthy of my time. The facility is beautiful, the amenities are great, the location is great. However, and this is where other factors of choosing a place you may want to call home come into play. I did sign all the paperwork and paid, from what I remember a $500.00 application fee, etc. Shortly after signing my company informed me that I would be able to stay in the corporate apartment for three months, and then could move into River Oaks Gable, by the way, it was the Broadstone at Post Oak. Beautiful property, and great staff. So not only was the person that gave me the tour no longer working there, the girl I spoke with after that and everything, she no longer works there, hmmm turnover rate so high may say something about the property management. Well, yesterday I went in during lunch and AS REQUESTED came in to see what would be available coming up in April, so I could move in. It was Guaranteed by TWO separate employees that it was no big deal, the $400-$500, fee whatever it was would just turn over into your new apartment, and you would not have to pay that again. Which makes complete sense to me. I paid the fee, just moving in a bit later than expected, they didn’t lose any money from me just a few months later move in date. Well, I walked in yesterday and was very awkwardly greeted by a lady a the front that, let me say I am extremely perceptive to people, was sending a very negative vibe my way, as if I was a nuisance. I had explained that I was told they would be honoring the fact I already paid the fee and that we just are picking my apartment to move into. Well, of course, they played the I need to speak to the higher up, and they don’t know if they can honor that. Having worked at GreyStar as a student, I know the whole deal, it's like being in a car dealership, except with apartment rooms, and I can say I was turned off greatly by the attitude, deception, and overall negativity I experienced yesterday. Not to say that this is not a good place, but all reviews are subjective and I am sharing my point of view. I hope this not only hits home with a potential reader but in fact with the property and company itself. Treat others as you would want to be treated, take care of your customers, that is a priority with many properties, and that is not one I saw yesterday. I hope this makes some sense and wish you the best of luck in...