The Retreat at Walnut Creek

I want to preface this review by saying that I have never been driven to write an apartment review in all my years of renting. I can put up with a lot but the horrible smells and terrible showers are two things that really get to you after awhile. Management is useless when it comes to fixes. -Horrible smell throughout halls and in apartment. The smell is likely due to a mix of smoke and mold. I had to purchase an expensive HEPA filtered air system just to somewhat clean the air in the apartment. -I've seen multiple mold removal crews come in to different units. -All nearby apartments have connected HVAC. So if a neighbor smokes, or goes to the bathroom, you can smell it like its happening in your own apartment. -Smoking rules not enforced so everywhere smells like tobacco smoke and weed -Apartment told us that it's our responsibility to limit neighbors smoking. -Horrible water pressure in showers, shower water is a glorified drip -The water pipes are old and rusted so the shower water caused skin irritation and acne. -They installed drain blocks that don't allow any hair to go through shower (even small body hairs). This results in a clogged shower every 2-3 showers which you have to scrub out so the shower will drain again. -Everything is old and breaking down. -ceilings have weird mix of half regular paint and half popcorn ceiling -staff is extremely unhelpful with all requests. -no AC in bedrooms

Yeah parkings not that great and the pet deposits aren’t the cheapest, but it’s a beautiful area, everyone has dogs, i didn’t have any issues with noise but I was on the third floor. Washer and dryer in the units are the best! Had a great experience with management and things get fixed in a timely manner. Overall probably the best spot in the area.

If you have read any of the reviews about this place you'll notice a trend of tenants complaining about break-ins followed by a copy and paste response from the front office offering to "help in any way" That comment is the extent of the help they will provide. No cameras anywhere, most of the doors in and out of the building are not secure, zero security personnel all tied together with an apathetic front office that has heard these numerous complaints yet done absolutely nothing about it. When pressed about why there aren't any changes to address these glaring problems the front office hands you an incident report form and slams the door on you. For almost a whole month you could just pull the front door to the 1461 building open and waltz in. The door to the garage elevator doesn't shut so anyone could come in the front door, take an elevator ride down to the garage and start breaking into cars and walk out the same way they came in, and they have! MULTIPLE TIMES! I understand break-ins are not predictable and not the direct fault of the property managers but when there is a consistent trend, and ZERO ACTION it begs the question what are they even managing? Good luck trying to get them to do anything nowadays as they've locked themselves in their office asking that you send an email or leave a voicemail, neither of which will be replied to.

Nobody in the front office is reliable, my car has been broken into and vandalized 3 times, and many entrances into the buildings are unlocked and so is the front gate. Rife with thieves!!!

I can see why living here could've been a positive experience. It is relatively reasonably priced for the area, and they do have some good amenities. However, we did not have a positive experience because we had a few issues and none of them were addressed, and ultimately didn't feel the apt was worth what we paid. We had incredibly noisy upstairs neighbors. We spoke both with the neighbors and the leasing office (multiple times), but it was never addressed. We were asked to provide a video of the noises, we did, and it still never got better. Our car was broken into and after telling the leasing office and submitting a work request for a pedestrian gate that doesn't lock nothing was done. We had multiple packages either stolen or ripped open and rifled through. There were also multiple occasions where the package locker was broken and we had to wait days to get things. Another item in the "it doesn't really work" category is the AC unit. In the 2 bedroom there is one that could not be further away from the master bedroom. It is miserably hot. Over the year we lived there, there were 4-6 times we were told our water would be shut off for the entire day because they needed to do an emergency fix. Lastly, don't expect much of your deposit back. Even though the apt wasn't in great shape when we moved in (stains on the carpet, had to replace cabinets), we lost a bunch of the deposit to things that seem like normal wear and tear (stove drip pans, crappy blinds, etc.) Overall, this place was not worth what we paid.

Safe, quiet gated community, with washer and dryer in unit. Also pet friendly, which is great. Close to the freeway and downtown, but not close enough to hear any traffic noise.

The Retreat has recently decided to be greedy and take away about 40 spots to make them "reserved" and charge $150 A MONTH to park. I have a permit (you get one with each apartment) to park and there is no parking since they have done this. Everyone has said how much their management is flawed and I didn't see it until now. I can't believe they did this. It's so uncalled for. Don't live here if you have a choice.

The saying "its too good to be true" seems fitting of The Retreat, Walnut Creek. After a convincing tour, and pricing and availability being confirmed for the date needed, 9/1, I didn't need more to tell me I scored BIG TIME. I filled out my application and provided supporting docs needed 8/5. After a minor bit of bad news, parking was rather far from unit, I did the needful and filled a reasonable accommodation request to change my spot to a closer one if available. This was submitted 8/12. Now this isn't my 1st rodeo, so I know these formalities take time and sometimes need to be reviewed and a change of hands occurs and approval and all of that takes time... I'm used to it by now, but not responding and being given the run around for weeks on end screams you don't want ME living there. I understand not everyone sees me as disabled, but I am, and I have the proof legally to back me. After reaching out to their corporate office and leaving contact info last Friday, I still have yet to hear of even being approved for the unit, none the less the status of my accommodation request. It is now 8/30 and to find another unit in 1 day will be trying and was completely preventable had they told me upfront they didn't want to deal with me or my disability. I would have much preferred that route to now being forced to run around to other cities and complexes looking for a new place to call home all before the 1st.

I have lived here for almost 2 years and I would not recommend living here. If this place was properly managed, it could be a great place, but it is not. The place is not maintained, with the electronic gate opener for visitors never working at all. So if you have a visitor or do not have your key fob, you have to walk all the way out to the gate to let someone in. The tennis court is not accessible and has never been worked on, most of the lights in the parking lot are not lit, the hot tubs have stopped working numerous times and not been fixed immediately, yet management hassles you if you have anything on your patio, like a bird feeder. The place is poorly built, so you hear everything that your neighbors do and security does not show up half the time you call if people are being loud in the pool area after hours. The water features, like the fountains and stream, are not running a good percentage of the time too. This place is expensive, yet does not offer all the amenities it should. Save your time and money and look elsewhere.

lived here for one year.... Management and costumer service are terrible Assistance manager is Rude and unprofessional.. Never recommend this place .... very expensive and service is horrible do not spend your money here ... You will see ..

Walnut Creek is a well managed city, which keeps growing in a user friendly way. This building has very spacious one and two bedroom apartments, with two baths in each unit, recently renovated. In the center of the three buildings is a very large pool and spa with two levels of seating, as well as dry saunas and showers in each bath room. The iron horse trail is right by the back of the property. It is great for long jogging or bike riding, it leads to a network of more trails. The downtown is five minutes away with shopping and dining at hand. The views in the apartments vary, some have a view of Mt. Diablo, others may be able to like us, watch a few football games at Las Lomas football field.

I just recently applied to and moved into this property. The application was a bit of a hassle as the property does not have an online option, something that most places have now. Another issue is that there always only seems to be one person in the leasing office which can make getting help/packages difficult. However, this is nothing against the leasing agents as they are very friendly and helpful and not responsible for staffing shortages. They were able to answer all my questions and made the move-in process simple and easy. The property is great overall. My apartment has all new appliances and other remodel features that are hard to find in the Walnut Creek area as everything is pretty old. There is also a brand new gym and community room which have been awesome!