Renaissance at Uptown Orange Apartments

The apartment is nice, the only complaint I have is the leaving process. No matter how prepared we were it has been a hassle. I had two different technicians check out our place and let us know if potential charges. They said our carpet was in good condition, next thing you know I’m charged $600 for the carpet. I took photos and everything, not sure what they are charging me for. They said they uploaded photos to the portal, I checked nothing. I had my sister and other roommate check, nothing. On top of that, I sent them photos of the entire place cause we spent over 10 hrs cleaning. I even schedule a phone call with them which was confirmed for today and no one called me. This has become ridiculous!

This community has great maintenance personnel, and the location is prime. Otherwise this place is unbelievably terrible, the management team is rude, and we were told that the community is not responsible to immediately repair AC when our AC went out in 95 degree weather last week in a $3000 a month apartment. The garage is filthy, there is dog urine and feces everywhere, including the elevators on a regular basis. Ask around before signing a lease here, there are numerous Air BnB's which the management team repeatedly denies, and its sucks when so many people are treating your home like a hotel.

UPDATE – on the 7th day our air conditioner was repaired, however it should be noted that not one time over the past week did the community relations manager reach out to us. The community response below is clearly posturing for the public. In fact, when we moved in to the unit in December 2020, there were several problems with the unit and at that time the community relations manager expected my family and 6 month old daughter (at that time) to stand outside in 55 degree weather while the maintenance team went inside. Yesterday when I went home to check on the AC Contractor, I found my Unit Unlocked and no one inside for nearly 20 minutes. I was extremely upset and again the management team refused to meet with me and told maintenance team I was acting irrational. I guess I should have not been upset my apartment was left unlocked and unattended, which is difficult given my motorcycle was stolen from my parking space October 2021. It should also be noted that I am out of pocket thousands of dollars putting my family in Embassy Suites for a week, and the community has refused to discuss any credit or compensation for this cost to my family.

Alonzo R. Is one of the best maintenance technician here. Any time we’ve had an issue occur he is quick to respond and quickly resolves the problem! Thank you again!

The one thing great about living here is that maintenance is always on point! They are respectful, courteous, friendly, and timely. I've had various normal wear and tear issues.lights burning out, clogged sinks, water heater going out.and they've always been highly professional and on time. Also, I'd like to give a special shoutout to Chris from our management office. Even though they are closed to the general public, he still took the time to offer great service to help me print some shipping labels when my printer ran out of ink. Thank you guys for being there for me!

First of all, no where to park. You will get your UHAUL TOWED for parking close to your unit if you are moving in or leaving. Most of the amenities are broken, or often broken like the pool. Maintenance was the only good thing about this place and now they are changing that all up. The entire place is filled with Airbnb units that apparently is legal now if you pay sales tax, per what the leasing office is saying.
This place is getting worse and worse every day.

"Renaissance" is a laughable name for this place; it's more like The Dark Ages.

When we moved here in Dec. 2020 an independent contractor evaluated the filthy and unacceptable condition of our ducts and advised management to replace the entire HVAC system. They didn't listen and when it broke this past month leaving us without air conditioning during a heat wave, nobody from the front team bothered to reach out even once to apologize, update us with a timeline of repairs, or offer any kind of resolution for the thousands of dollars we had to spend booking a last minute hotel during peak Disney season so that our toddler could live in safe and comfortable conditions.

It took them over a week to fix the HVAC system, during which we continuously had to initiate communication with them only to be met with dismissive, rude, and inaccurate responses. They brought a portable unit that was not spec'd for our apartment which flipped the breaker multiple times leaving us without electricity, to which "Devyn" the new maintenance manager stated in writing that we were advised not to run the system, which never happened.

Then the contractor they hired left our apartment unattended and unlocked for FOUR hours in a community with rampant theft, and we were told that they needed to "get something last minute" in their rush to complete the order. This was a lie, as we have records on the "smartrent" app that residents here are forced to use showing the time that the unit was unlocked by staff.

The one good thing about this community is the maintenance staff. Jonathan, Alonzo, and Miguel in particular are always professional, prompt, and kind. Unfortunately Essex recently updated their maintenance request system and it is now extremely inefficient, much like their management style. A few months ago when our garbage disposal broke with water spilling onto the floor no one showed up for two days.

Management is well trained in diverting responsibility and posturing in online reviews for prospective tenants. Basic customer service and common courtesy would suggest that residents should not have to reach out to you to rectify a situation that you messed up, Catherine. But that's how they roll. They're a multibillion dollar corporate housing company that has taken over $60,000 from us during our stay here, and they also want us to foot the bill for their mismanagement, greed, and incompetence - that, or have our three year old living in 90+ degree conditions for a week. I don't know about you, but to me that doesn't sound like acceptable service for an apartment that costs $2,600+ US dollars per month to live in.

On top of that, the complex is appallingly filthy, with dog urine and feces in the hallways, heavy wall panels coming loose in the elevators posing a safety threat, a literal rat infestation, and a dozen or so units being used as short-term Airbnb rentals (go look up the address on airbnb), so there is a constant stream of rowdy people using up the amenities and driving recklessly through the parking structure. Theft is out of control. We have seen at least 10 cars with their tires stolen on cinderblocks, my husband's motorcycle was stolen out of our parking spot, packages are stolen constantly and on top of that, according to numerous other reviewers, management will spend an uncharacteristic amount of effort and expedience on gauging tenants on their way out with outrageous move-out fees, so we have that to look forward to.

It's unfortunate that Essex resorts to deceitful tactics like incentivizing prospective tenants to write 5-star reviews in order to bring up their Yelp rating and bury the experiences of existing residents, but that should tell anyone looking to move here about their lack of ethics. PLEASE save yourself the trouble and look for somewhere else to live.

I really like this apartment complex! Been here since 2020.
Jonathan from maintenance is an amazing worker and does everything fast. He gets 5 stars!

Jonathan on the maintenance team is FANTASTIC - he gets 5 stars.
However, Essex has incorporated a new maintenance system that is terrible which is why my overall rating is 3 stars (their recent decision on incorporating a new maintenance system deserves 0 stars). Prior to the new system we were very content here - issues would be fixed within 24 hours and we knew the team and who was coming into our apartment. Now, I’m lucky if I know who is coming in, I don’t know when something will be fixed, and it’s purely due to Essex’s new system. I can see maintenance are working hard, but Essex has made it difficult for their own employees to care for tenants. My thoughts of Essex has plummeted.