Sea Castle

I wish i could give negative stars! Please don’t trust one positive review that I’m sure management wrote themselves. I have been leaving in this place for almost a year and looking very much forward to move out. I never write bad reviews but this place really got into me.
The only good things about the apartments is location .
When we moved in we were promised 24 hour security on premises. Lets say there is no security whatsoever.
It makes me laugh every time I see there advertisement about fun party, comfortable common areas and great management.
Managers just simply fake unpleasant people. Who will smile ear to ear showing you property and things will change immediately when you ask them to get anything done. Very not helpful.
Please note when you will be signing up for rather expensive rent, that based on Section 8 neighbors you may feel like you will be only one paying rent here. It gets even better when your laundry detergent gets stolen from washing room.
The building has no AC in hallways, Air docks has not been cleaned probably since the building has been build. People smoke weed and cigarets inside, carpets in the hallway are so old and so smelly you will never get a feeling of luxury living here I can guarantee you that! Another treat is garbage room, the second you get on the floor you will experience strong smell of garbage — what a welcome home!
There is absolutely no storage as the apartments were planed to be hotel rooms, so if all your belonging can fit in one suitcase — you can make it work.
My dog can’t get rid of fleas as it seems like its everywhere in the apartment building have to carry him out outside .
I strongly don’t advise anybody to move in here. It very much feel like low income housing property.

I recently had to leave the Sea Castle for a relocation to another state. It was unfortunate b/​c I absolutley loved the 10 years I spent there. Excellent location, great views and very safe with the option of underground parking. But what made it so unique as someone who has rented and never owned, was the management team of Regina, Brittany and Crystal. They went above and beyond the call of duty and were vey professional. They made all the difference in my living experience. Great place to live and sad to see it in my rearview mirror.

Great location/​horrible management!
As you can see I normally do not like to leave bad reviews. I prefer to call out places that are great and leave the negativity to karma. However, I hope this review will save someone from having to live in an extremely negative environment. I’ll be fair though and split up the good and the bad. All I ask is that people do their own research. Look at the other reviews, most of the good ones are from people that don’t live there and honestly, some seem like they were written by management (who also live in the building).
GOOD:
Location:
You really can’t beat this location; it is right on the beach and right by the pier. The views are great and the floor to ceiling windows help the small apartments feel a bit larger.
Staff:
I really loved the valets and some of the maintenance staff.
Tenants:
The people I met that lived in the building are great and there was a sense of camaraderie, which was nice for someone moving from the East Coast.
Could be the perfect find and has all the potential to be a true luxury building with the right management. This is the main reason that I stayed there for 4 years.
BAD:
Management:
To sum up the management in a few words I would say they are unprofessional and malicious. Since the current manager began (~2012 CJ), she has ruffled many feathers in this building. If you move in, expect a nasty letter from management or the lawyers for every ridiculous thing (including not having white-​backed curtains). Time is spent on letters, however, questions to management are left unanswered, problems unresolved and interactions are typically unprofessional. Furthermore, from my experience, if you do have a problem or concern that you would like to have escalated to upper management, including Windsor Corporate office, it will likely be ignored. That said, I can’t solely blame the manager, as it appears this is condoned behavior by the rest of the corporation.
Security:
The building is in a highly populated tourist area, we’ve had people come into the building without appropriate authority, and we’ve even had people go into people’s apartments and thefts. Despite the requests for security, nothing was done. There was one exception when the manager felt threatened; she got security for a few weeks. For the amount they charge for rent and the risk based on the tourist location, it would be beneficial to have it continuously.
Poorly Maintained and Overpriced: You pay as if it is a luxury building, but they do not maintain it like a real luxury building. In my opinion the worst part is the air quality, the vents would spew black dirt from them, mostly because they don’t change the filters regularly. I was sick more in the past 4 years with respiratory infections than the prior 30 years of my life. As for the upkeep, an easy way you can verify this for yourself when you go to view an apt just look at the carpets in the hallways or the pictures another reviewer posted, which include the air vents.
Rent Increases: They will try to increase rent by a minimum of 10% each year, which is much higher than the average rent rates.
Lack of Peace: Due to the things I mentioned above, there were times I feel as though I was being harassed. Keep in mind, I pay my rent timely, I am a working professional, I don’t have wild parties, I had no complaints from neighbors, my apartment is kept clean, I don’t complain about petty things, so there is no reason for me to be harassed, yet I feel that I was. I don’t cause trouble for anyone and it saddens me that while I was there I spent valuable time fighting with management. Similarly, it’s sad that I’m spending time writing a negative review months after I moved out, yet, I feel it is necessary and I hope it will help people avoid the hassle, or at the very least be fully informed in their decision.
On a good note, there is hope, you can find a place with the location, views and even more amenities (i.e. rent control and pool) for about the same price in Santa Monica!
If you decide to move in, just buyer beware and here are my suggestions:
*Ask what the typical rent increases are each year. They consistently have tried to increase rent 10% each year I’ve lived here, which is more than double the average increase for LA.
*Ask about the upkeep of the building and anything that is important to you.
*Write down every single imperfection in the apartment during your initial inspection and get a copy of it. I’ve heard too many horror stories when people go to leave and get way overcharged for everything. Ask how old the carpets are when you move in, etc, because that matters for when you move out.
*Don’t get bullied by management.
* Read and re-​read your lease and do not sign it if you don’t agree with it.
*Check with the City Attorney’s office and Rent Control Board (although it’s not rent controlled, they are aware of buildings in the area).

