The Palms at Laguna Niguel

I would start by saying the location of this complex is what makes It tolerable living there. It is a beautiful city, near a lot of nature and shopping. However, the quality of the apartments, vs the cost of living there is not worth it.
The kitchen cabinets are falling apart, the Tub is so cheap, that it feels like you’re going to break through it. The insulation is terrible, even though there’s AC, my unit got up to 80° during summer, and that was with my Ac blasting. Consequently, my… electric bill was around $400 during summer.
The amenities are nice, I especially enjoyed the dog park, however the gym closes at 5pm, which alot of people aren’t able to enjoy because they’re barely getting off of work by the time it’s already closed. The biggest downfall for me besides the poor quality, and expensive cost, is the maintenance. When we received our keys to our new unit, there was urine stains on the toilet seat, left over food crumbs all over the kitchen from the previous tenants, stains on the carpet, restroom light bulb was out, the cabinets were cracked. Which shows that maintenance doesn’t care about presentation, they only care about receiving payments. Also the biggest disappointment for me was about a month before we moved out, we had a very aggressive loud knock on our door from a maintenance guy, we told him to give us a second so we can grab our dog, he still Kept knocking aggressively. When we opened the door, he did not greet us warmly, or introduce himself, he simply yelled at us about our dog accidentally peeing on the balcony. Then he walked away without saying thank you or have a good day. Simply a negative experience. Before leaving I said my goodbyes to our neighbors, which are very friendly people. They too, expressed their discontent with their renting experience at the palms, in fact one of our neighbors will be leaving soon as well. If you’re thinking of moving into the palms, I hope you have a better experience than we did. Also, be ready to pay high rent for low quality and small square footage. Read More

My partner and I moved in to share our first home together at The Palms in March of 2021. Our experience has been nothing short of disappointments and experiences of terrible management practices. I wish I had done more research on the parent company, Essex Property Trust, because it would have been obvious to steer clear of this complex. The management and leasing agents here are negligent and inept; we have had issues from the very moment we picked up our keys and saw our unit because our… leasing agent failed to mention that the unit we viewed online would be nothing like the unit we signed for. Online they show hardwood floors and fireplaces, this is just bait. Many units do not look like this and they will pull the wool over your eyes if you fall for what they show on their website. Our unit was also signed to us with a broken AC unit. When we tried to use it the first time it did not work (during the week of a heat wave) and would need to be completely replaced. It took them a week to come replace it, terrible communication with us throughout the process, and they left our bathroom wall in worse condition than when they started the replacement. They have done what they can to rectify the situation (throwing gift cards at us so we can go have dinner and a movie??) all the while they continue to operate with the worst management practices. I am writing this review sitting in my car, because I cannot get up to my apartment as they are redoing the concrete directly in front of my unit. The manager of this complex, Paveena, called me on FRIDAY to notify me of this work that would take place on MONDAY from 8-3. She informed me I would not be able to come and go and would need to make accomodations, which is fine as I just so happened to have the day off. It is TUESDAY, at 11am and the concrete is just now being poured. I cannot enter my home nor take my dog out for potty for who knows how long. Don’t rent here!!!!!!! Read More

It used to be really nice here, but has gone downhill within the last 6 months. The new gym and pool have been built for months, but sit locked all day. The dog wash is always locked. There's unannounced construction that's disruptive to anyone who has to work from home. I've heard from one resident they were sold in on the new gym and pool, and promised a date when they could use them, only to have them still locked. The walls are pretty thin too. I can hear the wooden ceiling joists creak when… my neighbors upstairs walk around.
I will say the maintenance crew is great and very timely and friendly. I just don't think the front office wants to pay to maintain any of the amenities beyond being able to show them off on tours. Read More

Bugs keep coming to our apartment everyday regardless of the bug guy coming last Friday..they just keep coming through the Windows on the counters..it's a nightmare. I spray everyday..I think the bugs like it and come back for more. A lot of racket from constant work being done is probably driving the bugs into our apartment..but it's not like we can stop them they gave notice..on our holiday weekend that they would be in our apartment...thanks for ruining Labor day weekend get a ways..or the… impossibility of any enjoyment. Read More