Enso

UPDATE:
Save yourself the headache, money, and frustration.
Do not move in here.
I had parking for about 7 months while i lived here. After asking the manager Brittany to remove the parking from my lease, she never did. And instead said that I had parking for the entirety of the lease and that they were going to keep my deposit to cover that costs.
They also charge you $ 250 WHEN YOU MOVE OUT for «scheduled move out».
Estephany, and Natasha and lots of the maintenance crew are very nice people, but there are some seriously bad business practices going on here (as is apparent from a few other reviews.)

Natasha is the best leasing agent. She was so helpful while living at the enso. Our apartment was so nice! The amenities were great! No complaints!

The only times I have ever written a review online was to highlight above and beyond quality and service. Having never taken the time to see what other patrons were saying about Enso, curiosity got the best of me while dealing with my own issues with leasing here. I would encourage you to believe everything negative people have been saying to be true. Literally, its all shockingly true. Office hours are inconsistent. Nobody is ever at the front desk. The elevator situation is a nightmare. The amenities that most buildings offer for free you are charged for and not even worth renting. The management is aloof, vacant and impersonal to deal with, and that vibe seems to vary with whomever the ring leader is at any given moment.
You are“just” a tenant at Enso, which may lend itself to the high turnover. All my friends that lived here when I moved in have since relocated for similar reasons I will be. I have leased on and off in the Pearl since 2001, so I truly do understand urban living, and the compromises that accompany that. The majority of my peers are also in the neighborhood, so I do know the pulse of what people deal with on the regular. And I am also someone that doesn’t move around very often. I have always leased condos, and thought it safe enough to assume a Pearl location apartment building would be a safe bet. Know that every corner cut on construction will be apparent. You will hear every footstep from every angle all around you. Whether or not you open your windows, you will hear traffic, homeless people screaming on the streets, and trucks loading and unloading starting at the crack of dawn, with the continual smell of the neighboring brewery. The parties you have to plug your ears for are insane as well. All things care and construction could have eliminated.
Dealing with anything office related is in par to what I would assume is negotiating a used car off the lot. For some, it is probably doable and you would just write the check. If you have lived on the other side of things, the cracks in the foundation are immediately noticeable. And when it comes to conflicts and accommodations, the dealings are fruitless and robotic at best. You will be held to a double standard that management will shy away from acknowledging by using corporate cookie cutting language that negates any concern that you have voiced. And, they will unrelentingly go out of their way to treat you with a condescending temperament, and thats even if you just need to pick up a package from the front desk. Then there are all of those fees assigned to circumstances outside of human control that they will go out of their way to drill you down for. Do yourself a favor and tread cautiously.

Love this place, and love the location. The application process was extremely easy. The staff was amazing and very knowledgeable, as I asked many questions, can’t wait to use the outside patio and the wine cellar.

This building rocks! Friendly management and really cool resident events. Next to Bridgeport and other awesome hangouts.

The staff and units are very nice. The place is in a prime location, located in the heart of the pearl. Enso’s inviting staff and luxury feel make it a great place to be. They host events all the time and are always looking to help tennants. No place in the pearl is cheap, your staying in the pearl because it is the best area in Portland. I will always recommend anyone staying in the Portland area. If you’re looking for a great space, in a great location, with a great staff, you should stay here.

What a beautiful building the Enso is!!! Their meeting room and patio are perfect for any get together, casual or business. The staff is super friendly and their apartments are modern and cozy! Love the decoration here too!

I hate giving bad reviews but I sincerely wish there was a rating below one star.
I lived in the Enso for one year, immediately after I moved out I received an email from the Senior Community Manager stating I had a balance on my account of $ 2,500. According to the Property Manager I was not paying my parking fee each month of $ 150. This was a complete surprise as I had been paying the Net Monthly Rent amount in my lease as well as the amount the leasing agent (no longer employed there) who handled my lease specified. Furthermore I was never once notified by the Property about an incorrect payment, nor was I assessed a late fee. I tried resolving this matter with the office, but they turned my account over to their collections department.
I read the poor reviews on Unilocal prior to moving in and assumed that the people reviewing were blowing things out of proportion. All I can say is I wish I had paid attention to the other reviewers. This building is overpriced and the management is horrible.
Here is a quote from the building regarding why they went 12 months without initiating any conversation about the parking fee.
‘We do appreciate you being a good tenant and unfortunately, the rent issue at hand is a separate situation. A late charge was never issued because you were paying rent on time, just not the correct amount each month.‘
Presumably if I had chosen to stay 5 years they would now be presenting me with a bill for $ 9,000? It’s not right.

