Avalon At Cahill Park

We just finished our first week as residents and couldn’t be happier! So far I only have pro’s to talk about, and they are…
Staff: Sara, the community consultant, who was so helpful while we were getting ready to move in and you can really tell that the complex staff care about the residents wellbeing.
Cleanliness: I take the stairs over the elevator almost all of the time and have yet to see the «filthy» stair ways and trash rooms people have commented on. I think the overall community is very clean. Of course, there can be some dirt in the hallways or an occasional spill of something but I think that its important to remember that this isn’t a hotel. A clean community starts with residents who clean up after themselves.
Noise: Pretty quiet complex. You can’t hear the trains unless windows are open and there have been no problems with noisy neighbors (perhaps we just lucked out)!
Proximity to Things: I think the biggest plus is the complex’s proximity to just about everything. It is a 4 minute walk to San Jose Dirdon, across from Whole Foods, and surrounded by so many great restaurants and café’s.
All in all I am really enjoying living here and look forward to exploring the area a bit more!

I lived on the Alameda side, above retail shops for about a year. We rented this place without even seeing the property because the manager told us it’ll be rented out if we wait till we see it. Because we were in desperate need of renting a place near a caltrain station, we signed up for the place without seeing the place. I have lived on other Avalon communities and the experiences I had were pretty good.
Couple of things to consider prior to move-​in:
1. Windows– The windows on the Alameda side do not open. You have to open the french doors to get the air in but they don’t have any screens. There is only one window by the bedroom that opens. just one! During the spring time, trees along the street are constantly dropping seeds and leaves. If you have allergies, do not move here. Whole community is surrounded by poplar trees.
2. Storage– We didn’t have a balcony and had no storage space. They told us it was extra $ 100 to rent a storage place which was on one of the other building
3. Garage Access– There is no direct access to the garage from the building 1. Once you park your car in the garage, you have to take an elevator up, out to street, walk to building 1 and take another elevator/​stairs up.
4. Street parking– You get 1 parking permit to park on the street. I had to ask my friends to carpool and only bring 1 car. Few 2 hour parking on Alameda side and enforcement is always there watching. You are not allow to park behind building 1 because it’s retail parking and they hired some guy to make sure they are going to the sushi restaurant and no other place.
5. SAP center– Good luck getting home during the Hockey season, concert nights and other event days. Very loud and street is crazy busy. They close down the street constantly on weekends for marathons.
6. Whole foods other shops — It’s an expensive store but I think my husband and I would’ve starved to death if we didn’t have Whole Foods right across from us. Beer Garden is also nice and you can actually walk to downtown San Jose or San Pedro Square. My favorite place is Hannah’s coffee shop on the corner. This was the best thing about living here.
7. Neighborhood — There are way too many smokers at this apartment. People are always smoking on their balconies throwing cigarette butts anywhere. Dog owners don’t pick up after their dogs. No doggie bag stations (other Avalon communities normally have them now). Homeless people are always there especially at night time. Also there is a big construction going across the street. Lots of noise and dirt.
7. ETC — Compare to our last Avalon community, Union City, kitchen cabinets were narrower, appliances were older and the bathroom was like a big narrow subway (very weird in shape).Kitchen island was a big plus!
We were very hesitant to leave the place because it’s super close to Caltrain station and Whole foods. But paying $ 2,700 for a one bedroom apartment where the windows don’t even open was just too much.

I’m a wholly satisfied resident in this community. Not just because of its location which has easy access to food, store, entertainment, train/​VTA, almost everything within short walking distance. More importantly I love the people here, friendly neighbors, supportive maintenance and leasing office team, everybody is so nice and helpful when you have questions or support needed. Which make living here even warmer is different activities that leasing office organized from time to time, so people living here could gather together, mingle and enjoy. If without buying my own house, I would stay in this community as longer as possible. Now I moved, has already started to miss the nice gym, the big pool, hot water spa, the green Cahill park outside the back door where we took a walk everyday after dinner. There are so much to be grateful…

General care for the community has gone downhill dramatically. I have lived here for over 5 years, the care for the common areas have a lot to be desired for (it’s not there are broken things, just general filth). The management team at the office takes no accountability for the cleanliness of the community, instead they just blame it on the maintenance team.
The ONLY 2 things that have kept me here for another year lease is Whole Foods right across the street, and the park behind the community. I feel the management office and sales team take it for granted that the location of this community really the only selling point.
If you are looking at an apartment and come here, don’t let them take via elevator — take the stairways (take note of the filth on the walls and floors). Look into the trash shoot room (notice the door handles, walls and light switches are covered in grime). When they take you to the fitness area, don’t get stars in your eyes when you see the new machines (look into the corners of the room, take a minute to observe layers of sweat, dust and hair caked onto the machines). Stained carpets all through the hallways.