BEWARE
DO NOT MOVE HERE
This is not an exaggeration
it is an honest review of the truth
I will post photos to prove it.
I lived there until recently and paid full rent,
It has been A NIGHTMARE
Without a doubt the most horrendous place to reside unless you are one of the many on «affordable housing» living there.
Interesting to see the other reviews,? Who do you think left them? Certainly not someone who lives or has lived there, or is not on affordable housing or section 8 controlled by management.
The location looks idilyic but beware.
Hallways soaked and stained with pet urine.
Bed Bugs on the second floor went unreported to health authorities or tenants
No security easy for outsiders to enter
Intruders and homeless sleeping in stairwells, conference room etc
Constant theft in laundry
Exterior windows rarely cleaned
Coffee machine constantly broken
Robbery of apartment unreported to police and management reused to hand over security tape to police to aid in ID
Laundry machines constantly broken
Poor air quality in hallways and apartments
Trash rooms unsanitary, no ventilation or purifiers
Management a nightmare and highly litigious
Management will bill everything to ensure your deposit not returned
Rents go up 10−25% after 1 year
Noisy location at night
Valet nice and helpful but damage cars
Maintenance department excellent and try their best with no funds.
One cleaner for the whole building, impossible to keep clean.
Can never hear the ocean as it is drowned out by the drunks and homeless on the boardwalk
Residents constantly moving out.
Forget your deposit. Lie about replacing carpet but never do.
Anything negative is brushed by management under the dirty carpet
I had to give Seacastle one star in order for it to post. Photos to follow

