Additional Reviews
Aug 2019: Instead of a typical review. I'm just gonna recap a few stories of my life here at Riverwind. So far in my one-year of residence,
1. Maintenance and/or staff have allowed my dog to escape on two separate occasions. Leading me to run around half naked trying to find her, only to be locked out of my apartment while trying to find her.
2. In my first month of residence, the dryer had to be replaced because it was burning all of the clothes placed in it.
3. I have been charged at least $500 in electrical overages, presumably for "being on the third floor" which is entirely false because no apartment should end a month with a $300 electric bill when. The average house has an electricity bill of just over $100.
So if you can read through this and still want to live here. Be my guest, but know you will definitely deal with issues similar to mine. Review from Google Jul 2019: A lot of reviews talk about maintenance and management being slow with work order, but in the year I have been living here I only had an issue with the washer breaking down and them taking a week to replace it. Other requests (for my room and common area) were dealt with pretty fast, and the maintenance guys actually took the time to explain what the issue was, and how to avoid it. The gym is pretty small, but has enough equipment for a small workout if you prefer to avoid the packed UCF gym, I just wished they had heavier dumbbells. Never had issues with guest parking or friends staying overnight. Some parties on the weekends might get loud, but not to the point of having to interfere/ask them to turn it down. Overall, I had a good experience, and would recommend if you're gonna be spending most of your time at school or working. Review from Google Jun 2019: It's a dump. They wont fix things or take forever. Even a simple chair has been broken and it's been over a week. The prices are being raised. The "gym" is a treadmill and one bench with like 6 dumbbells lol. Pool is okay, kind of small. Great location though. Oh and have friends/guests park in the guest area. They towed a vehicle that was here for 2 hours and there were plenty of spots. They probably get a kick back on tows. Also electric overage is more than likely a scam. I would research other options. Luckily I only subleased for a couple months. I got lucky!! Review from Google Jan 2019: when i first moved in the frickin toilet didn't work and maintenance wouldn't attend my request to fix it for a week lolol so i had to wait at night to poop at the pool bathroom and one time a female employee opened the door, saw me and freakeddd 😂 worth the whole $90 they stole from my deposit at move-out on bogus charges lmao Review from Google Sep 2018: Decent price for off campus apartments. Less than a five minute drive to campus and shuttles come about every 15 minutes. Currently it is getting a new coat of paint on every building. There is a lot of wildlife on the property as it is against a large plot of wetlands so we see large water moccasins, armadillos, black bears (once), and the neighborhood cats. Of course this expected in Florida, but the large amounts of garbage behind building 5 is very unsightly. The office staff and maintenance men are very quick to help with any issue that may arise and host wonderful holiday celebrations. The movie room and gym are definitely nothing fancy. The gym was recently remodeled, but I think the old, craggy equipment was much better before. The pool is actually very nice and there are grills located all around the campus. I appreciate that it is located in Oviedo so we have a night duty Seminole county Sheriff every day patrolling making sure it is safe Review from Google Sep 2018: Lived here for 2-3 years. There are problems with most being with the management and it would be nice if you didn't have to constantly light a fire under there a**holes to get them to do stuff, but if you do they tend to get things done. The problems with management aren't unique and probably something you will encounter with any mediocore to average landlord. But the property itself was priced very well (at the time I leased it was about $555 so things increased after that) but for a 4br & 4ba setup and with UCF shuttle access nothing else is or at least was better.
Also note that the ISP for this place is actually a subsidary company started and owned by the same guy/company that owns the complex. So if you have problems with your service be prepared for a lackluster customer support, although to be fair the service rarely cut out and if it did it resolved itself fairly quickly. Review from Google Aug 2018: where do I start with how terrible living here for two years was. upon moving out I revieved charges to replace the carpet that was damaged in the flood and riverwind decided to just dry instead of replace, I also received damages from a roomates dog (that she paid an additional deposit to cover) as well as the financial responsibility of repairing the blinds damaged when the police arrested someone in my living room. none of which kim seemed to care about. frankly she spent more time pretending to be in a meeting or simply not in the office than actually handling resident concerns. half of the amenities offered on the website are rarely available or not actually functioning. and the staff is either incompetent or unwilling to change. some highlights of various staff problems include, a groundskeeper harassing my roommate and her girlfriend repeatedly while they were walking the dog, an employee stealing checks out of the mail, leasing agents refusing to give the name of the property company that own riverwind, and leasing often entering your unit with no notice Review from Google May 2018: I have had a great experience at Riverwind Mar 2018: If I could give it a minus-star, I would. Please note that if you choose to live at Riverwind at Alafaya Trail, or choose this as a location for your student, you have made a big mistake. The experience was nothing but problems, unanswered phone calls, a manager who was always to busy to speak with the residents, and then at move out - every single time - some mysterious charges that they cannot back up with documentation or photos. They have refused four times - when contacted in writing - to provide photographs, bank documentation, etc. They failed to follow legal protocol when issuing requests, and eventually just add the unsubstantiated debt to your credit file. Be warned - there is a group banning together to make sure a lawsuit and publicity go forward on the poor practices of this complex.
And don't expect your student to get a lot of studying done. Music blares at night, and the complex is filled with underage drinking and parties Review from Google Oct 2017: Horrible management, the sewage lift pump was broken for months and started overflowing. After two weeks of smelling sewage every time I left my apartment and a puddle of sewage in the corner of the lot the problem was finally fixed only after I wrote a letter to management threatening to call Florida health services and Florida EPA.