After moving out of Avalon Cahill with deposit returns issued, 3 months later I recieve a bill from the Avalon Bay customer center stating that I still owe for utiliites. Really? Also, within the letter it states I have 15 days to pay or they will send my bill to collections. They stated they mailed this out on 3/​6, I recieved it on 3÷17… um. NOT a happy camper all around. 20% rental increase in 1 year, horrible customer service… very disspointed in the entire process. you pay EXTRA for sewage, and HOT water. A big rip off… Never ever would I again recommend this place to anyone to live, my neighbors would agree.

Love to stay here.
I am resident here from past one year and want to be resident for another one year. smoke free community and really really the best assistance by the leasing office employees.
Stop by leasing office and get the best assistance .They really got lot of patience to answer your each and every question.

All around great experience living here for about 4 months. Moved back to Los Angeles for work. Maintenance was ver responsive. Office was always helpful. Quiet place, pretty clean everywhere.

This review is for the staff because they are great!
We moved here 4 month ago. Now renting 2-​bedroom apt.
The front office is very accommodating. They have attended to every issue I have ever come to them with promptly and with a smile. Jessica is so helpful, personable and attentive. She’s been very responsive and if not right away as soon as she can and not too long. As far as maintenance, every service request I have put in has been answered THE VERY NEXT DAY.
Fabulous staff. Thank you guys!

I lived in a loft looking at the train tracks for two years. I’ll list the positives first. I really enjoyed my place. it’s just the right size for a single person, if you don’t have a lot of stuff. huge windows, lots of sun light yet a big tree in front so you don’t have to watch the apartments across the street all day. Easy to clean, hardwood floors. They have spiral stairs to the loft, which saves a lot of space. However moving the mattress upstairs is a challenge. It has a real fire place, which looks really nice. I used it frequently during winter (watch out for the spare the air alerts).
I really enjoyed being close to the train station, but yes you can hear the trains. I’ve seen some reviews complaining about this, that’s unreasonable to expect perfect sound isolation from the apartment. You can also get an apartment looking at the other side. Train station was 5 min. walk from my door, which was a huge plus for me. It takes you to any downtown around the area all the way up to SF. Going to SFO is a breeze Caltrain/​Bart. You don’t hit traffic, you don’t have to pay 50+ dollars to cab/​über/​lyft.
Bluefin and Hannah are two huge pluses for this place. I still frequently visit them, but having them at walking distance is much better. Also there are many more shops around in walking distance. Crema coffe, Schurra’s, Chipotle, CVS, UPS, Starbucks, U-​haul (when moving out:)), café roselana, wine affairs, and more…
Pool, hot tub, and the gym area are great too, but I think they are pretty standard. They were renovating the gym before I was leaving, promoting it as ‘state of the art’ which is ridiculous unless your expectation from a gym is an expensive thread mill with an iPad on it.
Now, to the minuses… The common areas: hallways, stairs are very dirty. Of course the problem is not just the management but also the neighbors. The carpet in front of my door in the hallway always had stains, because of the people carrying trash to the chute. It is year 2014 and you pay only cents for a trash bag that does not leak and made from recycled plastic. Also some neighbors choose to leave recyclables in the chute room, which smells and blocks your access to the chute itself. There is a sign that says carry them to downstairs!
Going back to the dirty carpet, it stayed dirty for more than six months. They weren’t even vacuuming it. Once I complained about it to the leasing office, they told me to file a maintenance request online, which I did in the morning. They responded very quickly. The night of the same day I found that they washed the carpet… only a couple of yards of it… around my door… it wasn’t even aligned with my door… it just looked like the guy gave up and went home :) It stayed like that for another six months.
I don’t know other apartments but the appliances in my apartment were really old. Fridge used to leak water inside due to draining pipe getting frozen during weather change. Not a big deal, you have to unplug it and let it melt for a day, or call the maintenance. Still a nuisance after paying a fortune every month. washer/​driver was super old too, but they were doing the job.
I mentioned the places in walking distance, but I have to mention the streets of SJ around downtown area. You pay premium price, but the streets you are walking into are not Malibu. First week I moved in, there was a homeless guy dancing around the corner, completely naked, 4pm in the afternoon. You may get used to the urine smell every corner but you’ll still be surprised to see a number two in the middle of the side walk. The area between downtown and the apartments are dark and empty. So you may think twice if you want to walk home from downtown late night.
Biggest problem I had was the rent increase every year. First year it was %5 second year they wanted %10 ($ 2350) and I moved out. They have the attitude that they are entitled to these increases. They do not negotiate even a dollar. If you read the comments they leave on other reviews you’ll see that they are a little divorced from reality. when it comes to taking your annual raise they have no problem, but when it comes down to returning your security deposit they take their time. It took them three months to return the deposit since the office did not get my new address on file and Virginia office (!) send out a check to the apartment I moved out from, which magically was not forwarded by USPS, although everything else was.
It is going to sound contradictory but if you don’t mind the corporate business seeking aggressive growth through your wallet, it is one of the best apartment complexes you can rent from especially if you like lofts, and the area. that’s why I’m still giving them 3 stars.