Great Place to live if you want to look at the ocean everyday, very clean building, great valet service and you do not have to tip them. if you want to tip valet then you may tip them or just for holidays. It is your choice? But, I must say They are the best valet crew and are worthy of holiday gifts once you see how attentive they are upon your arrival each day. They also open the door each time we arrive with our car and help us unload our groceries on the valet cart. It is such a nice perk to living here and the valet people just do there job and you never have to feel you have to tip them because they are just doing there daily job. Before we do leave we will make sure we do tip them in the end because they are just such attentive and so helpful to each resident.
The front lobby offers each morning fresh wonderful coffee. The coffee machine makes a wonderful hot cup of expresso, cappuccino, regular or decaf coffee ! If you are not a coffee drinker it also offers tea and hot chocolate ! This, with the ocean views, is heaven sent for us! Plus it is a nice touch in the middle of the afternoon if you want to relax, look at the ocean and enjoy a great cup of coffee.
The maintenance crew is constantly working every day either to vacuum the halls each day or clean the lobby. They are pet friendly too! The Pets seem to love it here too with all the treats they offer them plus the friendly environment. If we had a pet or not, the building is still very clean always throughout the halls and quiet, therefore you would not even know pets were allowed in the building.
The office staff is great !!! Very accommodating to your needs and understanding your current living situation if you are staying only month to month, or a longer term lease! They try to understand each individual situation and work with your lease. We love it here and been here so far for 4 months. We have been looking to relocate but meanwhile we have again needed to extend our stay until our other plans are finalized. Once we have to move we will miss the ocean views, ocean breezes, sound of the ocean and having the beach right out front of our door! We love the coffee machine, pet friendly, and very clean building. Also great restaurants and the pier are all in a short walking distance. Can’t beat that plus listening to the ocean each night, great staff and always ready to help you in anyway to make your stay enjoyable and not to mention the wonderful weather here! We are now spoiled and it will be hard once the day comes that we will have to leave our apartment that makes you feel each day you are on vacation. If you love coffee, love the ocean views and being on the beach, close to restaurants and walk to downtown Santa Monica pier and plus enjoy the updated kitchens with lovely clean apartments AND A very Friendly and Helpful Staff too! We recommend it highly and usually we are very fussy and hard to please but so far we are very happy living here and hope this lifestyle continues for us. Oh, and yes So far it has been Bug Free too!!! Keep up the Good Work Sea Castle!!!
EAB

I went for a tour of an apartment at The Seacastle and I am telling you all this will be my future residence in 2015. I cant vouch for a living experience as I am not yet a tenant, however I met with Regina who gave me a splendid tour. She is so friendly and I felt very welcomed. It is literally steps from the sand and terrific views, a dream. Love it and cant wait to live here!

First let’s start with the good:
I really like Brittany in the management office unfortunately she’s not in charge.
Also the views are nice if you can afford an ocean or beach view.
Option of valet parking.
I really wanted this building to be good but the cons far outweigh the pros
Here are the cons:
You can’t get a 12 month or 14 month lease only a 10 month lease.
They won’t allow you to switch units during your lease.
Be prepared they will raise your rent 12% or more in 10 months.
If you accidentally lock your self out the 3 leasing agents that live on the property won’t let you in you have to wait 3 – 10 hours for a maintenance person to drive form Orange County when he’s available then pay $ 75 to get into your apartment.
The area is very noisy be prepared to be woken up during the night by homeless on the strand yelling screaming shouting and homeless sneaking into the building
The building has No security guard so anyone can sneak in and cause problems.
I had my bike stolen in the valet garage!
There was a tesla parked in the garage for months when they moved I asked if I could get an electric car if there was a place to park and they said yes
2 months later Crystal the manager who is on a power trip said no more parking electric cars here! Wow it uses $ 2.00 in electricity where am I suppose to park now!
I just spent $ 30k on a car because I was told I could park it here!
The beach appears pristine but go down to the shore and it’s the most polluted water in so cal since the city storm drain empties out at pico one block south and the shore looks like a dump at times
I moved out. I ran into another tenant that said they were putting together a lawsuit against the management company,