Britney and I both really enjoyed the leasing process here. Estephany and Natasha were both cheerful and happy to help on every occasion. The units were clean and there are plenty of options. The amenities are nice, the location is excellent and the staff is very helpful. Thank you ladies! The leasing process was a breeze, I recommend the Enso highly. Come be our neighbors! :)

In short: do NOT rent here and believe the negative reviews that others have posted!
We made a shortsighted mistake of falling for one of their specials for a 2BDR apartment and chose this place over another apartment building. We now regret it big time! The building management is abysmal and unaccommodating. They are all sweet and pretend to be helpful until you sign the lease.
Our first issue started the day we were moving in and physically signing the lease. Prior to that, when we discussed the terms just 2 days before the move, we were told that there is an available option to rent a storage unit for $ 50, which is exactly what we needed. The day of the move, with our moving truck loaded and outside of the building, they told us that such storage is not available and offered us instead the extra large storage for $ 175! When we raised this as an issue, they said that we «don’t have to sign the lease and are welcome to find another place to move into»! Great customer service, isn’t it?! At that point, we didn’t really have an option to move elsewhere, so we settled on taking the extra large storage for a reduced rate but still way higher than what we can pay.
The second issue came when we asked for help with the freight elevator, as we needed to move in a new sofa. The sofa was just a bit too long to fit in, so we asked the management if they could either open both doors of the elevator, so we could maneuver the sofa in or temporarily remove the panel that just hangs on the elevator ceiling. Bottom line — the management team was once again unwilling and reluctant to help us find a solution. Despite the fact that we have reached out to the management office via phone, email and in person several times. They have given us «liability» as a reason for not requesting additional elevator service, which brings me to another point.
The building management has a «double standard». The apartment lease explicitly states and lists animal breeds that are not allowed in the building. Yet, we are exposed on our floor almost on daily basis to a breed that is on the very top of that list! Management has not addressed this issue when we raised it and ignores our communication with them by simply not replying to any of our emails.
Lastly, other things that are true and were mentioned in prior reviews: it is true that you’ll get a lot of noise from the nearby highway, the bathroom fans are loud, and you’ll prefer to turn on the dishwasher, washing machine and dryer when you’re not at home as they’re loud as well.
Too bad we’re locked into a one year lease, but you don’t have to make the same mistake!

Removed prior post as management is trying to make things right, and I appreciate that gesture.

The building is nice and the layout is good. What they don’t tell you is that the windows leak and once they do they apartment sites it as your fault. I am a anal clean freak. The windows must have been installed wrong… given this they expect people to always keep every door in the apartment open, shower with the bathroom doors open and always keep a window cracked. It took my neighbor and myself to video tape the black mold grown around the window sills before they did anything about it. Management was horrible at responding and kept telling me I should leave the window open a crack and just heat the apartment to make up the difference in temp? Now that I moved out they removed my parking discount (lease states $ 99 per month but final bill shows $ 150) Riverstone Residential is making me jump through hoops to get it resolved with no defined answer. We lived here for 15 months. Had constant issues with the moisture around windows and also a washer/​dryer that broke three times. I would find another place if you can. Give how much it costs you should receive much much more. I wish attachments were allowed. I would post the photo of the mold…