Very very worst management and administration they will charge you too much penaltys.

I spent two years here. This August, they called to tell me that my one bedroom was going from $ 2K to $ 2.5K. I said, thanks, but no thanks. Then they called two weeks later to tell me that, nope, the unit was only going to $ 2.2K. Well, that’s nice. But I had already signed a lease and put down a deposit somewhere else. Thanks guys.
So, my move out date is Oct 22, as I had clearly indicated in a number of conversations with the apartment manager that I would not be renewing my lease. However, I needed to submit a form to them 30 days in advance to Oct 22! Lo and behold, I guess I didn’t submit the form in time, and I got charged for the whole month of October. Hey, shame on me, right? Well, they still wanted me out by Oct 22! Even though I paid for the whole month!!! lol Apparently, they had someone moving in Nov 1. What, are you kidding me? Too bad. Anyway, I took my time packing my things. Sorry to the next guy moving in. Good luck and try not to get hosed! Your better bet is to find a private owner and lease directly, build a relationship with them, and get better quality of service.
There are better options in the area.

Great place to stay. The poolside apartments can get a little noisy in the evenings and during weekends.

I lived in a 2-​bedroom apartment facing the park for about 3 years. There were a lot of positives about living here.
The location is awesome. It’s steps away from the Caltrain, so going to work was a breeze. I thought it would be loud because of all the trains going through, but surprisingly, it wasn’t bad at all. I hardly ever really heard the trains. Also, there is a park in the back which was nice. There are lots of pet owners around, so if you have a dog it’s pretty convenient. It’s also steps away from downtown, so we walked downtown fairly often.
The staff is nice and friendly. Signing lease paperwork and picking up packages were a breeze. I even had my packages delivered a couple of times, upon request. And maintenance issues were always handled promptly.
The apartments themselves, although not new, are in good condition. I hardly ever heard my neighbors… not sure if they were all just quiet or what. But we were also in a corner unit, so maybe that’s it. The fitness room and pool are nice, although I only made used of them a handful of times. The two bedrooms are split which is nice in a roommate situation. Full size washer/​dryer.
We only got one parking spot with our apartment, but with two cars, we needed two spaces. At first, we paid an extra $ 100/​mo for a spot in the underground lot. Then we decided to get a residential parking permit instead from the City which was considerably less. I think it was something like $ 30 for the year? We never had any issues with break-​ins or finding parking on the street.
Being near the park and train station, there were the occasional teenage lovers quarrels at 1am or the drunkard causing a ruckus, but I never witnessed anything serious. Oh, and the spring on the gate in the back was constantly breaking. That was annoying at times. Minus one star for all the rent hikes while living there. But what do you expect from a large management company? All in all, I enjoyed living here.