I lived in the sea castle for a year so this review is from a former tenant not a insider writing a candy coated review.
The one star is from the over all experience and obviously the negatives far out weigh the positives in living here.
The theme is constants…
I lived on the 7^th floor and the second the dirty elevator door opened the smell of rotted garbage from the the trash area wafted through the entire hallway. The smell of garbage is particularly worse come summertime, even though they do take the trash at7am banging and clanging the smell is constant. Good luck on any resolution as the sea castle is very aware yet does nothing. The coffe machine is gross, it’s dirty and is always out of sugar, creamer, coffe or is simply just out of order. Consistently there is something wrong with the coffe machine especially down to the cheap nasty liquid that pours into ur paper cup ! I know the disappointment for me was the lack of detail throughout the building. The sea castle boasts as a higher end place of living but don’t let the valet fool you. The valet is convenient but when they scratch ur car, curb rash ur wheels don’t expect they will own up to it and don’t expect anyone to care. I assumed having my road bike locked inside a locked cage registered with the office and the valet only possesing the key would be a secure place. Well it’s not, my 3000 $ road bike disappeared with no one knowing anything, the office says well it has happened before. I guess what I’m saying is ur on ur own here. Sure the view was nice but 3k a month for 450 sq feet with a lease that is increased at least by 10% when renewal comes is so not worth it. Once ur in crystal figures that u will pay an increase because moving is too difficult. The only reason to live at sea castle is if u are on of the 40 tenants on low income housing getting the same location for 75% off of what u and I would pay. So if u choose sea castle expect to be disappointed and after a few months that will grow into being disgusted with entire place. I do have to say David in maintinence to be very kind and a pleasure and Regina in the office does her very best! There are a few nice valets «oscar» who is one and the rest are rude and sloooooooow! Before signing anything read and re read what every document says and make sure everything is correct before signing.
When I moved in I filled out a damage form indicating cracked tiles, stained carpet, laminate peeling from the kitchen cup boards yet in the end they had the audacity to charge me to re carpet the unit which had old stained carpet when I moved in. Crystal also charged me to deep clean the tile grout in another attempt to extort money. I have a house keeper every week so these charges were absurd ! My recourse now is to take them to small claims court but Crystal knows it’s not worth my time or effort for a thousand or so dollars and it is just easier to pay it. Just expect all of the hidden charges, unwarranted extortion and the inevitable rent increase as this building is NOT under Santa Monica rent control.
Yes Brett loves the gym because he trains clients at home so if u like to use they gym get ready to share with Brett and friends/​clients and you can thank The manager Crystal Jones for allowing this to go on as she trains with Brett. I can go on and on but I think I have made my point, the sea castle is in a great location but it’s not a great place to live.

Just spent a year at the SeaCastle and I must say it changed my life! The entire experience was world class. The valet guys are top notch, extremely courteous, personable, and very attentive to your needs (even at 5am!). The office and maintenance staff were always available if you had any issues, and would do what they could to cater to your needs. The building went through several iterations of renovation whilst I was there, and there were more upgrades planned when I moved out last week. The building itself was in an amazing location, and I must say I will miss the daily beach walks I became so used to. Also, the building was kept very clean and there was hardly ever any maintenance issues (and those that were were attended to ASAP). But most importantly, I met some amazing people in the building who I now consider lifelong friends, and I will miss them the most. The only thing that was an issue from time to time was the guest parking, especially for me as I entertained a lot. The valet takes care of you in no time, but guests have to park in adjacent lots or street parking (which can fill up quickly at certain times). SO as long as you manage and work around the parking challenges you’re good!) I recommend the SeaCastle without hesitation, and will probably stay there again in the near future :)

