Camden Tuscany

I cannot say enough positive things about Pooria, Chris and Cody. They have gone above and beyond for me in support of my recent move to Camden Tuscany. I chose this place because of the exceptional customer service vibes I was getting from them early on. I am so glad I did.

Great place to live. The apartment was fully cleaned, redone, new stainless appliances put in before we moved. Granite counters and modern finishings, definitely looks new and clean. Chris and Cody are great — they worked with us to find the perfect apartment! They are so easy to work with and are always available, friendly, and happy to help with anything. Maintenance is also generally on top of things — our service requests (for things in the apartment, like the AC not cooling properly, or out of the apartment, like a pizza box stuck in the trash chute) are resolved quickly and professionally. The complex regularly sends out emails with updates about cleaning or closures to keep people informed. We did have an issue with someone stealing our newspaper, but I doubt they can do anything about someone stealing my coupons and news.
The complex also puts on various resident appreciation events, such as happy hours, or, most recently, breakfast (!!!) throughout the year and are currently collecting donations for a Christmas package to a Marine squadron overseas.
Great place to live, highly recommend!

My boyfriend and I just signed our lease and are moving into this beautiful community this weekend. Having moved a bit in the last few years, I have had a lot of experience with apartments and leasing hassles. However making the decision to live at this location and actually signing the paperwork has been the easiest decision and process I have encountered in my nomadic lifetime.
We worked directly with a leasing agent named Pooria whose professionalism and curtesy far exceeded that of the other leasing staff we encountered during our week of apartment tours. The community is so well kept and is a place where we can feel proud to say we live. Our loft is incredible! A dazzling view of San Diego’s Little Italy is just outside our balcony doors and the space inside is open, yet cozy. We are also excited to try out the various sun decks which over look the Little Italy skyline, City Hall, and the bay.
We absolutely cannot wait to move and call this place home. If you are apartment hunting in SD, check out Camden. You won’t be disappointed.

I’ve been living at Camden Tuscany for over 3 years. Pooria is an excellent addition to an already great staff. Cody, Chris, Roberto and Alex are always friendly and professional. They are also very quick to respond to any issue that is brought to their attention. The property is clean and well maintained. I live on the courtyard side of the building and it pretty much eliminates almost all the noise associated with Little Italy (i.e. train horns, trolleys and airplanes). I have no plans on moving to any other location in Little Italy in large part because of the staff. They have earned all 5 stars

I’ve been here for about 2 – 4 times! This complex is so beautiful! Everything upgraded, good location but busy! It’s located downtown! I came here to visit family been to an apartment on the ground floor. It’s pretty! I love the granite kitchen and the stainless steel but I felt lretty uneasy with the little patio cos it lead straight to the sidewalk. Been to an aprtment a few floors up. It felt bigger to me and nice. Open the patio well a small patio and it’s the view of the pool. Again beautiful kitchen, bathroom and rooms! Real nice it’s located in downtown, little italy a lot of stuff going on like farmers market and a lot of restaraunts and things to do walking distance! I gave it 4 stars because I don’t reside there and don’t know how it feels like to live there but as a spectator it’s pretty good! Oh yeah you got a convenience store– 711 just downstairs!

7 years ago I moved to San Diego from Boston and rented an apartment at Camden Tuscany randomly online. My goal was to figure things out when I got here. I never left. Well, I did leave for a few years for a job in Orange County (living in two other Camden properties that were just as nice!) but when it came time to move back to San Diego I only wanted to live in one place… Camden Tuscany. Everyone is so friendly. The staff is attentive and responsive. The apartments have every amenity you could want. In addition, dog residents are like family (because they are)! The location is the best in downtown. I can’t say enough good things about living here. Except maybe how close it is to the train but it’s convenient when you need it. Thanks Camden staff! Keep up the good work!

We have loved living at Camden Tuscany for the last 6 months. After having dealt with very difficult landlords it has been a breath of fresh air working with Cody. He has been quick to respond, flexible, and we don’t feel like we have a landlord breathing down our neck!

Great Location — but loud. There’s persistent noise from trains, trolley and the railroad crossing signal — so much that I rarely opened my windows. There’s also construction noise from a garage going up across the street (Cedar & Kettner).
Cody and Chris are great — but the Property Manager was a bit difficult to work with. One time I went to check on move-​out paperwork, I asked him for help, he said ‘just a minute’ then proceeded to go back to typing something on the computer. After a few minutes, I just gave up and came back when he wasn’t there.
Good sound insulation between units (but poor sound insulation from outside noises). Average quality appliances (they look great but dishwasher is really loud, oven takes a while to heat up, etc). The neighbors are very friendly, but my neighbor used their balcony for the dog’s bathroom — so I only used the balcony when after they cleaned up.
I enjoyed living there but wouldn’t move back.

