Windsor on the Lake

Great location, very cheap interior finishes, plastic «wood like flooring», one color paint fits all (beige), should advertise as a kennel, dogs barking non stop and Management clearly states in the Lease «we cannot guarantee a quiet apartment», they can’t and won’t make an effort to calm the kennel, great luck with the maintenance guys, Parking garage is inadequate, spaces are too small even for a compact, dangerous traveling in the garage, expensive rent for what you get, management ignores or transfers its inherited responsibilities to the tenant, unit lighting fixtures are from the 80’s, all interiors need a huge update.

I thought now was a good time to chime in since I’ve lived here for 60 days. So far I’ve been very impressed with the community and particularly the staff and maintenance. I recently had one of my air conditioner units go out in my apartment, (large unit that has two different air conditioners one for each side, so it wasn’t the ONLY one for the apartment and therefore only a minor emergency) and when Edwin the maintenance technician told me that he needed to order a part for it I figured it would take a couple of weeks… Nope, he was out here the following morning with the new part and had it fixed in an hour. VERY friendly staff in the office, maintenance is always on time, Rainey Street is a great area to live. All in all very happy with my choice. I should also mention that I am a real estate agent who specializes in downtown leasing so I’m very critical of properties, seeing as how I’ve been in each downtown Austin community about 15 to 20 times probably. Solid choice here at Windsor on the Lake, would highly recommend to a client or friend!

I have lived in my apartment for almost seven months.
Pros:
Location — between the lake and Rainey, it doesn’t get better than this
Noise — because we are at the end of the street and the walls are concrete, noise isn’t much at all
Space — some of the largest floorplans in Central Austin with great use of space
Finishings — I love the décor of the apartments, from the countertops to the floors. Very clean and updated
Online Portal — quick maintenance requests and paying rent online are a game changer for me
Concierge — I love having my dry cleaning picked up and my packages stored in the room since I travel a lot
Residents — the people who live here are fun and engaging, if a little rowdy by the pool occasionally
Cons:
No screen door — I love, love, love my floor to almost-​ceiling windows and sliding doors, but the lack of screen door onto the balcony is awkward when entertaining or when it is cool outside and I want some fresh air in the apartment.
Pool glows at night — My biggest first-​world problem is that the pool glows through my windows every night. I got used to it after a couple months, but if you are on a lower floor, it bears knowing.
I highly recommend this building, very happy resident!

The apartment was nice, the young lady helping was great, the application process is trying to say the least.
The management with The Windsor has listened to my complaint and they have resolved it to my most grateful satisfaction.
To anyone looking for a rental I would recommend The Windsor, they certainly stepped up to the plate.
Thank you very much.

My apartment was nice. Maintenance was timely and did decent work. Amenities are pretty standard. Rent goes up significantly every year. Long term residents receive no extra consideration. Staff is impersonal. And to top it off, they towed my car from the garage even though they had all the information about it (make, model, color, license plate) and it cost me $ 200 to get it back. No warnings, no apologies, no accountability.

We’ve lived at Windsor on the Lake for about 15 months and I have to say it’s been a fantastic place to call home. The building is nice and very well maintained. The common areas, hallways and grounds are almost constantly being cleaned and kept. The building is also incredibly quiet as most walls are concrete. We rarely hear anything inside our apartment.
I’ve only needed maintenance for routine things (i.e. bulbs, filters) which is a good sign of quality construction and they’ve been super prompt, friendly and professional. The rest of the building management is also fantastic. A special shoutout to Brooke, the property manager and Dylan, the concierge. They’ve always gone above and beyond to be helpful and friendly.
The only frustration we’ve experienced is in the parking garage. It’s really tight and spots fill up quickly. However, we were able to secure a private 1-​car garage on our floor which has made life SO easy. If you’re considering floors 2 – 9, I’d strongly suggest doing the same.
An unexpected surprise has been the community feel in the neighborhood. Rainey St. isn’t just a bar district — it’s a true neighborhood with some of the best access to nightlife and recreation (we’re RIGHT on the water/​trail) in Austin.
I’d recommend Windsor on the Lake to anyone who’s looking for a high-​rise lifestyle with a great location and unbeatable views. I just wish we could buy our unit!

The apartments are great and the staff nice BUT the elevators are always breaking down and take forever. There are several times where I had plenty of time before a meeting only to find one or both of the elevators out. Plus the traffic on Rainey St. is getting worse. Finally the parking garage fills up fast and sometimes I’ve had to park on the street.

