The Plaza At Sherman Oaks

I wanted to take this opportunity to write a review on my overall experience with The Plaza at Sherman Oaks. I don’t often write reviews, however, in this case I felt very compelled to do so-​especially considering the amount of reviews that offer a completely different impression than what my experience has been. I recently ventured out to the LA area moving across country. I landed in Sherman Oaks where I stayed with a friend while looking for an apartment. I was looking at all the neighborhoods in and around LA as possibilities. For me, Sherman Oaks was where I chose as the neighborhood I would call home. I mention this as, after spending time visiting all the areas LA has in its surroundings, Sherman Oaks is where I put a lot of time in researching and visiting apartments. I did a lot of ground work.
I found it to be a challenge to get in touch with a representative of most apartments listed available to rent. Not uncommon I’m sure. For most of the places I called, I also drove to to see if I could connect with an apartment manager or someone that could show me the listed apartment/​s. I was surprised to find that to present a challenge as well, as quite often, no one was on site, answered the phone in the office, nor did I receive any calls back from any messages I left.
This brings me to The Plaza at Sherman Oaks. I was extremely surprised and elated to find that as soon as you walk in the main entrance, which is beautiful, there are offices with on-​site managers immediately accessible. I was greeted within moments of walking in by Gizelle Fernandez. She was extremely engaging, professional to say the least, informative on all aspects of the facility and its amenities, and has maintained all of those qualities since our initial introduction. Within moments of meeting her, she walked me through the complex to the apartment listed for rent. Along the way, she showed me the grounds and the amenities are astounding! For me, they are a cherry on top. I say that because a lot of people may be distracted by them and be sold on those aspects alone. It is absolutely reminiscent of a resort. That being said, I was more interested in the apartment itself and the quality and presence of staff. On our way through the complex to the apartment, Gizelle greeted every staff member we passed-​that includes grounds keepers. The staff rapport and morale was very high. Such a pleasant thing to see.
Upon entering the listed apartment, it was great to see that the unit was exactly like the pictures that were included in the listing. No bait and switch. After viewing the apartment, I was sold. It was exactly what I was looking for. The application process was easy. It can be done on-​site or online. I did mine online. In doing so, I had a couple of questions on filling in the information. They were minor things and I just wanted to make sure I was filling things in correctly. Gizelle was extremely helpful in this regard, and additionally, she was always available by phone. I had to leave message for her at some point, as she was with another client, and she was sure to call me back. Again, she maintained and carried through all of the great qualities she presented when I first met her. If you have any issues or concerns at any point, she is sure to address them. She is extremely pleasant to work with. Approachable, engaged, and caring.
If you are looking for a place in Sherman Oaks, I highly recommend that you visit this place before making any decisions. It is sure to impress!
For what it is worth, I have friends that have lived all around LA for 10+ years. All of them said that they have never seen such a nice place with such amazing amenities. I found that to be pretty reassuring. Not that I needed their opinion. But it was nice to hear. All of my hard work in searching paid off!

I went to inquire about an apartment here a few weeks ago and the leasing office staff were confused, rude and so full of themselves. I found a nicer apartment with friendlier staff elsewhere.

Weak insulation… Old buildings, and today, no hot water. Many issues in these old buildings and now there is a lot of dust from concrete. Headaches every day. When you can hear your upstairs neighbor flush the toilet. put a thicker carpet pad down vs beds by the pool.
What is happening with this place? If you suck up to managers, all is good. But, if you are using bleach on the ground where there are dogs-​NOT cool. And painting for no reason on the sidewalks? Never seen such a thing in my life. Sick of the dog shit everywhere and the «deal with it» attitude.

I’m very impressed with the level of professionalism in the management of my apartment complex. I have moved many times in California and never meet a property manager like Gizelle. She made sure our unit was move in ready 2 weeks before deadline. The complex is immaculate if they is any issues, Gizelle has taken care of it fast. I’m looking forward to the pool renovation and party to welcome summer. This is a great safe place to live.

Wow! I’m so excited to apply at The Plaza after seeing the photos online and calling over the weekend! I spoke to Jennifer and she made all my worries melt away. Since this will be my very first apartment, I had lots of questions, especially since I didn’t have good experiences on the phone at other properties in the area. If everyone working there is as sweet and informative as she is, I’ll be in heaven. Five hundred stars. For real.
I am moving in July so I’ll be calling back every couple weeks til something comes up — can’t wait!!! Please save me a pool view studio if you can :)))))

I’ve lived at the Plaza for nearly two years now. Originally, I wasn’t going to renew my lease because the old manager seemed to be running a circus, however I’m so happy with the new management and staff. Things are getting done around here! The pool is undergoing renovation and we are all excited for the summer. It’s going to be like a resort when they’re done.
The current manager, Gizelle, has a great, can-​do attitude. You can tell she really puts the residents first. She’s also hired some good staff who are so helpful and cheerful. The new concierge, Jennifer, has only been there a short time but she goes above and beyond what the old one did. She’s very professional and always busy helping people. I referred a friend of mine to the Plaza and Jennifer took us on the tour. She knew more than I did about the plaza! Oh, and the leasing staff is always there to help out with billing issues or any issue, really! I just can’t see myself living anywhere else now — good customer service is very much alive here :) Thank you!

