Smart Apartments

There shouldn’t be any current listings for Smart Apartments since I believe they have gone out of business. If you see a rental with them, beware. Although the rental we had in Manhatten upper east side was fine in November 2012, they never refunded my $ 1,000 deposit.

BEWARE of Smart Apartments! We rented a place on E. 36^th St. just off Madison Ave. It has 4 bedrooms upstairs and two downstairs. The bathrooms were working, but the floor tiles in the kitchen were broken and pieces were coming off, which was dangerous. The stair railings were shaky and one of the spindles came off while we were there. The wifi never did work. They charged us too much and did not return our deposit, even though we cleaned the apartment before leaving. I just found out that the City of NY is suing Smart Apartments for illegally renting unsafe apartments for short term. Do NOT rent from them!

I have to believe that the 5 atar reviews are fake — this operation is a scam. You will not get your deposit back. Smart Apartments is being sued by the City of NY for illegally renting apartments. I rented in mid-​October (more than two months ago) and have not received my deposit back, despite promises of a one week processing time.

Zero stars is what they deserve. We rented a 2 bathroom apartment on 36^th and Madison. One toilet NEVER worked, there was tile broken in both bathrooms to the point of being dangerous. The shower curtain was hanging and torn and didn’t reach the tub. This unit was not ready to be rented (this was agreed to by their own maintenance man). I’m happy to send you photos of this unit, it was disgusting. 6 of us were supposed to stay in this unit but we couldn’t because of the bathroom situation. Oh, yea, there were also no working lights in 2 of the 4 bedrooms. This is unprofessional and unacceptable. Not to mention, the manager never bothered to answer any of my many emails or phone calls.
Stay away from Smart Apartments!!!
JUST FOUND OUT THAT SMART APARTMENTS IS BEING SUED BY THE CITY OF NY FOR ILLEGALLY RENTING UNSAFE APARTMENTS!!! BEWARE!!!

We reserved an apartment Williamsburg (Brooklyn) and as any place, required to provide a deposit. Upon arriving we met with our host and paid the remaining balance. During our time there, hurricane Sandy hit and we got stuck in the City with cancelled flights. The day before our departure, I called our host and informed him of our circumstances and asked if they could help us out and extend our rental for 2 extra days which was the first available time we could fly out per the airlines. They responded by saying, «I can’t confirm this because if they next occupant arrives, you’ll have to go.» REALLY? when were in the middle of one of the worst hurricane’s to hit the City? Knowing they had other apartments available, I truly was disappointed with their lack of support in helping us manage the hurricane and our stay. In the end, they did extend our stay of which we were grateful for and even offered a reduced rate for the 2 extra nights, sweet. On Monday, the day of our hurricane, we continued to look for ways to get out of the City as we had families to return to, and managed to find flights out a day earlier, meaning we only stayed an extra day. I called and let them know we’d only be staying one night instead of 2 and they said they would adjust our bill. When I arrived home, I received a bill that not only charged us for the 2 extra nights but over charged us by $ 500.00. When I called Paul, our host, he said he would take care of it. A week past, nothing. Another week passed, still nothing. I finally called again and again and he insisted I send him an email. Along with this, my deposit was not returned either. Finally a month after our stay, we were reimbursed for our incorrect charge for the rental, but as of today December 5 I have yet to receive my deposit and our trip took place in October. They are not responsive, continuously ask to send emails explaining your issue and do not reply or address the situation and I find them completely irresponsible with poor business practices.
DO NOT RECOMMEND

We stayed in an apartment on 325 East 10^th St on Manhattan, New York.
The apartment fullfilled every need we could ever think of.
Though, when in New York you certainly don’t wanna spend too much time in an apartment so i can’t say we used it much. But again: It was exactly what we hoped it to be. There for us when we wanted to.
The people of Smart Apartments were very, very helpful throughout the whole chain, giving us great support when we booked the stay and very welcoming and friendly upon arrival.
The apartment was very well equipped. The kitchen had all we could ask for. Eating and cooking at «home» was problem free and all the kitchen supplies worked without any problems at all.
To sum up:
Smart Apartments was a GREAT choice for the one week stay in NYC and we are not only likely, but absolutely SURE to contact them again for future stays.
Thank you guys so much for a wonderful stay.
/​Niklas
Sweden

Best way to travel! I stayed in the 2 bedroom apartment in midtown east for my birthday weekend. It was clean!!! Lots of room, full of amenities, and more than what we could have asked for! Would recommend this to everyone! Loved it!

Horrible, horrible, HORRIBLE! I agreed to their $ 500.00 deposit when we booked the reservation, as well as their requiring that the total rental fee for the 4 days that we stayed be paid up front when we checked into our unit. But they stated in their Agreement Contract with us that they would reimburse us our $ 500.00 deposit within 5 – 7 days after we checked out. That was 3 weeks ago. We have left numerous phone messages (apparently, nobody answers to phone there), and sent numerous email messages, all of which have gone un-​answered. I have had to go to my credit card company to dispute this charge. These people are CROOKS, if you are smart, STAY AWAY!

