Alea Miami — Local services in Miami

My wife and I were filled with joy and anticipation as we prepared for the arrival of our first child. At six months pregnant, we decided it was time to move to a bigger place, leaving behind Alea Apartments in Miami (WaterRange) to create a nest for our growing family. But what should have been an exciting chapter quickly turned into a frustrating ordeal, thanks to the incompetence of Alea's leasing management office—specifically the manager, Monique Fireall. Let me take you on our journey so you can decide if Alea is worth your time—or your peace of mind. It all began when I went to the leasing office to inform an employee, let’s call him Mr. R, that we’d be leaving at the end of our lease on January 29th. Mr. R confidently assured me we were good to go and everything is set. To be thorough, I followed up that same evening with an email to Mr. R and the main leasing team, putting my request in writing. Unsurprisingly, I never received a reply to confirm or reject the request—Alea’s hallmark lack of communication at work. With Mr. R's verbal confirmation in hand, we secured a new place and prepared to move. However, early in January, things took a sharp turn. When I tried to book the elevator for our move-out, another employee informed me that we couldn’t leave until the end of February—unless we paid a penalty. I was stunned. What about Mr. R’s assurance? What about our plans? Enter Monique Fireall, Alea’s leasing office manager, a name I won’t soon forget. Monique was a master of avoidance—always busy, rushing to "meetings," and pretending not to see us. When I finally managed to get her attention, she brushed us off, claiming she couldn’t resolve anything until Mr. R returned from vacation on January 6th. I pressed her: If Mr. R confirmed our arrangement, would she honor it? Reluctantly, she said yes. Fast forward to January 7th. My pregnant wife and I went to the office to speak with Mr. R, who, to his credit, was honest and apologetic. He admitted that at the time of our initial conversation, he was unaware of Alea’s 60-day notice policy for month-to-month tenants. Since our lease ended on January 29th, he had mistakenly believed we were free to leave. Mr. R even approached Monique on our behalf, hoping she’d show some understanding, especially given our circumstances. When he returned, the look on his face said it all. Monique had refused to budge. She dismissed his explanation and insisted we couldn’t leave until the end of February. Frustrated, we tried to speak to her again. True to form, Monique dodged us, claiming we needed an appointment—an appointment she never granted. When I emailed her, she began twisting facts, denying earlier conversations, and covering up the office’s mistakes. Her dishonesty and unwillingness to acknowledge their errors were both infuriating and disheartening. Her response? She outright denied ever agreeing that we could leave on January 29th. She went as far as claiming that Mr. R never even said that! She essentially accused us of lying. I emailed her again, pointing out that it seemed she was pressuring Mr. R to change his statement. Hours before, Mr. R had openly admitted to us that he didn’t know the rules, which was why he gave us the confirmation. But, in true Monique fashion, she denied pressuring him and doubled down on her stance. Instead of honoring her earlier promise to respect Mr. R's word, she smugly insisted that honoring our 60-day notice to leave at the end of February was somehow her “solution.” It was absurd. Her word, Mr. R’s word—neither meant anything. Yet, I’m sure Monique slept happily that night, feeling accomplished for creating chaos in the life of a six-month-pregnant woman and her husband. So, future Alea tenants, consider this your warning. If you value clear communication, competent management, and basic human decency, look elsewhere. Alea Apartments might advertise modern amenities and a convenient location, but behind the facade lies a chaotic and poorly managed operation. Avoid Monique Fireall and her team at all costs—real...

Update: ironically after all the bad reviews, five 5stars reviews were posted from the staff here all basically on the same day.

*Don’t even bother moving here if your looking for any kind of upscale service or security. I have been living here for about 6 weeks and already I’m tired of the disrespect and lack of concern for resident complaints , Concerns etc. The staff Treat the property like it’s a joke , and all seem to be to young and immature to comprehend the ideal of having a job. If u ask me , They just need to just fire all of the management and hire a new company or staff all together. The staff members are delirious ,and completely UNPROFESSIONAL !! All are always on the computer looking down or either chatting , basically doing nothing. Chris the “supposedly” main manager is never anywhere to be found on the property. It’s almost like he doesn’t want to be bothered and hiding in his apartment mostly.