Let me first start off by saying I have been a resident here for about five months now, my fiancé and baby have a one bed room close to 700 ish square feet and our electric bill averages between 400 – 550 dollars a month. I have been trying to get down to the bottom of this ridiculousness for about two months now and have been getting the run around, ignored, lied too. There is clearly something wrong with the wiring, it seems like I’m paying for my entire floor. I hate to throw names out there and really tried to like this one gentleman in particular but Phil is awful! He’s sassy, heartless, big time liar and just down right nasty and rude to deal with. I try to avoid the days he’s working to pick up my packages just to avoid his BS. Today I was told he doesn’t want to have to pay for a electrician to come and check things out after Chris told me days ago that they would. Is it coming out of your pocket Phil? If he truly cared he would understand and appreciate how upset these bills are making us and help us to see if there is something wrong. His job is to be helpful and make my living experience pleasant but he does everything but that. And I wouldn’t be posting this but I was hanging by the pool one day and a handful of people felt the same way. Stay away!
That being said Chris and maintenance are usually very helpful, have a smile on their faces and a pleasure to deal with. Not always great communication but all in all nothing bad to say about these guys at all.
Cody… Awesome. If you do decide to live here trust me Cody is the guy you want to see. Always calm, understanding and really does seem to care about his tenants.

Next, the building is very nice. They did a wonderful job upgrading the units. The pool area is a fun place to hang out, relax and bbq. Neighbors are all friendly.
Downsides, it’s loud!!! All hours of the night I hear the train it keeps me up and I don’t even live on the train track side. I can’t imagine how loud the back end of the building is. The pool area echoes really loud, they could of done a better job sound proofing. The bums are everywhere! It’s disgusting. They lay around on the ground in the front entrances, hassle for money. Make sure if it’s dark to carry pepper spray. There was also a shooting right in front of the building a few months ago. Please keep this in mind before renting here with a family because if I knew I would have never ever signed the lease.
The one star is for Phil and the crazy electric bill that makes no sense at all except to Phil. He lied to me and said he had a one bed room with the same bill. I was told he doesn’t, he’s a liar and has a two bed room. Bullshit all the way around. Can we please fire this guy?

Camden Tuscany is a Jewel !! The atmosphere is friendly, the staff unbelievably eager to answer requests almost immediately, lovely pool and barbecue area for individuals or parties well designed, the grounds super-​clean and well maintained and there’s more.
Even the studios are spacious. My 6^th floor view of Banker’s Hill and stream of airplanes silently passing is fascinating. And convenience? From, a late-​night stroll for gelato at Pappalecco’s, to a trolley to Fashion Valley, or an Amtrak train bound for San Francisco — Camden is the starting point.
Don’t hesitate to sign a lease for stress-​free living with a dash of la dolce vita at Camden Tuscany in the center of Little Italy.

Camden is a great building with amazing management staff, especially Chris and Cody. I’ve lived here for two years and I love it!

Me and my wife have lived here almost 4 years. We have lived in 3 different apartments in the same building and we LOVE it… Location can’t be beat. Just the right amount of amenities. The guy Miguel that cleans the grounds is phenomenal !!!
He is the hardest working guy I have EVER met in my life. The maintenance crew is great to Alex is a great guy and so is Richard. Grounds are always clean and or being cleaned. Chris and Cody are the best… If you have an issue these guys are on it!!!
Great guys to shoot the shit with too if you are just cruising through the office. Both are down to earth and know what’s up… Me and my wife have looked at all the complexes in the area but can’t find a reason to move!!! Staff is the biggest reason we stay!!! We like the apartment too… Thanks guys for the hard work you put in day in and day out …

Almost all of the negative reviews of this place were written years ago, so take that into consideration when you read them.
I moved in a few months ago and really like the place. The staff are very friendly and helpful. The main lobby is always clean as well are the hallways. The security staff is also very friendly and Ive seen them around very frequently.
The neighborhood and location are amazing. You really cant get a better location. Yes, the train noise sucks but that isn’t managements fault. I wear ear plugs at night and haven’t had a single issue with sleeping through the night.

Too much money for a glorified frat house

Their rating really isn’t fair to the management, because everything that they can control in this apartment complex is superior to any place I’ve ever lived. They’re super friendly and quick to help with any task you’d need including printing and office supplies. The maintenance staff is extremely timely and will fix any problems you have quick, fast, and in a hurry.
The pool and hot tub area is well maintained and although it doesn’t gather too many hours of sunlight it’s usually packed with people barbequing and drinking beer. Cool if you don’t mind the party atmosphere, but just something to beware of if you enjoy quieter quarters.
The main issues are loud trains at all hours of the night, sketchy ass bums constantly harassing you on your way in and out, and pretty minimal street parking especially during the day. If you can deal with these downsides the ups are well worth it in this complex for the price.