I have lived at the Windsor on the Lake property since May 2011, in 2 different apartments on different floors. It was a fabulous location for us to live upon our return to Austin after a 15 year absence. The property is maintained in top notch fashion, the units are large and surprisingly quiet since they’re located on Rainey Street. We’ve made great friends here and like the neighborhood so much, that we’re buying a condo in the building next door. If they sold units at the Windsor, we’d be the first in line to buy. The only thing that’s not absolutely perfect is that if you have a large vehicle, the garage is a pain in the rear. We sold our SUV soon after moving here and are driving a Prius which got a free reserved parking space the first 2 years we were here. If you want to live downtown and in the midst of a great night life, this is the place for you to go.

Lived here for a year, and have to say it is a great location and the staff is extremely friendly and helpful however. However the parking situation is often a nightmare, having to often go up 9 stories and even then maybe not having parking on weekends. Spots are so small and people are jamming their huge SUVs in compact spots and denting other cars. I had my car’s wheel caps stolen and they didn’t do anything about it, and just a few weeks later several cars were vandalized and stolen. The overrall quality of the fit and finish is also very cheap (cheap plastic wood flooring, cabinets, etc) and called maintenance several times for the same problem. Its a decent place to live, but very overpriced for what you get.

I don’t even live here and the Windsor feels like home! I am a dog trainer and have about 7 clients in the building and stay there regularly. I talk to the office staff, maitenance, house keeping service and residents 5 days a week. This place is truly a community. The staff at the Windsor are incredible and as somewhat of a fly on the wall, I get to hear a bit of what goes on behind the scenes. These people really care about their residents, and always work as a team to make their lives as easy as possible. They are super professional, but also personable and always have a smile on their face, which goes a long way.
The residents (both two legged and four) are also out of control cool. From the histerical older couple and their rescue westie to the cool young couple and their smushy bulldog puppy, these people are honestly Austin. I have lived in this town for 10 years and you wont find better people.
The location is also perfect– they lend you kayaks, paddle boards ect to use the launch about 50 yards from the front doors, hold happy hours, blood drives, community volunteer opportunities and mimosa brunches. Not to mention the cool factor that you can walk safetly home from the bars a block away. I look forward to being a resident some day– these people have the Austin thing down!
ps– my clients also always rave about the place as well, so that 5 star review should be multiplied by 7 :)

6 month update– still very happy here. No major problems or issues with anything. The only change from my original review is that the security system for the building was upgraded this spring so that you need a keycard to get up the elevator during nights/​weekends. It’s pretty easy for friends to get buzzed in using the call box outside and next to the elevator.
I’ve also been using the pool and the gym in the building. Both are nice though the pool could use a few more lounge chairs.

I have lived at Windsor (formerly Legacy) on the Lake for a year and I will be moving out at the end of my lease. Truthfully, I would have renewed my lease but was frankly insulted by the proposed rent increase. That’s not a specific disadvantage of this complex — all downtown complexes will play a similar game, but if you’re hoping for a «small community» feel, where you are treated like a valued resident … you won’t find it here. It’s as corporate as any of the others.
PROS:
The Windsor management is a HUGE improvement over the Legacy folks. They installed mirrors in the parking garage, they made an effort to enforce some behavioral standards on Jerk-​weed residents who were throwing garbage off their balconies, and they take security very seriously. They’re also very nice and always helpful.
Very Quiet — with the exception of parties on the balconies, the walls are condo-​spec and keep the noise level down from apartment to apartment. That’s very unusual in Austin complexes, and I absolutely love this feature. If your priority is a quiet apartment, you should seriously consider Windsor.
Location — awesome! Rainey street is really growing fast, and being able to walk out the front door and hop onto Town Lake Trail is hard to beat.
Amenities — The pool is small but usually pretty quiet (probably because its small), and the lobby and office center are accessible 24 hours a day to residents. I don’t use the gym, so can’t comment there.
CONS:
Holy crap, the elevators are completely comical. One of them always seems to be either reserved for new-​resident-​moving or out of service. I’ve waited 25 minutes for the lift (no joke!).
Parking can be tough after 7 or 8 pm, but I’ve only ever had to park on the roof of the garage 2 or 3 times in a year. If you’re driving a giant SUV, you might be hosed, though. Most of the spaces are «compact» parking. In my humble opinion, however — if you’re driving a huge truck or giant SUV, you’ve got bigger problems than the availability of parking.
The nice-​looking build in the units masks the über-​cheap materials used in construction. Garbage cabinets, cheap plastic «stainless-​like» refrigerators, tiny stackable W/​D, and shallow sinks. I hate that apartment builders do this. How much per unit do you really save with a crappy shallow sink?
The bait and switch — Make sure you ask to see the specific unit you will live in. I looked at a demo unit (with real wood floors and a beautiful balcony) that was lovely. The day I moved into my unit, I felt cheated. The floors were cheap laminate that had paint stains from the re-​paint, scratches and chips, and the installers clearly didn’t use the right thickness underlayment because it sounds like you’re walking on playing cards. I was also given a unit on the ONLY floor that has a solid stucco retaining wall on the balcony. It essentially renders the balcony useless unless you buy very tall, club-​type patio furniture. Every unit I saw had glass balcony walls. Wish they had told me about that!
Essentially, this is a nice place compared to other downtown apartments, and very quiet. The residents are mostly very nice (with the exception of the usual college-​age D-​bags living off their parents who party non-​stop and vomit in the elevators). Nothing sets it apart as particularly good or bad in comparison. If the location and rent work for you — I would recommend it.