«Why would you ever leave this place?»
Those are the first words my brother said to me just recently while visiting my Sea Castle apartment for the first time. I’ve lived here for 3 ½ years. Now obviously you’re wondering why it took my own sibling so long to visit, but let me assure you that our relationship is just fine and it’s perfectly ok to go back to focusing on your own interests at this time. Thank you for your concern.
This place is great. It steps out on the beach. I could end the review right there and it would still be 5 stars, but I feel like that would be irresponsible reviewing so I’ll continue. The staff here is terrific. David is the nicest person you will ever meet. I’m not sure what his job title is, but he specializes in making people feel important. If there’s an issue, he fixes it with a smile on his face. I’m pretty sure he knows everyone by name. The office staff is terrific. I’ve never had an issue with them and my guess is that the only people who have are the type of people who have an issue with everything. Ok maybe that’s a bit judgmental. My apologies.
Two of my favorite perks are the ²⁴⁄₇ gym and the public workout area just outside the front door (the original Muscle Beach) I’m a fitness geek so this regularly comes in handy. I’m also a Personal Trainer and some of my neighbors workout with me as well (shameless self promotion, I know).
Guest parking can be tricky but I’ve found that acquiring parking passes for the beach lot next door has always been a painless process (you have to bring a utility bill to the Santa Monica parking department so they can confirm your address. I’ve always been able to buy two annual passes on the spot).
I’ve lived a few places since moving to LA and this is by FAR the best place I’ve lived to date. Sure it’s a little pricier than say Inglewood, but you also get to live on the beach in Santa Monica, so I suppose that makes sense.

I personally love living at the Sea Castle! From the clean environment, to the very helpful leasing employees, to the janitorial staff, and to the valet parking attendants I feel very at home and safe living here!
They are always right on top of anything I may need fixing and are always willing to hear any feedback I may have!
I count my blessings to live not only on the beach but also have such a great company who wants their residents to be happy!

Everyone who works at Sea Castle is awesome. From the leasing agents to the valet guys, it’s great to live in a community like this. The apartments are super nice, and you really can’t beat living on the beach in Santa Monica. They even have get togethers in the lobby occasionally which gives the complex a real sense of community.

I currently live in this building and won’t be renewing my lease, however it’s not all bad.
The good: valet parking attendants are super friendly and fantastic. The location of the building is great. The cleaning staff is always around trying to make the place sparkle (note I say try, see below for dog friendly building comments). Decent gym for an apartment building. We live on the first floor and we rarely hear our neighbors. On site dry cleaning pick up comes in handy and isn’t overly expensive.
The bad: Dog friendly building = dog pee smell outside and stains/​accidents around the building. There really should be in unit laundry if you are paying rent this high as the machines are often full and/​or out of service. No guest parking (need a lot permit which are very hard to get). Units are starting to show their age. I moved into a unit site unseen since I was relocating and I have aged appliances, cracked tiles, broken freezer racks etc. In my opinion the units are not big enough for more than one person. When I first moved in there was a cigarette stench that lingered for almost 2 months despite the carpets having been cleaned before I moved in. It took several carpet deodorizers, bottles of febreeze and air fresheners to make it smell normal.
All in all I would say live here if you can afford an ocean view apartment with all of the upgrades. If you can’t, don’t bother. You will get a much better value for your money elsewhere.