Best apartments and management staff I have come across. PERIOD. They were very flexible and understanding of my lease request and equally as informative about the market. A+

I have no experience renting here; the leasing office at The Plaza Sherman Oaks gave me no chance. I called 17 times in the last two days, sent at least 2 e-​mails and got not a single response. Way to stay on top of your prospects and leads. I’m sure you’re all making your property management company proud.

In an effort to move our family upwards, we have to leave The Plaza to meet our needs in home size. However, I wanted to take this opportunity to praise not only the establishment; but, the apartment manager Gizelle for everything that has been done to accommodate our year run. We live in a quiet studio with a beautiful balcony over-​looking the courtyard, with a verdant and scenic nature view. We have never had an issue with plumbing, water, electricity, AC, etc., albeit the occasional and routine air duct changes (which is par-​for-​the-​course for everyone and handled one the drop of a phone call). Our neighbors are quiet and respectful, security runs a tight ship, and the amenities have always been of top-​tier quality. Moreover, Gizelle has been the cornerstone of support for us both professionally to meet our needs and personally to assist us with guidance issues (communicating with tenants, navigating our pending move, etc.). She has gone above and beyond to make our brief tenure palatable in every way and we appreciate everything she has done for us. We highly recommend this experience to anyone who wants a community living experience with state-​of-​the-​art «extras.» More so, when you have a chance, bring your business here and meet Gizelle. She is a breath of fresh air and will help you create an experience worth living (at The Plaza) for.
Sincerely,
N + P

We’ve been living at The Plaza for 5 years, and love it!
The amenities are great. It’s a paradise for my 10 year old who says“we live in a palace!“
Gizelle, Victoria, Armando and all the staff are truly caring, responsive and helpful with everyone’s needs. They are like family!

Just had a terrible flashback of this place so wanted to warm others that are looking for a safe place to live because it’s not here. I had a very scary situation one night as I was parking on the lot off Ventura Canyon Ave. As I parked my car I noticed a man that I had never seen before just waiting behind my car, I stayed in my car and thank goodness for that. This guy then walked over to the drivers side and tried to open my car door and then my passenger door! Mind you, It was dark, I had just gotten home from work and I was alone. I yelled at him to go away and told him I was going to call the cops, that’s when he walked away. I called the security number provided by the plaza only to be told that they were no longer the hired company as of a few days and they could not help me and to call the new company. What new company?! The Plaza had not sent out a notice to the residents of this change! They later said they had but I can assure you that was a lie. I called the manager Ari and told her about this scary situation. I told her to please send out a notice to my neighbors to be aware since so many ladies lived alone in my building. Ari did nothing. I had to call and speak to her several times and finally told her that I was going to type up a letter and leave it at every residents door to warn them of this guy. That’s when she sent out a letter saying there had been «an incident» and after an investigation they found out who this person was and the investigation was closed. I was disgusted by Ari’s handling of this, mind you how did she know that guy was the one who almost attacked me? (they did not have cameras in the parking lot at this point) She didn’t have me identify anyone during her so called investigation so she was a liar and put many people in danger by not truthfully warning residents. I moved out soon after this. During the last months many cars and apartments were broken into. Again, management did not warn the residents. I had to call the office and ask if this was true. This place looks very nice from the outside and from the pool area but the other buildings do not match that. Security was a joke, I almost never saw them in the parking lots but hanging by the pool or lobby. The first year I was there it took them about 9 months to renovate the halls in my building. It was like living in a construction zone for almost a year and it was embarrassing when I had friends over. The elevator in building C was so disgusting. My neighbors were awesome and so was VIctoria at the front office and I never had an issue until new management came in.