Summary: constant flow of car break-​ins in the garage, low water pressure in apartments, noisy, design flaws. The pool looks nice, but keep in mind: strict policy of no alcoholic beverages in pool area. Just received an email reminder amount this one. My opinion: an adult should be able to drink a cold beer poolside on a hot day, if it isn’t in a glass container. Just one of many examples of the corporate mentality here…
I’ve been here 4 years, but I was hesitant to Unilocal negatively about this place because the staff is extremely friendly.
What provoked me to finally write a review is that my storage closet, inside the locked apartment grounds, was broken into and ransacked. The most valuable items in there were stolen. With the small size of my loft apartment, I rented this storage closet to store some belongings, mostly athletic equipment.
This isn’t my first experience with crime here. My locked car has been broken into twice in the supposedly secure parking garage, with the window broken out both times. One time there were 5 or 6 cars in the parking garage with broken windows on the same morning. This neighborhood is a decent location, but it is also crime ridden. Even the TV’s were stolen from the workout room once! The management is not doing enough to prevent crime inside the apartment complex, because it keeps happening time and time again, ever since the time that I moved in years ago. Inside tip: if you are looking at apartments here, ask the staff about break ins and crime, and watch how quickly they clam up!
Another negative: the water pressure here is extremely low. When I take a shower, it takes 5 minutes with the water on full blast just to get my hair wet! They have problems with the pipes bursting in the basement, and it is fairly often that the water is off entirely for most of the day for the pipes to be repaired. If you are considering this place, go see a unit and check out the low water pressure, especially in the shower. Monday’s are bad enough without having a low water pressure shower to start the week. You will often see emails like this: «Please note that the water will be shut off today, Wednesday May 14, to make emergency pipe repairs.». Guess I’ll just go to bed sweaty after my nighttime workout.
This place is run by a corporation out of offices in Virginia, about 3000 miles away from the actual community. It’s like if you go to Bank of America. The manager has no power to help with any situation that my come up that isn’t strictly in some corporate guideline. There is no personal feel to it. There are cube rats sitting 3000 miles away that study the market, and they raise the rent accordingly, every time your lease is up. They don’t know you. They just want to get whatever they think the market rate is, whether accurate or not. They have no shame in raising the rent every time they can. They pretend to care about the «community». If they cared, they would start by doing something to reduce the crime on the property grounds.
The loft units look nice but have design flaws. The lighting in the upstairs bathroom is terrible. The top-​most window, it sits very high, by design does not have a shade that can close, so it is impossible to get it to be completely dark at night. It’s noisy. Planes landing. Trains at the Diridon station next door blow their whistles at 11:30PM. Noisy leaf blowers on the street early in the mornings.
The management has called me a few times to ask me to remove my Unilocal review. Last time they did that, I did remove my negative review. This time, I was too fed up that nothing has been done for better security.
After refusing to remove my review, I received a lease renewal notice with an astronomical increase on my 1 bedroom loft. The previous rate for an 8 month term was $ 2050, and it went up 44% to $ 2950 per month for an 8 month term. Whether this was vindictive or not, who wants to commit to live in a place where your rent might go up nearly 50% when your lease renews?
Trust me, this place is nowhere near nice enough to pay 3k for a one bedroom. Look for newer places in the same price range.