I noticed that the people that wrote these reviews weren’t actual renters here. The last one posted after I posted mine and suspiciously has 0 reviews besides SeaCastle and sounds like it came from management. We’re not that dumb!
My bf lived here for a year and a half. Since it’s the only apt. building on the boardwalk you pay an arm and a leg for rent. I would not mind paying if we had received the quality that came with the price tag. We had the most horrible rental experience here.
First off, the extras you pay for such as water in the gym (never any water), coffee machine (never works and they turn it off at 6 pm or whenever the office people leave, cheapos!), the business center never has any paper to print, there was dog poo outside my door, there’s the smell of urine, loud homeless people and random drunk people yelling in the middle of the night. There was a homeless woman that slept in the door of the building for months, I got woken up in the middle of the night because there were homeless ppl who got sprayed by the sprinklers at 2:30 am. Yep, they hear everything and random strangers will walk by asking how much rent we paid. Walls are paper thin and you can hear people having conversations on the phone. Once the trash didn’t get picked up for a month and there was trash piled up everywhere and it smelled really bad. washer/​dryers are usually full and don’t work well.
They also sent us a bill totalling a whole year’s worth of electric, garbage, water. They had never billed us before and waited a year! Then when we didn’t know what it was because we both travel a lot, they sent us an eviction letter after 5 days it was overdue.
The worst part is the management. I believe the manager, Crystal, is so incompetent. You get the rent raised after your lease is up. The bf was paying $ 3200 and they raised it up to $ 4200 for month to month. Mind you this is a 450 sq foot studio with an ocean view.
I noticed when I was waiting in the lobby that they quoted people apartments for $ 2000 for people who were interested in moving in. We didn’t get those rates when we were low maintenance renters who always paid our rent on time.
Since we were looking to buy something, we figured we would move to a 1 bedroom for cheaper than the studio we were living in. We had already paid $ 4200 for half of October. They told us to sign a lease and put a deposit on an apt. Sight unseen.
Who would do that? We were to move out October 31^st. The apartment would not be available until November 9^th. My bf reasonably asked if we could go back to paying $ 3200 until we moved.
The manager said no, told us we were in violation of our lease because I was living there and not on it. Wow! Guess they don’t want our hard earned money while they are offering tenants $ 500 for the 1^st referral and $ 1000 for the 2^nd. When we moved in, the nice woman who helped us knew I would be living there and asked if I wanted to be on the lease. Sea Castle was very aware of my existence.
I noticed the only people that stay long term are the low income people who are paying $ 1000 or $ 1500 for apts. that were way bigger than mine. People are moving out of the apt like it’s the plague and they’re not happy living there.
I’m glad we moved out. It wasn’t worth trying to work with dumb, unreasonable people who can’t keep their tenants. They are too busy trying to get new tenants in who pay less and to flirt with all the men that come in.
Perks of the apt: gym is always open, right on the beach, some really nice neighbors, everyone that works there is awesome and nice besides the office ppl who are fake nice because they make a commission when you sign a lease and try to screw you over, relatively clean building, coffee machine when it’s turned on and works, beautiful ocean view.
UPDATE: I noticed on the site our old apt is still not rented but they’re offering rent at $ 2800 to $ 3200 versus the deal we would have gotten at $ 3600 for three months. Horrible business practice and dishonest is not how you keep renters.
UPDATE: I had a very expensive package sent to me after I moved out. The valet signed for it but when I came to pick it up, it was nowhere to be found. After calling the Ladies in the office (I use this term loosely), they tried saying that maybe it was returned to the sender. I had to file a Police report because they would avoid our phone calls. They tried to tell the Police Officer they were not responsible since I was not on the lease. This should never be an issue because 1). it was missing in their possession. Someone employed at Sea Castle STOLE it… Yet it’s my fault? Also they tried to lie and say it was because it was a random person who signed for it. The package was logged in their package log. Someone also tried to forge my signature.

I’ve spent the last 10 days or so apartment and dog sitting here. If being at the beach in a heartbeat is your idea of an amazing time, this is the place. It gets no better for such things. The Pier is RIGHT THERE (really… it is). The ocean is RIGHT THERE (really… it is). The only thing this place is missing is a time machine to get all the segway riders off the sidewalk. Amazing space. CJ’s review nailed it. Booya.

I loved this building! What a beautiful lobby! What a beautiful view!
I used to stay here for a bit with someone a while ago. I had a great time here. Great memories.
Pros:
*** Valet Parking. Valet parking everytime you come home! Sweet!
*** Right when you come out of the lobby you’re on the beach.
*** Ocean breeze when you wake up.
*** Great view of the surrounding hotels/​SM resorts.
*** Cute studios.
*** Friendly and helpful staff.
*** Convenient to walk around Santa Monica. Walk to the Pier. Walk around everywhere. So nice!
*** Great neighbors.
*** Quiet.
*** Beautiful. Serene. Puts you in a calming mood.
Cons:
*** Expensive as heck.
*** Minimal guest parking options.
*** Need to get permits for the next door lots for guests. Good luck!
I loved staying here! It was a great part of my life. Life is about experiences! Experience some boojie SM life! :)