I lived at The Plaza for 5 months and overall had a pleasant experience. I lived in the E building and never experienced any abnormal noise levels. Keep in mind that this is a huge complex with apartments and townhouses with hundreds of residents so there is going to be noise. The grounds are nicely maintained as well as the lobby and entertainment lounge.
With that being said, I feel like the move in process was more work than necessary. My leasing agent took forever to get things in order and made careless errors on the paperwork that delayed the process. When we moved in we did a quick walk through and everything seemed fine but we quickly noticed that the cleaning crew didn’t clean the entire place thoroughly. (Dirty cabinets, baseboards and windows.) Also, sometimes the water pressure gets really low making it impossible to wash your dishes not to mention the water sometimes smells like sewage! Gross but thats part of living in LA.
However, we have never needed any maintenance requests or been bothered by neighbors or staff. Loud neighbors and dogs barking are inevitable everywhere and should only reflect how inconsiderate others can be — it does not reflect the property or staff.

Manager lacks tenant relation skills.
Other staff talks behind the tenants back.
Security is good.
Noise is abundant and constant from alarms going off, barking dogs, sports and grilling after hours to apartment doors slamming and noise from upstairs tenants. Laminated floors do not help much.
Grounds are well maintained and amenities are very nice.
Check your rentals statements for errors.

I did have a very easy and pleasant move-​in experience with Victoria about 3 months ago. Gizelle did my move-​in/​walk thru and she was extremely friendly as well. The community itself is nice (although barking dogs are a constant problem) and the amenities are good. That being said, unfortunately I have been miserable here for the entire 3 months because of my incredibly loud, rude and inconsiderate upstairs neighbor! My unit, and obviously his, have been recently renovated so the floors are laminate. In my experience, hardwood or laminate flooring is typically only in ground floor units due to the noise factor. This guy is a perfect example of why upper units should be carpeted! It’s not normal living noise or random loudness that I’m talking about, it’s far beyond that… to sum it up, it sounds like he’s throwing around bowling balls, dumbbells, and moving furniture. All. The. Time. I’ve emailed the leasing office on more than one occasion, I’ve called Courtesy Patrol twice, left a note on his door and yet nothing improves! My entire living experience at The Plaza has been tainted by this jackass. The fact that I can’t stand to be in my own apartment is pretty sad… all because of him! Needless to say I will not be renewing my lease (thank God it was only for 7 months) unless he moves out or shuts up, OR the leasing office is willing to relocate me to a top floor unit of the same floor plan somewhere else in the community.

We just moved in 2 months ago and it has been the best experience! Staff is very friendly, the amenities are awesome, and the residents are cool people. We finally have a home we feel comfortable in. Love love love!

I recently moved in here, and I was extremely impressed with the buildings and amenities. But then I was even more impressed when I met with Gizelle Fernandez! She is kind and courteous and extremely helpful and made the whole moving-​in experience a pleasure! She and everyone working here are extremely professional and respectful. It’s a great community!

The Plaza at Sherman Oaks was the perfect location, right next to the 101 freeway and near the canyons that take you to the west side. Besides that it has the best amenities at no additional charge.
My leasing agent (Chad) was very pleasant and helpful. He always got back to me quickly and made the process very easy for me. The place has everything you can imagine, it’s almost like living in a resort. Their is a tennis court, basketball court, volleyball court, pool, nice size gym and more. They have remodeled units so it’s clean and fresh looking. Again, best part is all this is included and the rent is VERY REASONABLE compared to what you will find out their in the market. Oh and let’s not forget that you can walk to the mall and walk to all the cool bars on Venture.
This place is awesome!!!

I really enjoyed my time living at The Plaza. The staff is so friendly and helpful, and they all know me by name! Amber, Armando, Chad and Stefania are great staff members and I’ll say above all else they are what made my stay the most enjoyable.

We only lived in the apartment for 2.5 months (while our house was being rented for a TV show) and look what happened:
The manager Airy is surly and has zero interest in resolving issues amicably.
Chad the leasing agent is nice (but snobbish) when showing the property and immediately turns surly once you’re moved in.
Noise is a huge problem. People yelling and screaming at 2 – 3 am.
Many of the amenities don’t work, including sauna.
Movie night is a joke. Often no one showed up to run the projector.
Slowest elevators in the U.S.
While there, I contracted:
Upper respiratory tract infection (URI)
Bladder infections (3)
Bilateral conjunctivitis (pink eye)
Before then, I was in complete health.
Warning re: your security deposit!
Out of a $ 800 security deposit, we only got back $ 250. Management claims they needed to paint all of the walls (Ha! We did not put up a single painting or picture on any of the walls. No nails, thumbtacks, tape, etc. The walls were left in exactly the same condition as we found them when we first moved in.), carpet cleaning ($ 125), Full cleaning $ 180… (even though we, together with our full-​time live-​in housekeeper scrubbed the place from top to bottom).
Outrageous!
Make sure when you first move in and before you move out, you take pictures showing the condition of your unit.