I lived here for about 8 months and just recently moved. I didn’t have any problem with the management. Whenever I needed any maintenance or got locked out (during the day) they were very quick and helpful. It always looked clean enough to me, and being in Little Italy there are street sweepers every day.
I was on the ground floor on the Kettner street side. The trolley was never a problem. I would hear the freight train sometimes at night but only is i was awake already. You cant open your window at night on the street level because of so many people walking by being loud at night. Also I didn’t feel as safe leaving the window open during other parts of the day. If I were living on a higher floor I don’t think this would be such a problem. There are a few bums but the only one who was a bother was the dark haired guy who hangs out at the bus stop and talks to the girls walking by. Also sometimes there is a homeless lady who will randomly yell at you. If you have extra food you can bag it up and leave it by the trash bins on the street. Someone will eat it instead of it getting thrown away.
This place seems to have a large group of 20 something party people living in it. This is a little annoying because there are always pool parties and It can get a little loud. The hot tub is hard to snag on a weekend night. You have to snag the grill early too. Also it seems that taxis drop off right at the front door so there is always allot of traffic.
The price for a one bedroom was normal for the area but if you move a few blocks east you will drop around 300 $ less per month.
This location is great and I feel bad giving it a lower star count because I really did have a pretty solid experience here.
So here is the BIG PROBLEM (and having recently moved out I don’t know if the management knows about this yet)
When cleaning up the place to move out I found small rodent droppings in the back under the sink and behind the washing machine. Ewwwww!
Also…
1. We also got a UPS box stolen even though I left a note for UPS to drop off at the office.
2. The street is a little smelly but my dog contributed to that so I can’t complain. Just NEVER walk barefoot.
3. While I was there the street-​side gate could be opened with a good yank. I told management about it but I’m not sure it was ever fixed.

This place sure does blow, but I don’t think it’s deserving of one star for these reasons:
The View — the view on the bay side amazing. It would have been nicer if they had included actual balconies so that you could sit outside and really enjoy the view you’re paying big $$$ for, but oh well.
Great management — Holly really went out of her way to resolve any complaints we had. The management did the best they could, and I don’t blame the kinks of living here on them, as Camden is a large corporate chain of apartment complexes.
Most of the other tenants — Nearly all of the other tenants I met while living at Camden Tuscany were friendly and sociable. This place is great if you like walking out to the pool or the outdoor patios and socializing with random people.
Having a 7 – 11 downstairs was the shit.
And finally, living in walking distance from Little Italy had some of it’s perks when boredom rolled around. I’d mention the gaslamp as well, if I didn’t hate the gaslamp with an undying passion. Other than all this, Camden Tuscany blows hard.
Be prepared to find:
— Dog shit in the hallways
— Be harassed by the homeless and crazed outside
— To spend at least 30 minutes finding parking if you don’t get the one garage spot
— To find whatever you lock up in the garage stolen
— To deal with the assholes other people invite as guests
— The rancid smell on the street. Do. Not. Get an apartment on the street.
— Parking tickets.
— Traffic.
— Never sleeping through the night again.

I will not restrain myself.
This place blows.
I agree with a lot of what’s already been said, very high cost for relatively low benefit. I also have to disagree with the soundproof statement. I didn’t sleep right for about two months after I moved in. Also, don’t skim this review without noting that I paid $ 330 a month for electricity. After doing informal polling on the elevators I found out that a number of tenants had similarly «strange» power bills.
I moved into a unit looking over the bay, which was a lovely view and I enjoyed watching the fireworks from my balcony on random ‘occasions.’ The walls were paper thin though. I was on the train-​tracks side of the building and the courtyard there may contribute to the volume, but if you look at the condos one block up towards Hawthorn, you see the windows are recessed about a foot in most places, but when you look at the Tuscany the walls and windows are flush. There is no way there is more than five or six inches between your bedroom and the 2 AM freight train blowing its horn every five seconds to clear hobos off the tracks.
Also, a few personal gripes:
1. I paid $ 330 a month for electricity in a 1000 sq ft apartment with five common surfaces (one exterior wall). SDG&E said I was using 51 kW a day. I tried and I tried and I tried, but in the end, Camden didn’t help me, SDG&E bent me over and I spent more money on electricity than I did on car payments and insurance combined. I still have no f’ing clue what was going on there. Either a neighbor had a grow room or there were gremlins in the walls watching a dozen LCD TVs.
2. If you think you will save time because the commute to Little Italy is shorter, think again. Circle the surrounding blocks for an hour before you let your roommate get the one parking pass, just to see if you wanna do it everyday.
3. During my stay from July 08 to Dec 08 (couldn’t take it anymore) I had three mountain bikes stolen from me personally. Two of my own and one of my wife’s. I changed the locks, put them in different areas of the basement, nothing worked. The thief even left the lock where my bike was after he stole the second one. The total value of all three bike was around $ 1400, split that over the time I spent there and it amounts to an extra $ 230 a month in stolen goods.
4. They NEVER kept propane in their gratis grills. It was cool to be able to come down and grill by the pool, but it was a crap shoot. I was apparently one of only a few people in the building that knew to close the VALVE after using the propane, not just turn the flame off. I would marinate steaks overnight or just for the evening and go down to the grill and it would be empty and filthy.
5. I also agree about the creepiness of the new security guys, but I don’t think they are super disciplined security machines, but rather extras off the set of some B movie. As tough as they look walking the halls, you will find them more often outside by the water meter yacking on their cell phones or smoking.
I can’t say enough about how much I regret moving into this place, but my opinion of the management remains pretty high. I think they were a little oblivious, but I never got the impression that I was being shelved or that they were brushing me off. I think the building itself has poor security and soundproofing and they are asking too much for too little.