Here’s what we like most:
1) LOCATION: The location, next to a major public transportation hub and downtown, is one of the main reasons we chose this apartment.
2) APARTMENT: I like the open concept layout of the apartment. There’s a full kitchen with lots of storage. It would be nice if the unit had stainless appliances instead of black to help brighten the space. The balcony is nice, but quite small. Large windows and sliding doors bring in a lot of light.
3) STAFF: The staff is top-​of-​the-​line outstanding. Everyone is friendly and helpful, often going above and beyond the call of duty to help residents. Talented maintenance crew members address requests within 24 hours.
My husband did have an issue, however, with getting his VTA pass and he had to pay transportation fees for all of January because office staff said there were issues with processing his new 2014 VTA pass. This was a disappointment since it’s supposed to be included in our rent.
Here are the things I’d like to improve:
1) LANDSCAPING: I wish the landscaping was more native, eco-​friendly and lower maintenance. They use LOUD blowers twice a week. Our bikes and everything on the balconies are always covered with dust and if the windows are open, it blows dust into the apartment as well. Not only are the blowers LOUD (especially with the echo in the courtyard), it’s simply unnecessary. They hand-​rakes the leaves, so why not use brooms on the sidewalks? It would be much more pleasant and sustainable and cut back on all the dust.
2) COMMUNITY: We like that we have a community space, but would like to have more of a «community» feeling. They offer occasional random events, but more regularly planned activities (potlucks specifically) could encourage residents to meet each other. The interior courtyard space is somewhat sterile and concrete. It would be nicer if we all had glass doors or half-​doors into the courtyard, and benches and more greenery in the common area to encourage residents to get to know each other.
It would be nice if we had an active Facebook page (for residents only) or if we fully utilized the potential of
or some other tool where residents could chat casually and get to know others with common interests.
Avalon recently decided to do some updates to the community/​recreation space, but it would have been nice if residents had a chance to participate in a survey regarding what they wanted. We’ve never used the pool table, for example, but we’d love to have a sauna. We love the hot tub, but wish they used a safer method to clean the water. We heard that there’s going to be a meeting space. Sounds good, but will it have natural lighting?
Too bad that more planning didn’t go into the placement of the pool and the hot tub. Much of this space is in the shade for a good part of the year making the water cold year round. I like the idea of a large lap pool, but because it’s so cold, it goes virtually unused even in the summer. The best fix would be to install a solar heating system. It would be nice if the hot tub was located in a sunny spot (especially in the winter), but instead it’s also in the shade for a good part of the day. These were major oversights in the original design plan.
3) APARTMENT: I’d like to have a door with a functional window in the kitchen to bring more light into the darker kitchen area. I’d also like a functional window in the bathroom for light and air circulation. We had a minor mold issue this winter that probably could have been avoided if we had cross-​ventilation and sun on both ends of the apartment instead of just one. The way it is now, we have to prop open a solid door to get cross-​ventilation.
Although I’d prefer no carpeting at all, it would be better if there were one solid hard surface from the kitchen through the hallway and into the bathroom.
It’s nice to have a full-​size W/​D, but you’ll notice the extra wear and tear on your clothes. This economy top-​loader has a wash cycle designed to tie your clothes in a knot. Wish they offered the option to upgrade to a front-​load washer.
Wish the kitchen sink and shower had hand-​held sprayers and that the kitchen faucet was taller to make it easier to wash dishes.
Would like the option to swap out microwave for a mini toaster/​oven, and/​or prefer double-​ovens for more efficient cooking space.
Avalon claims to be sustainable, but still has a long way to go. I’d like to see: solar power, retractable clothes lines on balconies and in bathtubs, more natural lighting with glass doors, water restrictors on shower head and faucets, bike locker room, and more sustainable interior design features, native landscaping and partnership with Cahill Park.
4) PARKING: It would be nice if parking were charged separate from the rent so we could opt out of it, lower our rent, and free up a space for someone else who wants it.

The interiors of apartments are nice, but many factors degrade the experience of living here.
The Good: Very nice front desk staff. Very helpful when you have packages delivered. Friendly maintenance crew that will help you out when you need it. There is a very nice café «Hannah’s» that is part of the retail community associated with the complex.
The Bad: Apartments directly in the flight path, you will hear lots of Plane landings at SJC. The first week we moved in my bike was stolen from the garage, I was informed that there were no security cameras to review. The first month we lived here someone went through the garage, and robbed the contents of our glove compartment… the same thing happened to several other tenants, and nothing was done by the staff to follow up with our complaints. The community room is frequently rented out for events. When this occurs the doors to the community are left propped open for non-​resident guests to enter. For a community with so many security concerns, and lack of surveillance this is quite counter intuitive. Clearly the bottom line of Avalon is taking higher precedence to the comfort and security of residents. I have never once seen these people who supposedly patrol the property. In the weight room area there is a vending machine that remains un-​powered, and empty. Why? Now with the new median constructed on The Alameda this apartment complex is increasingly difficult to access. Once you do arrive to the premise it is incredibly difficult to find on street parking, especially when there are SAP Center events. Again the apartment community shows its «cheapness» by only allowing one garage parking space per apartment. Even for two bedroom apartments. I would honestly like to move out as soon as possible. A two bedroom apartment here is worth no where close to the $ 3,000.00 we have to shell out.