2014 Unilocal 365 CHALLENGE — ¹³⁵⁄₃₆₅
I’M TORN BETWEEN 3.5−4 STARS.
There are MANY things I can say about The Plaza. I really did enjoy living here, for the most part. There were many up’s and down’s to this place, but I ended up moving out after being here for 9 months.
PROS:
+ BEAUTIFUL sight to see. Definitely one of the fanciest apartment complexes I’ve ever seen in Sherman Oaks. Great to show off to your friends ;)
+ Amenities are unique. What they offer at The Plaza are not easily found at other complexes
+ Gym/​tanning bed/​massage table
+ Clubhouse with movie theatre, TVs, wifi, poker/​billiards table
+ Swimming pool, 2 hot tubs and BBQ grills
+ SPORTS: Tennis court, basketball court, volleyball court
+ Salon on site (expensive, though)
+ Right off the 101; easy freeway access
+ Pet friendly. Cats and most dog breeds
+ Guaranteed parking spot (s)
+ 10 washers/​dryers on every floor
+ Maintenance guys are super friendly (the friendliest of staff here!)
+ Security guards patrolling
+ Beautiful entryway/​lobby
+ Elevators! Great for moving furniture
+ Short term leases available (mine was 9 months, 3 or 6 come with an extra premium)
+ SUPER close to a mall, car wash, and Ventura Blvd
+ For where my apartment was located (C building), it was actually pretty quiet!
CONS:
— Management people are SO jaded and not personable in the slightest way. Really unprofessional and rude, in my opinion
— Whenever you go up to the front desk they just look at you and almost smirk. They don’t look happy or personable in the slightest way
— Bugs are a huge issue. Especially fruit flies. I couldn’t open my screen door anymore because they would come in and swarm my apartment
— Trash takes FOREVER to get picked up, thus in REEKS for days because they are overflowing!
— Laundry costs too much. Cost me $ 20 to do 4 – 5 loads
— Easy for outsiders to get into; gated but so easy for cars/​people to sneak in
— HUGE complex. Very corporate-​style living
— Whenever they do construction on-​site, it takes forever. I had to park in a neighborhood nearby for TWO WEEKS
— Office/​concierge is only opened 9−5pm on weekdays, the same as my work schedule –_​–
— You can only pick up mail packages from the front desk, which is annoying if your work schedule is during the time that they are open
— Too expensive. $ 1300 for a 400 – 500 sq. ft. studio apartment? My wallet cried for the 9 months when I was there
— My rent went up with the new year
— My utilities bill somehow increased from $ 30~ to $ 70 during my last month
— Too expensive to have a pet. Security deposit PLUS pet rent
— $ 35/​month to rent a refrigerator. Does not come w/​apartment
— I’d rather save $$ by not having management charge me extra to put on gimmicky social events each month that I never attended
— Dog poop will occasionally show up on the walkways
— I found my apartment to either be freezing cold, or hot as a sauna depending on the season
— Parking lot/​garage design was poorly laid out. Impossible for people to move in/​out without blocking cars, too many speed bumps, bad security
— I put down a $ 600 deposit, and they only gave me back $ 220 or so
MINI-​STORIES/​ITEMS WORTH MENTIONING:
+ Glenn, the leasing agent, is your man. Nicest person who works at the front office, period. Love him!
— Watch out for Airy Salgado, the manager. I’ve seen her act really rudely to people
— When I first got into my apartment, it had some issues. 1) dishwasher didn’t work, 2) oven didn’t have any racks in it, therefore was unusable, 3) my largest stovetop burner was not working
— When maintenance came to repair my burner, THEY LEFT IT ON. FOR FIVE HOURS. They came while I was at work, and I was SHOCKED to find my apartment SCORCHING HOT! The burner was BRIGHT RED and the maintenance left a note saying they came by at 1pm… I did not come home from work until 6:30pm which means it was on for that long. The entire building could have been burnt down!
— Awful communication at the front desk. I called to reschedule an inspection I had made, and the guy who «booked» it did not put it in the system… even though he sent a confirmation email to me. The time of my appointment came around, and NOBODY showed up because it didn’t show up in the system!
— In Sept 2013, a leaky pipe caused the ROOF TO COLLAPSE inside one of the buildings! 18 residents were displaced! See the news report here:
FINAL THOUGHTS:
After all these pros and cons, the main reason why I moved out was because it was just too expensive. There are so many great amenities, but I realized I honestly didn’t use any of them. So overpriced, and it just wasn’t worth the several hundred dollars for me. If this place were cheaper, I would probably come back here, despite all of the problems it still has. They’ve got a lot to improve on, but it still is one of the most upscale apartment complexes in Sherman Oaks.