Review for Gravois Ridge Townhomes Apartments

My wife & I initially signed a 1yr lease at Gravois looking to get a little further southwest of the city, and the appeal was the wood flooring, brand new look and workout facilities. Everything looked nice on the surface, but that's where the appeal ends. I will spell out the many issues I have with this apartment complex, and you can decide whether or not to shelve out a thousand plus (my wife & I have a 2bdr):

1) This place gives a new meaning to "Hard"wood flooring. The cheap, thin vinyl flooring throughout the lower level and stairs covers nice, rock-hard concrete. When I drop something, it shatters. If I fall, it hurts, a lot. Did I mention the floors are really slick? Do not wear socks and walk up the stairs. If you have kids, I strongly suggest you avoid this place.

2) If you enjoy hot baths, this is the last place you want to be. The cheap imitation of a water heater they use in these buildings barely heats half a bath. I literally have to put boiling water on the stove, then march it upstairs (being careful all the while not to trip, see point 1) and pour it in the tub anytime I want to take a bath. If I do this 2 or 3 times, I can get a warm bath, almost full. If you want to know how your great-great granparents hacked a living out of the wilderness 100 years ago, look no further than Gravois Ridge.

3) The lease says you get two cars, and parking for them, but of course they don't assign parking which is very deceptive, because when you look at the way they set up the parking, with lots right in front of your door, you'd be inclined to think they were assigned. If you read the lease, you would come to the same conclusion, though I've come to discover the wording is deliberately vague. Get used to seeing some teenager's rusty party-vehicle sitting right outside your doorstep.

4) If you like unplowed / un-sanded drive-through's in the middle of winter, then you've come to the right place! During our last snow storm, it took them several days to get a plow out to the complex. Meanwhile, getting out each morning was an adventure.

5) Want to watch that big game on your 50' HD in the middle of the day? Good luck! They provide decent sized windows with chintzy blinds, and no overhang for curtains. The glare is so bad I usually have to hang a blanket up across the window to watch anything while the sun is up.

6) The basin sinks in the bathrooms look great, but as my title indicates, they are very cheap in design. Our first month here, one of the sinks leaked a large volume of water , flooding the bathroom. Fortunately we hadn't unpacked enough of our stuff to get wiped out by it, but the fact that something broke that quickly was concerning. Shortly thereafter, our microwave went on the fritz and stopped working. It's a running joke between my wife & I about what's going to break down next. My money is on the oven - it looks too nice to last very long, given the cheapness with which they put everything else together.

7) These walls have ears. If you have frisky neighbors, then you're in for a real treat (or scare).

8) There is mud everywhere. This is mostly due to the newness of the complex, but it's bad enough that everytime it rains (or snow thaws) it's impossible for me to get back in my apartment without getting my shoes really muddy.

That's all I can say for now. I'm sure as I get closer to the 1yr mark, I'll have several more complaints, but for now my biggest complaint is the overall cheapness and poor thinking management gave what otherwise could have been a great apartment complex.

The only winning feature of this complex is the clubhouse workout facilitiy & tanning beds. I have yet to find anything I dislike with the clubhouse - if only they put as much care into building the actual apartments.