I lived here for almost a year. Can’t say I liked it too much. Management was mediocre at best. Often packages were left in the office without notification. No consistency when it came to emails with the notification. Office is closed during typical open hours, (this is a more recent occurrence) snotty at times and overall «I don’t care» attitude. It’s always the same, they are super nice to you before you move in then it all goes to you know what after that.
The location was convenient but it’s RIGHT NEXT to the I-​405. This means massive amounts of noise. If you live on the north side, expect a trash truck banging around THREE TIMES a week and always before 7am. Even on Saturday. Sleeping in is not an option. Couple that with vacuuming the halls every Saturday and you can count out a peaceful weekend. Why not vacuum during the week when most people are at work?
The elevators, oh the elevators. Where do I start. Well, first of all, read the other reviews and you can start with that. There are two for this entire building and ONE stairwell. Most weekends the freight elevator is locked down for moves. Most people are moving OUT. Wonder why? Also, they cheaped out and went with hydraulic elevators and not «pully» types. What these means is, you better leave a few minutes early for work, you can often be standing there a loooonnnngggg time.
The appliances are the cheapest I have ever had to live with. This building is made of very cheap materials. Very thin walls. Expect to hear everything with your neighbors. I’ve lived in many apartments and realize this is fairly normal but Enso was far by the worst.
I had to run the dishwasher when I was gone because I couldn’t hear my TV otherwise. Where do they find dishwashers that noisy? Fan in the bathroom was so loud I thought it was broken when I first moved in. Nope, that’s how loud they are. Washer and dryer not full size, cheap and noisy as well.
Place was not clean when I moved in. In fact, the person that helped me move has his own business of cleaning rentals and he said it was «unacceptable» Even though I was moving in and exhausted from an out of state move, I had them come and clean the toilet. It was truly disgusting.
I think they are expensive for what they are. I get it. It’s The Pearl but it’s NOT Soho. They raised the rent and I left. Moving was a drag too. The only cart had a busted wheel and reserving the elevator had to be done in two chunks later in the day because so many people were moving out.
Also, several cars in one night were broken into (secured garage) and some homeless guy was trying to get into apartments one night by checking all the door handles. I realize this is downtown and the riff-​raff exists but it just added to the whole unpleasant experience here.
I have since moved out to the «burbs» and while it’s not as walkable. The apartment is brand new (quiet dishwasher!) 250 dollars cheaper a month and twice the size. And oh so very quiet.

The amenities at Enso are nice, but the building is too hot, the units on the east side regularly hit 80 °F, so you tend to use the air conditioning a lot more than necessary.
Also, opening the window to cool down is not always worthwhile, since we are right next door to a brewery, and the hoppy fog stinks up the place.

Management and staff are so disorganized. I can’t wait to move somewhere else! I tried to get a parking space last fall, and they happily assigned me one, took my money, and then, oops! that parking space was already assigned to someone else. This happened 3 more times before they just said, «come by next week, we should have some by then». I never did get a parking space, and I never got a refund. In fact I got a notice on my door saying I was overdue for the funds. Of course the letter contained no details to what this mysterious $ 400+ bill was for. I asked for an accounting (in writing) and never received any. Now I’m fighting with management to get my money back!
Moving in WAS A DISASTER. I reserved the loading dock and hired movers, only to show up and the loading dock was full of other people, and managment wouldn’t do anything about it. I paid movers to stand around for 30 minutes waiting. The same thing happened on my move out date a year later, except this time it was staff vehicles parked in the loading dock, blocking it. On the move in, staff flat out refused to turn the elevator to «freight» function. I had to fight with a constantly closing elevator door as we laboriously hauled furniture to the 4^th floor.
One night I came home and my fob for the front door wouldnt work. I went to the office the next day, and they had «accidentally» deactivated. How would you like to be «accidentally» locked out of your home at 1am?
Alaina is especially out of touch and a complete snob. The staff dont communicate with each other or keep accurate records. This is evidenced by their double assigning parking spaces, handing out fobs and not recording them properly, improper billing, inability to honor loading dock reservations, loss of paper, and failure to record phone conversations about important resident needs!
Dont be fooled by the crap pastries and coffee, and the omlet bar every once in awhile. Its not worth it.

Good geographic location and dog friendly. But, very noisy because the building backs up to hwy 405. We rented unit 618 which windows looked out onto the hwy. Apartment was very clean, but, would not return to this property.

Still very happy with this place. I’m upgrading my review to five stars. Management is on top of everything, the building is clean and properly maintained. I don’t see myself moving anytime soon.

