The Promenade Rio Vista

Kyle Hotchkiss

I've lived here for over a year now, and it's been great. I once read over every review here trying to decide if moving here was the right choice, but there's a piece of context you need to remember if you're doing the same thing - there's are many hundreds of apartments here (I think they said 900) and this community is probably close to 20 years old - the ~150 reviews here do not capture most residents options, and I've found many people living here to be enjoying it too. You really can't beat the location in San Diego. 15 minutes from everything good. Secured parking is really nice given the proximity to downtown and the trolley. Apartments are nicely renovated and the apartment community is maintained really well - everything from new paint on the buildings, to consistent landscaping, to modernized kitchens in the units. Etc. There are the normal (California specific?) apartment frustrations regarding smells, people being lazy with pets, homeless people nearby (primarily due to trolley station, if you're new to San Diego, this is a common concern near every trolley station). But for any specific issues with my apartment, the office has been responsive and resolved them the best they are able to. If you're looking around San Diego, really give the Promenade a consideration. Sure, there are a few newer buildings in mission valley, but they lack the character and comfort of Promenade (seriously Civita looks like metal boxes and there are no trees), and other communities of equal quality tend to be further away from some of the best parts of San Diego. This is my own review, no incentives were given to me for writing it, I'm just hoping to help the next person who was in my situation find their next home.

Frank Atondo

Elevator is still broken in building 1. Love the messages that are being put up near the elevators. Leasing office does not update us what is going on with it. Especially when our rent was increased dramatically. They finally did some thing about the pot hole that was developing at the entrance.

Marisa Mittelman

Rent has skyrocketed in the last year, but luckily we got in before that and they have some very basic rent control provisions in place if you renew your lease (must be under 10% increase per year). The amenities are fantastic, 24H gym is always poppin, and it's really nice to have 2 pools/hottubs that are separate which helps reduce overcrowding. Super pet friendly and there are a ton of dogs; we LOVE the dog wash, and not having to bathe my little guy in my own bathtub is definitely a relief. Only downside to that is the noise, due to the structure/setup of the buildings (a rectangle surrounding a courtyard), about half of the units face inward toward a courtyard where noise can be very amplified. The windows/doors are fairly thick so it's not an issue in the winter when they are closed, but about half the year when you want to leave them open you will hear every type of noise. I would recommend trying to get an outward facing unit if you are sensitive to noise. One other issue is that the elevators are hit or miss, I would say at least 50% of the time at least one of the elevators in your building will be out of service. However there are at least 3 elevators in every building, so it's really a first-world problem. The resident services office is a nice perk, you can go anytime with issues or questions and they're there to just help residents (leasing office is separate), and they have great dog treats and are super friendly. The portal/service requests are also super easy and we have never had a service request take more than 1-2 days to be completed. For urgent requests you can call the office during business hours, and we love JJ and Ray aka the best staff ever (they can fix anything in a snap!) One last thing is the shopping area on the ground floor of the promenade, it is SO convenient and everyone who visits is always jealous. We have an amazing pizza place/market, a bodega, and a bar just to name a few. Plus literally across the street there is Mexican, Thai, and Poke. Behind the complex is the San Diego River Trail, which you can take to walk/ride all the way to OB! I doubt I'll ever leave this place.

Charles Moore

It's been a while since I lived here but we liked the location, which is nearby a lot of shopping, restaurants and movie theatres. The circle driveway is a gem and a terrific place to enjoy San Diego's fantastic weather just about any time of year. Used to grab coffee and read in this area some mornings and I loved the peacefulness of it all, among the birds of paradise and well manicured plants and trees. Apartments have probably changed but while pricey, at the time we lived there the place was almost brand new, so it was a good trade off. Gym, pool and social areas were excellent and we used them quite a bit. The coffee shop is very convenient as is the mini-mart. Overall, it's probably in line in terms of cost with other newer apartments in Mission Valley. I can't speak to that since it's been so long since I lived there but if I had to do it again, I'd definitely choose Promenade Rio Vista.