Solana Highlands

My husband and I moved in last October. We are pleased with the community here. More so the outstanding service of the leading office. We had a few hiccups in the apt we moved into and Matthew and Olivia responded to the issue in helping us transfer to another a apartment. The maintenance crew, Benny in particular was always on point to help with the issues. We live it here!

For starters, Mariana and Matt in the leasing office are awesome! Very professional, knowledgeable and also very pleasant to talk to. Ended up changing units a few weeks after moving in (this was no fault at all on the mgmt co.) and they both were so accommodating and helpful.
Only had to put in a maintenance order call once and they came out same day and handled the issues right away. Everyone on the maintenance team has been friendly and professional. The community is always well kept. They are constantly maintaining the landscaping and the trash and recycle bins are emptied often.
The community is very pet friendly (even large dogs!).As a dog owner of a big dog, I’ve come to really appreciate this quality in an apartment complex and mgmt co. They always sponsor different events (i.e. pet of the month, Yappy Hour). Plenty of doggie stations throughout the community, and again, always maintained well.
Great, great location. Neighbors seem to be very nice. So far, all in all, I am very happy with Solana Highlands here in Solana Beach. Would highly recommend them!

Watch out! The staff was very friendly and it seemed nice, but now I feel like I live in low income housing and just realized my new apartment is infested with fleas!!!

Edited from when I moved out. Rent went up and the quality didn’t. Old needs to be updated, not worth the price

Ok. I have NEVER met a more helpful, gorgeous, organized, caring Community Director in my life as Kimberly Duggan was with us yesterday at Solana Highlands in Solana Beach. She showed us EVERYTHING… Crunched numbers for us… gave us all sorts of tips in finding the right new place to call home… and so much more!
It is a beautiful little village in the woods. Everything is light and bright… NOT BROWN! The kitchen makes you want to come right in and cook something yummy immediately! I am still reeling from how amazing she was! Who would NOT want to live here? :) Ashley B

I lived here for 2.5 years and moved out in the last couple months. Solana Highlands started off decent and eventually turned out to be a huge pain.
Rent and Security Deposit — It was affordable at the beginning but each time we renewed our lease the prices went up a significant/​ridiculous amount. We kept the place in top condition and had it professionally cleaned when we left. They did a pre-​move out inspection where they noted that but then started tearing up the carpet in every room to see if there were stains. When we got our money back, there was a deduction to replace carpets. That would be fine, except it isn’t like when I moved in I got to look under the carpets. I would want to be able to see what it looked like under there so I know what actually was from me and what was old. They could (but didn’t) confirm that the carpet was new when we moved in but I wouldn’t trust them and they do not change the carpet between each tenant.
Leasing Office — The people who work there change every month so they really rarely know what they are doing. There is only one constant, the manager Kimberly, and she is just the worst. Everyone in the complex talks about how rude and irritating she is. She is unresponsive to emails and calls, condescending and simply a horrible manager. Despite all the negatives I have listed about the complex in this review, she is the primary reason we moved out of Solana Highlands.
Parking — We could rarely park in our reserved parking spots we paid for because other people would park in them and there are no repercussions. Let me explain parking, you get one free open spot with your apartment. If you want additional spots you have to pay. The free spot we got always had a random car parking in it, so we have to reserve two extra spots for our cars. If you report someone is in your spot, they put a «ticket» (which is worth the paper it is written on and everyone knows that) on the car. The person has two chances and then after «two» tickets, they would get towed. This really means anyone can park anywhere because people rarely get ticketed and the chances you will ever be towed are slim to none.
Mold — Every unit has it, and quite a bit. For our unit, black mold would grow on and around our windows no matter how much I tried to clean it and keep windows open and air flowing. It also grows in the toilet constantly. When I talked to the leasing office about it, they said I was in one of the better units and actually they all grow mold and usually much more. My friends who lived in a different unit had to move out because it grew all over their bathroom and eventually started growing on their furniture and items in the apartment. They had to throw out a lot of their possessions when they moved.
Gym — It gets really stuffy equipment is often broken and there are always quite a few teenagers hanging out there in the evening not really working out. It is uncomfortable because the room is really small and that makes it awkward.
Maintenance — This is their only saving grace. Their maintenance staff is friendly, knowledgeable and efficient.
Laundry — Never works, there is always a line, and it destroys clothes on a regular basis. You will waste a lot of time and money doing laundry there.

I moved in April and things have gone pretty well. The staff hosts some fun events at the club house and are pretty responsive to service requests.

PROS:
— The location is great.
— The complex seems to be fairly safe.
— The complex is usually quiet.
— Good for dogs.
— 2^nd floor gets good breeze (there is no a/​c) and is more private. (which is a con if you are on the 1^st floor).
CONS:
— They make you pay a dog monthly fee. Ridiculous. Like what has been said before, a dog deposit would be fine, but paying extra a month for my yellow lab who is well trained and doesn’t ruin anything is ridiculous.
–No in room washer dryer. I’m not in college anymore. There are «close» facilities on site but I don’t want to be hauling my clothes to a gross room filled with other peoples gross clothes. And they are often full.
–Rent goes up every signing, with no negotiation whatsoever.
–The pool/​hot tub is often taken up with people who I’m quite sure do not live there.
–No air conditioner (you don’t usually need it in San Diego, but it would be nice).
— Cabinets do not close well.