The nine months I spent at Avalon Cahill Park were NOT enjoyable and I would not recommend this apartment to anyone. Between the ridiculous rent they charge, the unaddressed crime in the building, to an overly complicated moving out process where the staff neglected to mention some key information to me. In general, my distaste of the building really has more to do with Avalon in general and less to do with the particular location itself but unfortunately it tainted my perception of this location.
Pros:
Great location: Caltrain adjacent, close to downtown, close to HP Pavilion, in a walkable neighborhood and soon to be across the street from an awesome Whole Foods.
Facilities: Good facilities. Not the best in San Jose but relatively new and clean facilities. Not overcrowded. I never used the pool but used the gym quite often.
Maintenance: Quick, fast, reliable, amazing. Best part of living in this community.
Quiet: Unlike some of the previous reviews, I rarely heard my neighbours in the complex.
Cons:
Price: I get it, it’s the Bay Area but there’s no consideration for resident retention, it’s all about making a buck with this company and nothing about ensuring their residents are happy. For what I paid ($ 1850 for a one bedroom) I don’t think the quality of the apartment was worth it. Had I stayed and renewed my lease I was told the rent increase was going to be ridiculous.
Crime: I moved in knowing that the building had been experiencing some problems but still came in with an open mind. In my short time there there were car break-​in that went completely unaddressed. When I asked the management staff about it they said it was in the control of the police and not their job. I get it, crime happens but the staff should have dome something to make the residents feel like they actually are trying to do something about it (ie. security cameras). The worst part is, the crime is quite possibly coming from residents in the complex. In the nine months I lived there all of the flat screen TVs in the gym were stolen not once, but TWICE. This means that who ever was stealing these TVs somehow had access to the gym.
I lived on the ground floor and one night I found a person in bushes outside my window. In the same bushes I often found garbage, used condoms, cigarette butts, and once there was even a dead rat laying on my doorstep (maintenance was fabulous in removing the dead rat but often the used condoms and cigarette butts remained there for days). Property management should have taken a much more proactive approach.
Avalon as a Company: So for a number of reasons I decided to leave the US to return to Canada before my one year lease was up (I was NOT planning on staying in the Avalon Cahill park after the one year regardless if I was to stay in San Jose). I was given the option to either pay two months of rent on the spot or to continue paying rent for the duration of the lease or until it was rented. I opted for that because the ladies in the office suggested it was the best option since the rental market was hot and my apartment was the only one available for at least a little while. They did put my apartment on the market but for $ 600 a month MORE than I was paying. The apartment went unrented for months. Shockingly, a couple of weeks before my financial obligations were done, they dropped the rent to something much more reasonable (a couple of hundred dollars less a month). Maybe it’s all just a coincidence but it feels a lot like the company acted in bad faith.
So when you pay rent as a resident you use an online system which is convenient — what the staff never mentioned to me was that although I was still financial responsible for the apartment after I left, because I was no longer I resident I couldn’t use the online system to pay my rent. This would have been great to know beforehand but I didn’t find out until I was back in Canada with no other way of paying rent but online. These are things that should be mentioned explicitly upon moving out but were not.
The staff was gracious enough to provide me with a two week extension to find a method of payment (I had the funds available but no way to get it to them). Even though they gave me a two week extension they still had the collections department call me and my family to harass us for the money a couple of days into that two week grace period. Keep in mind this is a rent I was paying even though the apartment was vacant.
In summation: Avalon is a corporation that only cares about making money. If you can handle living in an overpriced, cheaply made box where you get great maintenance but no regard for resident’s concerns (ie. crime) then live here. But in the end Avalon doesn’t care about its residents, it only cares about money.

This is my second Avalon site I viewed and boy — I am always disappointed by the unprofessional staff. I was late for my tour today (saturday 0309) but they wouldn’t show me anything even though there was no other potential renters there. I even mentioned I was a very motivated renter because I needed to make a decision by the coming friday. Still nothing.
If they were not willing to go just a little bit beyond to accommodate me as a potential renter… I wonder what the customer service level would be like for an actual renter.
Great location — -but bad customer service.