Review from 10/25/17 on Google Oct 2017: Pros: Convenient shuttle direct to UCF. Competitive pricing for what is offered in the area and one of the largest rooms in the area. Waffle Wednesday was always nice.
Cons: Older building with poor insulation so electric overages occur somewhat often. Parking can be a hassle depending on what building you're in. Roommate matching system is questionable but they do their best.
Review from 10/14/17 on Google Sep 2017: I had a 4 month sublease and had a pleasant experience. The staff up front are friendly and helpful. The pool is nice, some of the gym equipment is broken. I got lucky with pretty quiet roommates, but the walls are super thin so you can hear everything going on i.e. kitchen noise early in the morning or people using the TV in the living room. Plan ahead to have some background noise or headphones. There was a small roach issue but never had one in my bedroom. I gave it one less star because their printer was almost always broken, and being a student I'm needing to use it all the time.
Review from 9/3/17 on Google Jul 2017: Please listen to these reviews. They are TRUE! XXXX is awful. Bad! Jul 2017: DO NOT MOVE IN HERE!!! IT IS NOT SAFE! THEY WILL NOT LISTEN TO YOUR LEGITIMATE COMPLAINTS! THEY COULD CARE LESS...HOUSE YOU WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT MENTALLY STABLE EVEN WHEN YOU ASK THEM NOT TO! PLEASE DO NOT GO TO RIVERWIND. I have never dealt with such unsafe, incompetent people, refuse to listen, bedbugs, unsanitary conditions, come in whenever they want... not a good place!! And it's a dump! Review from Google Jan 2017: Let me start this review by saying I have lived in Riverwind for two full years. I would not recommend anyone move here EVER. Please please please listen to this review. The manager Kim did not care about any issues we had in our unit. When we moved in the apartment was filthy, with used q tips and plates and trash literally out in plain sight. So obviously no cleaning had been done beforehand. After living there for about a week I realized I had bed bugs.
Review from 1/8/17 on Google Dec 2016: Riverwind Review:
Let me start this review by saying I have lived in Riverwind for two full years. I would not recommend anyone move here EVER. Please please please listen to this review. The manager Kim did not care about any issues we had in our unit. When we moved in the apartment was filthy, with used q tips and plates and trash literally out in plain sight. So obviously no cleaning had been done beforehand. After living there for about a week I realized I had bed bugs. This was on a Saturday. I went to the office and was told by Kat that pest control comes on Wednesday. So I'm supposed to sleep in a bed covered in bedbugs for 4 more nights? I emailed Kim immediately, and never heard back from her. I called on Monday and found out she had received my email and someone would be coming on Tuesday. Very unprofessional in my opinion to not ema Review from Google Nov 2016: don't live here. They'll tack on surcharges for anything you can imagine and then charge you double. Maintenance never fixes the problem correctly and then they charge you for it when u leave. Just stay away trust me.
Review from 11/7/16 on Apartment Ratings Aug 2016: Pros Great complex...rooms are large..safe complex. Workers and some of the front desk girls are nice. Cons The office manager is terrible. Not sure where they found her. Has no people skills! Talks down to anyone and everyone...from the tenents to the staff. Rude! Just the thought of having to deal with her makes me regret resigning the lease. In the ratings had to only give 1 star. Due to the fact that the office manager is the head of all your staff.
Review from 8/2/16 on Apartment Ratings May 2016: "Overages" regardless of how you live. We lived in the dark in 75° all the time and we would still get hit. Manager dismisses you no matter what you say. For being one of the only complexes to allow pets they are really bad towards pets. No enforcement to keep dog poop off of the grass everywhere. Neighbors who complain about the slightest bark and the manager taking each complaint as if it were legitimate. However, if you complain about underage drinking on a loud party in the middle of the week they shrug at you. Printer always broken. Office hours might as well be "whenever." Manager won't respond to email. Promised new flooring when we moved in but we still have the worlds ugliest carpets. No response to bug issues.
Review from 5/1/16 on Google Apr 2016: Not the best place to stay by far. They took my daughters deposit, said her application was denied which is funny because she qualified to live somewhere much better but they told her it will take 30 days to refund the deposit....well they just took the deposit two days ago, really. I heard to many negative reviews about management at this place. It was a blessing she didn't get approved to stay here, what a joke.
Review from 4/18/16 on Google Feb 2016: overages out the rear end! our first overage bill was almost $30 PER PERSON.
they will nickel and dime you to death! Feb 2016: My roomates and I have experienced our second time with mold in the apartment and they literally just sent someone with a spray bottle.
Management will only take you semi-seriously if you have a parent or a hissy fit with you.
The manager, Kim is the absolute worst. She doesn't listen, interrupts, and tries to make everything your fault.
Not my fault this place has had over 20 cases of mold complaints (from what one of the ladies at the office told my roommate) and you're calling professionals for some, but not for others. Dec 2015: I would highly recommend to others. Dec 2015: Best apartment complex I have ever lived in! Sep 2015: The manager is a basket case. She literally screams at people in the office. If you have a problem, she doesn't even give you the respect of listening to you like a manager should. Instead, she tries to talk over you and completely dismisses your concerns. The apartments have terrible ants. It took a month for my toilet to get fixed.
The security is a joke. The gates are ALWAYS open and the officer doesn't answer his phone if you need to reach him.
It's a shame because the apartments are big and a good value. But there is no way I can put up with the management for another year. I tried to speak to management calmly about my issues, but she literally started yelling over me. Horrible and unprofessional.
Review from 9/10/15 on Apartment Ratings