I’ll also add that the environmentally friendly water system means that you have extremely low water pressure. It was so bad that I tried to shower at the gym as much as possible and often had trouble hand washing my dishes.
My lease isn’t up quite yet, but the maintenance woes continue. I requested a repair 12 days ago that has yet to be addressed. This repair would’ve taken a simple phone call to handle, but management has sat on the request until I made a second request. That’s the kind of response you get when paying $ 2+ a square foot? Hard to believe.

I lived at Legacy on the Lake from February 2009 — February 2010. If you want to try high-​rise or downtown living, this is a fabulous place to do so!
My favorite thing about my apartment was the view. The views are incredible! I had floor-​to-​ceiling windows in my living room and bedroom with a view of Lady Bird Lake. I could watch the bats fly out from the Congress bridge and the fireworks downtown from my couch. I loved it!
The location is great. If you like to use the hike and bike trail, the access from there is ideal as the trail is right outside the front door. It’s also within walking distance (or a really cheap cap ride) to downtown. The Rainey Street district now has so many options on its own that you may not even have to go downtown to go out.
I was the first person to live in my apartment, so the apartment itself was perfect! All of the finishes and details were completely high-​end. I especially liked the silver appliances in the kitchen and the super cushy bathtub/​shower set up. The trash chute made taking out the trash the easiest I had ever had in an apartment.
My apartment was super energy efficient. I couldn’t believe how low my electric bills were! The first month I moved in, my electric bill was $ 4! And my highest electric bill during the hottest summer months? $ 24.
The common areas were great. You could borrow DVDs from the library or use their big screen TV to watch TV or play games on their equipment. I LOVED the Starbucks machine in the lobby! It was so convenient and such a great amenity!
The staff were always really responsive and helpful. They hosted great happy hours and events for the residents. The maintenance man went above and beyond the call of duty one day to remove a bat who had found its way into my A/​C closet!
Although my experience was great, it wasn’t flawless.
I could hear a lot going on in the apartments around me. At first I thought the sound-​proofing in the walls must have been spectacular because I never heard a peep from my neighbors. I then realized it was because no one else had moved in around me yet. Once people started moving in, I could hear things like my neighbor’s alarm blaring from 5:45 — 6:30 am every morning (no snooze!), the resident above practicing guitar, another neighbor walking in heels, or dogs barking.
I hated the parking garage, or the Parking Garage of Terror as I called it. It was terrifying. The spaces/​lanes are really tiny and driving around the corners was the most scary part. I couldn’t fathom why such a high-​end property with so many thoughtful touches neglected to put in those mirrors so you could see around the corners. Not helping the situation were all of the residents with gigantic SUVS who would barrel through the garage and park askew in the tiny spaces. The visitor parking is almost non-​existent and usually filled up by residents, so my visitors also hated trying to park at my apartment.
Oh, and if one or both of the elevators were ever down, it could be a looong wait or quite a work out on the stairs.
Overall, Legacy on the Lake is an awesome place to live. I was lucky enough to get an amazing deal on my apartment, as I would normally never be able to afford the full rent, so I felt especially grateful every day. If you can afford to live here, it’s fantastic!