I have lived here since June 2010 and really like it.
PROS:
–My apartment is really nice. Affordable too, compared to other places in the Solana Beach area.
–The management office is quick to respond to maintenance calls.
–You can get two accent walls painted for free when you move in.
–The complex in general is quiet, and the residents for the most part are respectful, polite and friendly.
–Amenities (hot tub, pool, gym) pretty decent.
–GREAT location! 20 minute walk to the fairgrounds/​racetrack, Cedros, the beach. Right off the 5.
CONS:
–You can’t sign anything other than a 12 month lease or else they make you pay the overly expensive month to month rate. No negotiations allowed on rent, etc. They are pretty strict on this unfortunately.
–People park in my assigned parking space all the time. It is difficult, if not impossible, to get a car towed from your spot. This means that I’m often walking in the dark, alone, from the street to my apartment late at night. There is a security/​patrol car on duty most nights though.
–Not a lot of guest parking in general.
–Laundry rooms often have broken machines.
Overall, the cons are generally true of most big apartment complexes so I can’t ding them too much for that. :) It’s been a great experience living here!

I have lived at Soland Highlands for over sixteen years for a number of reasons. First of all it is a beautiful apartment complex and has a swimming pool, tennis court, great parking and gym. Second it is in a great location close to the beach and walking distance from excellent restaurants. Most importantly to me is the friendly and helpful employees not just the office personel but the maintinance staff as well. I also need to mention my grandchildren love going to the leasing office because they have free cookies and hot chocolate.

In January of 2012 it will be a year that my husband and I have been living at Solana Highlands and for the most part we have liked it alright. The buildings were built in the 70’s so the exterior is not very modern-​looking, but the maintenance crew do a good job at upkeep. The apartments have practical layouts and are offered in different styles that also range in price. What we enjoy the most about living here is the location. Solana Highlands is situated in a very good neighborhood and within walking-​distance of shopping centers, the post office and the Solana Beach Downtown area. The office staff of this apt. complex is very friendly and efficient and a monthly newsletter keeps you updated on the events going around town and in the North County San Diego area.

We’ve been living here for almost a year and love it. The staff takes very good care of the grounds and are super responsive if you have any repair requests for the apartment. Nice pool and hot tub, great tennis courts and a huge lawn for dog walking. Less than a mile walk to Cedros and downtown Solana Beah.

This has been a good place to live. Responsive staff and maintenance. Excellent location. They have often resolved maintenance issues in the same day. Great amenities and the noise hasn’t been a problem for me at all.
If you don’t like pets, you might mind all the dogs around here. They raise the rent at each lease renewal and charge $ 50/​month extra for a dog. While I think that’s pretty much standard anywhere you go, it adds up if you stay here for a couple years. One tip: I don’t think I’d be willing to live on the ground floor. Not as breezy, more insects, and you have to close the blinds all the time since most of the living space is in front of a large window.

Horrible place! They only want your money… hence the dollar sign is their logo. Its guaranteed that they will raise the rent no matter how great of a tenant you are. I always paid my rent early and had no complaints, yet my rent was raised significantly. Leasing agents seem to only care about you when they have oppurtunity to make comission. The apartment is pretty crappy considering how expensive the rent is. The apartment has a mold/​cigarette smell to it. Horrible paint job and cheap appliances too. Walls are VERY thin and gets annoying when you can hear everything going on in every unit that’s attached to me. The grass is FLEA INFESTED. Frontline (flea med) no longer works on fleas in this area, so pet owners beware. Overall, you can get a MUCH nicer place for your money.

Stay far away!!! Their logo, as seen from the street, is a dollar sign. You do not get what you pay for living in this place. It is expensive, because half your neighbors are section 8 housing, or «bonded» meaning they pay half of what you will pay. They will bring all their ghetto and illegal friends to the complex, resulting in a high theft rate. Cars are regularly broken into, and I do not leave my apartment at night even WITH dogs. There are always suspicious characters loitering, requiring frequent phone calls to the police.
The apartments are old, dirty and infested with spiders. They aren’t cleaned before you move in, just painted over. You can tell by looking at my front door how someone has previously tried to break in. Not patched up, literally just painted over. Ceiling mold galore.
This is a ‘pet friendly’ complex in theory only. Yes, pets up to 100lbs are allowed. Supposedly there are breed restrictions against German Sheppard, Pit Bulls, etc. but don’t be fooled as many neighbors have such breeds, or mixes thereof. I use quotations for ‘pet friendly’ because this is the worst place to keep a pet. The premises are full of canine feces (though given the proximity to Eden Gardens, I am just hoping its Canine of origin), fleas, and other disease. I have never made so many vet visits, and pumped my dogs so full of antibiotics as I have living here.
The office staff is somewhat pleasant, though I don’t understand how they can have such poor communication with each other given how few of them work here. Pathetic!!! Not the brightest crew around, but that should be expected given their occupation. I wouldn’t trust the manager Kimberly as far as I could throw her either.
The pool is nice during school hours. After that it fills up with filthy, unsupervised, noisy children until closing.
Did I mention the Mexican fruit truck honking his horn at any hour, and blocking cars in the lot? Every day. The police said there is nothing I can do, as long as he has a permit he may enter premises. Funny how the office staff pretended he wasn’t allowed on site, how they «need my help» in keeping him away.
The concept of guest parking is a joke, as the spots are always taken by my unemployed neighbors, thus never giving us working folks a chance for the spot. The 24hr occupancy rule for these spots has never been enforced in the 2 years I have lived here.
I can not wait to leave this hell hole! By far the worst place I have ever lived. Never have I felt so unsafe in my own home, as I have here. The office just wants their money every month, and could care less about trespassing hoodlums. Any mention they tell you of security patrol is a LIE. They don’t even lock the laundry rooms on a regular basis, so I don’t know who Mr. Security is.
Finally, not only will you be surrounded by illegal neighbors, but the people contracted by Solana Highlands are crooks themselves. A police car pulled up in front of my building one day, and the two landscape works RAN into the laundry room to hide.
I thought I would be safe living anywhere west of the 5. I obviously should have done my research. Do yourself and Solana Beach a favor, and do not give Solana Highlands any business. These crooks need to be stopped.