This is an updated (June 2009) review from my original one. My original one was not kind (¹⁄₅ stars) but I think the management has been working to improve things.
A little while back there was a staff change in the office. One guy left, another replaced him. The new guy is approximately 100 times more productive and better than the old one. When he’s said he’d call me back about something he ACTUALLY CALLED BACK !!! Trust me, that never happened with the other guy.
My renewal came in recently and with the drop in rates in the area they agreed to lower mine down to market rate, which is substantially less than we used to pay. I think that the new rate is more in line with what we should actually be paying. Before, the high cost used to be a big negative. Now I think it’s a wash. The place isn’t a bargain by any means but it isn’t a ripoff either.
The location is great. The units are relatively soundproof. The interior quality (appliances, fixtures, etc.) is so-​so considering they’re «luxury» apartments. The cleaning people could do better work – I recently ran my hand down a piece of trim in the hallway for a few feet and my hand was black with dirt /​dust. The electronic doors break frequently. The one elevator’s access key reader on the P2 garage used to break a lot, although it hasn’t recently (maybe it’s finally been fixed??).
So it’s a mixed bag. I wasn’t very happy but I think the management is working to improve things here. I’m dialing my review up from 1 star to 3 stars. We’ll see how things are in a while and adjust accordingly but thus far I’m pleased with the recent changes.

I consider myself an apartment renting connoisseur of sorts. Having resided in 7 different states in the past 6 years, there are some learning curves that come with the territory. I’ve lived in a variety of different places, from privately owned condos to the large, grandiose apartment factories of our fair city.
As such, I believe there are certain expectations including, but certainly not limited to:
1. Safety– I don’t want to be murdered in my bed, or raped on the way to get mail.
2. Cleanliness– If I can keep my apartment clean, the management should keep the areas surrounding it relatively clean as well. No rats or pests on the premises.
3. Honesty– No shadiness from the management.
4. Affordability or Constancy– Upon entering my lease, I want to know that there won’t be any cost hikes throughout my stay. If a complex tries to raise my rent following the termination of the leasing period, I split.
So, Camden was relatively good about #1. Being downtown (Little Italy), there were a bunch of bums and whatnot that preferred the little bench in front of my apartment. A security guy would come and shoo him/​her away if they started yelling at the moon, which I appreciated.
Cleanliness was ok– but the trash chutes were always stuffed to the gills and overflowing on the weekends. Once or twice I could understand, but all the time? Come now.
Honesty was good here. The only problem is that I signed up for a direct allotment, which I foolishly thought would «make it easier» to pay my rent on time, etc. What they don’t tell you is that turning this thing off takes an act of Congress. I am STILL getting money pulled out of my account by these guys, even though my lease stopped a month ago. And I am STILL waiting for my security deposit (here in the state of CA the complex has 21 days to return it to you…) and the funds that were allotted from the last month. CRAZINESS!
Noise– All right, this wasn’t listed in expectations because I know that I lived in Camden for the convenience of downtown. It is a fun little area, and I knew it would be loud. What they don’t tell you (nor would I, if I was trying to rent apartments), is that the trains are a freaking eardrum rupturing event throughout the night, nearly every night. We are not talking the trolley, whose cheerful little «beep beep– get off the tracks, idiot» comes by all through the day. We are talking the freight trains and their 2 – 4 (or 6 if you have a particularly malicious engineer) second blasts from their safety whistles shatter the silence of the night, and any hope you might have had of getting a good night’s sleep. This would be fine if it was during the day and you were at work. Sadly, that is not the case. These trains roll by (and by roll, I really mean lumber, rattle, reverberate, and blast their damn harpy whistle) at midnight, 3 am (on occasion) and 6 am daily. That is a lot of damn noise in the middle of my REM cycle, and I am not a light sleeper.
To sum up: the place is ok, but there are a lot better choices out there if you are looking to get a good night’s sleep. Location, location, location, as long as it isn’t next to the damn railroad tracks.