So after 3 years of living in Cahill Park, looking back I really enjoyed it. I lived overlooking one of the courtyards so it was quiet and very peaceful. I’m glad I didn’t pick an apartment overlooking the street as you have way more privacy in the courtyards.
I did have a few bumps here and there but overall it was a good experience and the maintenance staff fixes everything within 24 – 48 hours. The reason I finally moved out is that I my rent went up $ 250 a month! When I moved in it was at the bottom of the market so you many cringe when you see what I was paying over the years:
Moved in 2009 (1 bedroom): $ 1299 a month (Yes I know) + $ 50 for pet rent
Renewal 2010: $ 1374 a month (up $ 75)
Renewal 2011: $ 1524 a month (up $ 150)
Renewal Offer in 2012: $ 1774 (up $ 250!) + $ 50 pet rent= $ 1825.
Plus being one person the water bill average $ 45 for me (it is shared).
The rent going up $ 250 was one of the best things to happen to me as I decided that if I was going to pay close to $ 2k in rent I might as well live in San Francisco! (The aprtments are nice but there’s no hardwood, the granite is faux granite and no stainless steel either). I mean the apartments are nice but I don’t see that price being justified for living in San Jose. I also got tired of my rent always increasing so after 5 months of pay month-​to-​month rent for $ 2300 a month I finally found and even better place (a loft) in SF for $ 1850 that is bigger (no pool, gym, or jacuzzi though). However the condo I rent is from a private owner, so I don’t have to worry about rent going crazy high year after year. I love it here in SF so thanks to Avalon as I wouldn’t have considered moving if they hadn’t raised the rent so high!
Anyhow, a few comments on what the other Unilocalers have commented on, on parking, there is no guest parking expect on the street. You will get parking tickets, I think I got about 4 in the 3 years I lived there, as I forgot to put my parking pass out a couple of time. However, if you are having a party/​event/​etc. and need temp. parking for the day, the city will give you like 50 paper passes for free. I had a baby shower on the weekend so it came in very handy. (Another plus, they let you reserve the party space for free, most other places will charge you to use).
Moving Out:
On moving out, I have no idea why you wouldn’t give notice in writing. When they send you your renewal offer they even put in a «Notice to Vacate» form with the offer. When I gave my 30 days notice, they had the form in the office, they filled it out, I and the Property Manager signed and she gave me a copy of my «notice to vacate». I have no idea why someone would give a «verbal» notice and get upset when the office doesn’t have any records of it. Anyhow, another reason to keep a copy is upon moving out when I got my deposit back they had my move-​out date off by a week and kept $ 500 of my deposit! I called them a told them of the error and they fixed it so it’s very important you keep your «notice to vacate» paperwork.
On moving out I did the clean sweep option and they charged me $ 140 to clean the apartment. I’m glad they have that option b/​c I could leave the stove, fridge and bathroom dirty and not have to worry about cleaning when I moved out. If you don’t want the clean sweep option they you must show a receipt from a professional cleaner to show the apartment has been cleaned (doing it yourself is an option). I think the clean sweep option works b/​c if they don’t like how it was done, you don’t have any liability as it’s up to the cleaning company they chose.
My dog left a couple of stains in the corner of one room, I was 100% sure they were going to charge me to replace the entire carpet. They cleaned the carpets (included in the clean sweep option) and just charged me $ 85 to replace the mat underneath the carpet. I was pretty impressed as I though they were going to try to squeeze me. So after the clean sweep option and $ 84 for the mat replacement, I got $ 750 of my $ 1,000 deposit back (after correcting the move out error). So I’m pretty happy camper with that, as I thought I wasn’t going to get any deposit back as many time these companies to screw you over.
Overall, I think Avalon is way too expensive. If you want a pool, s pa, etc. it would be much cheaper to go to the new Club One Sport gym that just opened up and save on rent. That being aside, the management staff and especially the maintenance staff is great, they all knew my name and would say hi when I was walking in the complex. I really enjoyed my time there but for the price, you should look at getting a place in SF or renting from a private owner instead (can get a 2 bed. for the same price). Pricing being aside I did love being there and even though this place has some negative reviews, you will see this place is far ahead of the game and is pretty outstanding relative to the reviews most apartment complex get.

Pricing good for ⁰⁶⁄₀₉ only.
Not open Sundays, tours by appointment only.
Wow, this place made me laugh up a storm. I’ll actually start with the Deal-​breakers:
*$ 3050 | 1,185 SF for a two bed/​two bath
*$ 3125 | 1,263 SF for a two bed/​two bath town home
*$ 3210 | 1,297 SF for a three bed/​three bath (notice that the difference between a two bed and a three bed is only 34 SF)
*One designated spot, even for two-​bed occupants.
*Extra reserved parking (not always available) is $ 100/​mo and no guest parking vouchers or you can get a permit from the City to park on the street for $ 30/​yr (which comes with a few guest parking vouchers).
*We only saw the 1185 SF two-​bed/​two-​bath and in the model, you walk in and pass the kitchen, to the living room, then the dining room, then the window (no balcony here). But that shared space is 13X15 SF… nearly the size of my current living room by itself.
*The balcony is in the guest bedroom. Is that really the best place for it? Really?
So what did we like about this place? I guess it would be the closets. Whether you’re a master or a guest, you get a generous walk-​in closet. But really, that’s just me. Boyfriend didn’t find that all too valuable. :)
Oh, and I guess being off the Alameda is cool too… unless you’re trying to find parking during a Sharks game (HP Pavilion is just a short jot away).
This place is a no-​go for us.