The Enso presents like a beautiful apartment building. The amenities are gym, party room, outside patio, and wine room. I was impressed at first and shortly realized that these are not enough to inflate the price of the units. The exercise equipment and television in the gym are often not operational. I was on the treadmill and the maintenance guy asked me to get off so he could service it.
The party room is exorbitantly expensive making other venues in the Pearl more attractive (with a more inviting atmosphere). The outdoor fire pit is often out of order. The elevator is slow and has been out of service intermittently. Residents were referred to the freight elevator. The garbage in the trash room piles up to a stinky level (maybe against code) each week.
I have a unit facing the highway and did not realize that the pollution from the highway would be overwhelming. My apartment is constantly dirty, dusty, and covered with highway particles. When I wake up — I have a dusty film on my skin. It negatively impacts allergies and sinus issues. The doctor says MOVE OUT as it is nearly as bad as smoking. (Sucking on a tailpipe.)
The finish on the granite counter top in the bath has come off in spots — leaving watermarks, etc. The landlord has been notified 3 times. The last time I was asked if I knew how to fix it… PREM in the company who maintains the building. The counter is unsightly. I need to be sure that I am not charged for it and have it taken from my security deposit.
When I tried to pay rent — the amount was $ 100 higher than usual. 3 different people gave me 3 different breakdowns — all of them wrong. This was resolved eventually — with the staff displeased that I was frustrated.
The cool recycled rubber tire floors scratch so easily. I have not yet found the product to repair them and the office does not know.
The washing machine has broken down 3 times … twice with the same error code.
Yes, this is a litany of failures with this property. It is an example of an inferior offering that capitalizes on the high rents in the Pearl — as it is a highly desirable place to live!
Addressing the health dangers on the highway side might be addressed with double pane window, storm/​dust weatherizing, and air purifiers in the units
The Portland Rental Commission might want the Enso/​Riverstone to include a disclaimer on the lease to the following effect — Residing in an Enso unit facing the highway may pose a health hazard — especially to young children, senior citizens, those with environmental allergies –bronchial — sinus — breathing issues. The management is not legally responsible for residents or guest who develop lung cancer as a result of the pollutants present at all times in the highway side units. At minimum — Enso should offer residents a transfer to another (safer) apartment — with no extension of the lease or rent increase. (The previous management was agreeable to this … the present management is not.) The rent to move to another unit is $ 200 higher than it was with the previous management.
This is informational only and not the position of a government or private enterprise organization. These opinions are those of a current Riverstone/​Enso resident.

This building could have been really nice. But instead it is made with cheap building materials. Being able to hear everything your neighbors are doing even when they are just talking. Hearing all the noise from the highway located right next door. It’s just a cheap building and that is why their rent is one of the lowest in the Pearl.
Since Unilocal decided to filter my review I will try to add some more details. I’ll echo what others said about the elevators. There is only 1 main one, in the lobby, and 1 freight elevator in the back of the building. They are both slow and you can wait up to 5 minutes for the elevator. There are no stairs in the lobby, you must exit the building or go through the garage to get to them.
The trash chutes get clogged and locked almost every other day. This means people start piling their trash into the trash room on the floor.
Be careful with the floor plans. The 2 bedrooms have very small master bedrooms for some reason. The 1 bedrooms have weird sliding doors and feel more like a loft than a traditional 1 bedroom. They can be ok if you have no neighbors. However, some units have neighbors on both sides and the architects decided to make a common wall between the two apartments be the bedroom of 1 apartment and the living room of the other. Coupled with cheap construction and no noise insulation the noise can be very problematic.
The only positives would be the relatively cheap rent and the staff. The rent is some of the cheapest in the pearl for the square footage and location. This seems to attract a lot of younger people. During the summers expect parties and cookouts almost every night in the courtyard. Thankfully the staff put a 10pm curfew on use of the courtyard to appease those facing it.
The staff does a good job of trying to be cheery and they do put on community events, including free food and beer. The staff is great but they just can not overcome a terribly constructed building.

Do not make the mistake and live at the Enso. The building is poorly constructed. The design is for looks and not for functionality, just try and use a bathroom on the first floor… There isn’t one! How about some stairs that lead to the lobby from the second floor so you don’t have to take the elevator? Yep, there are none. The building has bad sound insulation and you can hear everything your next-​door neighbor is doing. You hear every step your upstairs neighbor takes, and just try and see how long you have to wait for the elevator during peak hours. Don’t make the same mistake I made; I have lived at the Enso for a year (I signed an one year lease because I thought a new building would be wonderful) and I can’t wait to move out!