We really enjoyed our stay at the Amsterdam ave apartments. The 3BR apartment was perfect for our family and conventionality located in a great neighborhood in the upper west side of Manhattan.
It was a very clean, well maintained property with all the amenities we could ever require. The team at smart apartments were very friendly, helpful and excellent communicators during our stay and prior to booking the place.
I recommended smart apartments to anyone looking for great accommodation in New York city. You wont be disappointed!

These clowns also go by Toshi apartments but have «rebranded» due to state legislation restricting short term rentals in the city. They basically took over apartment leases and then rented them out for short stays which is competely illegal. We got scammed by them – horror story which ended up in Small Claims court to get our deposit back. Stay 10 miles away from this company – from bed bugs, to mice, to water leaking, too many people have had a bad experience with this company – I don’t care what they call themselves now.

Loved the place that their leasing representative recommended. Good service.

Just used them for a vacation for 9 in NYC for New Years! We stayed in Williamsburg, Brooklyn in a 4 bedroom apt. The location was great, super safe, right next to Bedford Ave which had awesome shops and restaurants, also super close to the L line that goes straight into Manhattan! They were excellent to work with. We had to book really last minute and with 9 people that could have been a mess, but they totally worked with us on price and answered all my Questions promptly via e-​mail AND phone. The apt was HUGE by New York standards and they met us there to check in and even carried my bag up the stairs. A very low key, laid back, flexible company that really tries to cater to your needs! Will totally use again!

We just came back from a fantastic vacation from NYC! Smart Apartments was absolutely wonderful to do business with. I contacted several different rental property owners on VRBO, and could not get anyone to respond back to me. Smart Apartments immediately responded to my email and answered all of my questions clearly.
The contract with SA very clearly explains what to expect, what will/won’t be provided, and what to do when you arrive and check out. I got an email about a week before we were scheduled to arrive reminding me of what to do when we arrive and I really appreciated that! When we got into Newark, I called SA and was able to talk a representative that sent an employee to the apartment based on my estimate of our arrival to the apartment. My guess was off, so we did wait about 10 minutes to be let into the apartment, but this was to be expected from my wrong estimate.
When Wesley (I think that was his name!) arrived at the apartment, he was very friendly and polite and carried my huge bag up the stairs for me. At the apartment, he showed us how everything worked and reminded us of our check out procedures and how to get our deposit back upon check out. He provided us with SA information should anything happen to the apartment fixtures, along with other information we would need (WiFi passwords, TV troubleshooting, etc.).
The apartment itself was fantastic. It was clean and well decorated. It is small, but after staying at a hostel in our prior trips to the City, this seemed so big! It is quiet, secure, and in a PERFECT location (W 14^th Street). We felt like we were real New Yorkers! It is about 50 yards from a subway station and that was invaluable! There are great places to eat all around, though, so you may not even want to leave the neighborhood!
Check out was a breeze. We did just as the instructions told us (explicitly stated in the contract and posted inside the apartment), and received our security deposit back very soon after.
Maybe we’re easy to please, but I cannot fathom why Smart Apartments would ever get bad reviews. Our time in NYC was perfect, and I don’t know if we’ll even use a hotel for our stays in NYC again. We’ll definitely be doing more business with Smart Apartments, and will recommend them to everyone!

Thank you Smart Apartments for an amazing stay in NYC. The staff was friendly, professional and accommodating. They kept in constant contact with us from start to finish. The apartment was exactly like the images, immaculate and in a perfect location in Meatpacking. I would definitely use them again. Much easier and more affordable than a hotel room in the city!

Extremely unprofessional!!! Nereida quoted me a rate for an apartment and then would not honor that rate after she spoke to her supervisor. Absolutely a SCAM! Never rent from these con artists!

Very unprofessional and rude staff — tried to speak with Jonathan Lai about booking a rental that we found through VRBO but he was very condescending and rude in his emails. There are lots of rentals in NYC — no sense going through the headaches of dealing with someone like him!

First off, let me say I’ve turned to Smart Apartments for multiple trips to the city, and I have nothing but great things to say about them! The service was always great and the staff was always more than willing to do whatever was in their power to make my stay the most pleasant it could be.
Having said that, I had the pleasure of staying at the two bedroom apartment, or as it’s referred to as the «Townsend Corner». The location was convenient and there was more than enough room for my 3 friends and I. The décor was impeccable and the room was a great deal for a great price. I cannot rave enough about this fantastic room, if I was to simply highlight the view as being the most amazing part of this apartment, that would be an understatement. The modern décor with the spacious rooms, the beautifully designed restroom, and the surround sound system around the apartment with a convenient iPod dock… I couldn’t have asked for any better.
And did I mention the amazing service? What’s even better was that I had Wifi access ²⁴⁄₇ with no problems at all (I’ve had issues with that even at 5-​star hotels I’ve stayed at).
It’s this kind of quality and service that keeps me coming back to Smart Apartments during all my new york visits. Can’t rave enough about it! If you’re looking for a great place to stay and would rather pay for accommodations at a steal of a price compared to the overrated hotels in the city, I’d definitely advise turning to Smart. Nothing is better than coming to the city with that extra cash saved and ready to spend on your next shopping round!