There is absolutely NO Security !!! They are lazy and ghetto. Not a good look for an upscale apartment with a hotel. The night crew are always sleeping on the job. They don’t do any floor checks. The security seems to be to comfortable with the residents instead of being more professional. I’ve had several deliveries that didn’t make it up to my unit because the delivery driver couldn’t get in the building because security wasnt at the door. They also just let people up to your apartment without even calling. I was told by another resident that several security officers were fired for sexual Harassment and other violations within the company. Some were also fired due to not checking the building properly. We had strangers sleeping in empty apartments before they fixed the elevators so that not everyone can go up them. (Please get another security company as well. )

X Miami also host numerous random ridiculous events each month that have nothing to do with the residents in the building. ITS OVERKILL !! Another invasion of privacy. Plus Most of the events are Boring and stupid anyways. GO figure, when they have all these events that they charge the residents to attend or either for drinks , food etc. They seem more concerned with just Taxing us for everything and making money. NOT COOL AT ALL. Just like on my move in date they come up with an additional $350 charge for some kind of sure deposit on top of the renters insurance. They don’t mention it until your move in date. All things potential residents need to know prior to move in.

Every time I speak with any neighbor or resident they also have numerous complaints about leaks , plumbing issues , security concerns and the list goes on... There are several people already moving out and the place just opened. My toilet keeps getting stopped up and I put in a maintenance request that took them over a week for the maintenance to get to it. My neighbor had a flood for three days and he received the same treatment as well. No Service ! Water in the kitchen sink doesn’t go down the drain fast enough , they had no water pipe from the refrigerator to the sink to make Ice. So water leaks like crazy down onto the cheaply made wood panel just peels off the floor. ( who wants to be in a new property paying over $2000 a month with these type of issues.) Not only that.. They failed to disclose that there would be a hotel on the first few floors prior to moving in. So u just are sharing the building amenities with random strangers which is uncomfortable. The concept of this whole place was just a big mistake and if they are going to have a hotel then they definitely need a serious 24hr staff.

I like the ideal of social living but there are a bunch of college students doing drugs , partying and destroying the building. Amongst the other visitors Making noise all times of the night. When u complain to staff...

DO NOT MOVE HERE!

First off, scroll past the 5 star reviews, which I assure you are either written by very new residents, or people who don't actually live here. Employees of the building are required to write 5 star reviews, to offset the real reviews.

I moved here in July 2023 thinking this would be a luxury building as it was presented that way, but it is far from it.

On a surface level, the building is beautiful. But once you live here you'll find:

Mold in all units!! There is toxic mold throughout the building making tenants sick, myself included. The owners and property management are aware, but refuse to fix leaks in the building that cause moisture and mold. This building is hazardous.

Dog feces and urine on the carpet in the hallways, that unless complained of repeatedly, is left uncleaned. This is a public health issue (see pictures attached).

Damaged carpet in the hallways (see picture attached).

Damaged and dirty walls.

Excessive noise;

a) there is very loud construction noises from the building being built next door. The construction begins in the very early morning hours, even on weekends.

b) you can hear people's conversations and door shutting from inside your unit.

c) the music from the restaurant in the lobby is loud enough to feel like you're in a nightclub.

Airbnb guests and residents leaving their garbage in the hallways (see pictures attached).

Swimming pool and jacuzzi heaters are intentionally turned off. The water is ice cold, and sometimes the jacuzzi is green from being dirty. No sense in having a beautiful pool area, if you can't use it (see picture attached).

Unreliable amenities. Half the gym has been under construction for months, and still closed off. The pools have been closed since May 28, 2024 for repairs and haven't passed an inspection. The pool area was unusable all winter due to the colder weather and unheated pool/hot tub, but the building waited for the start of summer to begin repairs.

There is a horrible reek from the restaurant in the lobby. The restaurant stores their food in the loading dock/garbage area and the stench reeks into the package/ locker area and lobby.

Once your lease is signed, they scale back services that you are paying for, but they continue to charge the same rate. They charge $66/month for cable and internet, but as of January 31, they limited the cable package to essentially nothing, yet the monthly cost stayed at $66. Also, you are charged a trash fee for trash to be taken from your door, yet no garbage service is provided.

Serious issues with windows and leaks. Residents have had tape put on windows to fix leaks after storms and then no responses to maintenance requests or calls for a more permanent solutions (see picture attached).

We used to have 24 hour security in the building, but we no longer do now that the building is cutting costs.

For weeks the building has had only 2 working elevators, with 3 elevators down. More recently, there is only 1 working elevator in a busy building with 250+ residents and 32 floors!! There is nothing being done to have the elevators repaired nor has management kept residents updated with when to expect the elevators to be back in working order.

Management is unresponsive, so good luck trying to having any issues resolved.

And the list...